How Customer Strategy Uses Loyalty Data

Carly Fiorina, former President of Hewlett-Packard Co., once said, “The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight.” But before insights, businesses need a customer strategy to find and deploy the right data. Learn how loyalty programs make data work for your business:

Understanding an Audience

Every customer is different. So, businesses can’t assume how their customers think without gathering data first. This is why loyalty rewards programs are crucial to financial success: retain and attract customers while learning how to more effectively do both in the future.

The most successful rewards programs, including from Sephora and American Express, update their programs regularly. This might mean changes to their mobile apps, card art or program benefits. Data gained via customer activity informs these updates and improves user experiences for future customers.

Businesses with developed strategies position themselves for success.

Improving Products and Services

Customer spending habits inform what an audience wants from a company. So, if particular reward offerings have more success than others, businesses will save money by focusing their energy on those offers. For example, if a coffee shop sees many people exchanging their points for baked goods rather than coffee, they can ensure their baked good selection is tasty and diverse.

Decision-making

These insights lead to smarter strategic decisions. This benefits current and future customer, as well as the business owners. It is difficult to form a successful plan without data. So, reward programs offer invaluable access to real-time information for data-driven decisions. For instance, take an auto dealer seeing its referral program having success among certain customer demographics. This information may inform future advertising spending. In turn, the business saves otherwise wasted money. This money can now be spent in other areas of the business, like inventory