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Loyalty Driver^SM: Winning & Retaining Loyal Customers
Research International

Winning and retaining loyal customers has been the essence of good business since marketing began. As its ultimate objective, all marketing activity should aim to strengthen the base of loyal, profitable, customers. Consequently, in recent years, businesses have improved their access to customer information and massively increased their understanding of customer needs.

Surprisingly though, there is one question - the most sought-after piece of information of all - that marketers have had to leave mostly unanswered. How does this wealth of information, on past customer behaviour and current attiudes, link to and predict future behaviour?

Loyalty Driver^SM from Research International makes a breakthrough in solving this enigma. It gives marketers the tools to understand the "big picture" - the context in which all of your marketing activity takes place - with unrivalled completeness. It helps you manage the finely tuned interaction between activities aimed at boosting Brand Value, and the host of other market factors that may impact on a customer's chances of switching brands.

Making Customer Loyalty Real: Lessons from Leading Manufacturers
Deloitte Research

For manufacturers, low price, high quality and on-time delivery are no longer enough to stay in the game of global competition. Customer demands are on the rise and are more unpredictable than ever. Customers are deciding what, when, how, and where they will purchase goods and services. They want them in zero time and often exert their bargaining power to influence price. Loyalty is increasingly subject to a click of the mouse. A new era is here - the "era of the virtual customer." Customers expect high-quality tailored goods, services and solutions delivered rapidly and inexpensively. What are the implications for manufacturers? In an era when the traditional approaches to planning, forecasting, and execution are fast becoming obselete, the ability to anticipate and quickly adapt to changing customer demands is imperative for sustained success. Our extensive study of the global manufacturing sector demonstrates that manufacturers must gear their entire organisations - not just their production operations - to attract profitable customers and retain them for life. The new game is about shifting from a product-centric to a customer-centric focus.

Loyalty Cards: A Research Report on Loyalty Cards in European Retailing
KPMG Consulting

Retailers are facing increasing pressure form a variety of sources including tougher competition, the breaking down of traditional barriers between products and services and increasingly discerning and demanding customers. To sustain competitive advantage in this market retailers are finding it necessary to have access to an increasing range and depth of expertise. KPMG Consulting in partnership with the Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM), based at Templeton College, Oxford University, is undertaking a programme of research across Europe to provide a valuable insight into the developing trends and impact of customer loyalty on retailing. The focus of this first survey, written in conjunction with Dr Richard Cuthbertson of OXIRM, is loyalty cards.

Over the last few years there have been many developments in the introduction and structure of loyalty card schemes with varying degrees of claimed success. Of course, the loyalty of customers who are able to freely switch between many retailers has been influenced by several factors. Our final report will highlight that customer loyalty is a complex area and one which covers the full retail spectrum.