@Risk

Loyalty and rewards programs are more popular than ever. In fact, Jupiter Research found that more than 75 percent of consumers have at least one loyalty card; one-third of consumers have two or more.

But, does simply carrying a loyalty card in your wallet or on your key-chain make you a “loyal” customer? Is brand loyalty becoming a thing of the past, or are companies learning to tap into the enormous potential offered by loyalty and reward programs?

The CMO Council polled nearly 700 consumers for answers to questions like these and released its findings in the new report, “The Leaders in Loyalty: Feeling the Love from The Loyalty Clubs.”

As you might expect, the survey revealed a complex picture –but one that ultimately shows that businesses still have a lot of work to do when it comes to fine-tuning strategies for effective targeted marketing aimed at retaining loyal customers.

For example, the study found that:

• More than half of those polled (54 percent) aren’t “feeling the love” from loyalty programs. Barraged with irrelevant messages, low value rewards, and impersonal engagements, these consumers are considering defection, not loyalty.

• Even though marketers have a staunch commitment to the growth and development of loyalty and reward programs, companies are not fully leveraging data analytics, insights and relationships drawn from these initiatives.

• In today’s “information overload” world, marketers are challenged to truly connect with consumers in a manner that consumers view as valuable, relevant and truly exceptional

• When asked which loyalty program stood out as the best, the top three finishers were : American Express, with their cardholder rewards program (48 votes); American Airline’s AAdvantage program (45 votes); and, Marriott (28 votes).

According to Sandra Zoratti, Vice President Global Solutions Marketing, InfoPrint Solutions Company,and CMO Council North America Advisory Board Member:

Consumers agree that the era of mass messaging simply does not resonate,especially not in today’s on-demand world. Today’s consumer wants relevant,timely messages. They want engagements that are tailored around their history with companies they choose to do business with. They want companies to peek – not intrude – just below the surface of name, address and phone number. To personalize a greeting is simply not enough. Marketers must take that next step towards precision marketing and leverage whatever insights are available to deliver meaningful promotions and timely content to willing customers. It is time for marketing to embrace a more targeted, predictable, forecasted, reliable and measurable system for customer engagement.

An 18-page executive summary of the CMO Council’s report is available here.