Are women loyal to loyalty?

All this talk about loyalty programs and it begs the question; are women loyal to loyalty programs? Where are marketers missing the mark? And, where is loyalty when you need it?

Take a particular Canadian telco that will remain nameless. For now. In the last year, I have switched over both of my business phone accounts, set up a new business Internet account, switched over my home phone account and upgraded my wireless data account. In all, between my businesses and my personal and household telecommunications and data use, we hold 6 accounts with this telco.

Now, what would make good sense is that I would be rewarded and recognized for the total sum of business that I have with this company and will bring to this company over time (lifetime customer value). Yet, when I call, I wait on hold for more than 30 minutes (on my cell phone!), they often cannot find my account at all, and the technician doesn’t show up for scheduled appointments making me waste countless, valuable business hours waiting to give them business. I have complained many times with no acknowledgement.

Now here is my prescription for an ideal rewards and recognition program that would work :

· Discounts on monthly fees based on total business value (across all accounts)
· Consolidation of accounts- single view across call centers
· Front of the line service and recognition flagged for call centers (key codes reducing waiting time)
· Prompt resolution when problems arise

Are women loyal to loyalty programs? Essentially we need to separate the brand from the program. There are programs that we have an emotional connection to where a loyalty program may be icing on the cake but won’t ultimately affect the brand love. Then, there are brands that we tolerate and sometimes like where a great loyalty program can make all the difference. In short, loyalty programs need to:

1. Be highly usable (not creating extra work at uptake or for ongoing use)
2. Show immediate reward ($ off, front of the line recognition, other redemption opps)
3. Bring the consumer closer to the brand (increase switching costs, increase frequency of purchase and increase brand favour)