Just the other day, we discussed how to ensure your loyalty programs stay on the right side of the law. This week brought a reminder of just how important loyalty programs are for driving sales at your business.
The Wall Street Journal noted that three out of every four Americans belong to a customer loyalty program. It also reported on the results of research showing how powerful loyalty programs can be for retail businesses. For one, Keith Jelinek of the firm Alix Partners is quoted in the article, noting that 15 percent of a retail business’ most loyal customers can account for 50 percent of the sales of those businesses. Perhaps even most shocking, Keith Colbourn, global loyalty practice leader at Dunnhumby tells the Journal that it takes between 12 and 20 new customers to replace a lost loyal customer.
As many franchises are retail businesses, these are powerful figures, and remind us just how important it is to keep customers happy and loyal. A properly constructed loyalty program can be part of that effort.