Companies have long sought to leverage loyalty programs to move the needle on customer loyalty. Coffee shops offer punch cards that reward customers with a free cup of java after their n^th purchase. Airlines provide frequent flyer programs that lead to complimentary upgrades and access to exclusive airport lounges. For all, the end goal is the same: building and strengthening customer relationships while boosting bottom-line results.

But despite these efforts, our global research shows that customer satisfaction with loyalty programs is relatively low. Many programs are simply relegated to the back of customers’ wallets, never to be used again. How is a manager to know if his or her loyalty program is living up to its full potential?

Recognizing the 10 most common pitfalls of loyalty programs can help you find the answer—and pull your loyalty program back to the front of customers’ minds.

1.       Failing to deliver on ROI. Loyalty programs are expensive to setup and maintain. Is your company truly maximizing return on investment or are you missing out on up-selling and cross-selling opportunities?

2.       Poorly aligning with the brand promise. Your loyalty program is an extension of your brand. If the program diminishes the customer experience, it’s doing more harm than good.

3.       Not building deeper relationships with customers. People don’t want to feel like they’re just another transaction. Demonstrating that you truly value your customers’ business secures your brand in their hearts and minds.

4.       Treating all customers the same. Different customers have different needs, and your frequent customers are seeking different things than your occasional customers. A loyalty program should personalize benefits to each group for maximum impact.

5.       Lacking differentiation. Run-of-the-mill rewards limit your program’s ability to attract customers to your brand—and away from competitors.

6.       Missing out on mobile. The convenience of a mobile app that allows customers to earn and redeem points digitally often tops the effect of physical cards.

7.       Failing to evolve with time. A successful loyalty program stays tuned into customers’ ever-changing needs and re-evaluates offers frequently.

8.       Offering bland perks. Truly relevant rewards motivate customers to keep coming back for more.

9.       Being too difficult to use. Even the most attractive program falters if customers have to jump through hoops to earn and use points—their experience should be as easy as possible.

10.   Not listening to the customer. An open dialogue is crucial to addressing evolving customer needs and pain points. The loyalty program should enhance the customer experience.

 Successful loyalty programs can yield tremendous financial benefits for companies and transform their customers’ experience. We at Ipsos Loyalty are experts at advising organizations that are looking to optimize their loyalty program offer.

 To read more about our approach to measuring and managing Loyalty Programs, click here.

In fact, home is the place most (55%) plan to spend the holiday. For those that are planning to travel away from home, 27% will still stay close – in the Western Washington/Seattle-area.

While most residents will stick close to home over Memorial Day, most say they do lead an active lifestyle. Puget Sound area residents engage in many outdoor and athletic activities at least once a year or more often, including: hiking/backpacking (56%); swimming (52%); camping (40%); and running/jogging (32%).

And we also know from this recent survey that local residents tend to visit other areas in Washington State – including local mountain areas – during the non-winter seasons, so they will be traveling.  Leavenworth was the most visited area of Washington-state with 82% having previously visited the area.  However, even with the very popular Christmas Lighting Festival, most indicated they visited Leavenworth during the non-winter season (74%).

In my experience with retailers, banks, telcos, oil companies, auto dealers and restaurants, I have observed that operational consistency is what all brands desire most. Mystery shopping is unquestionably a powerful tool to drive such consistency in widely distributed operations. It is reliable, repeatable and robust – a fact that is backed up by a two billion dollar global mystery shopping industry. Still, mystery shopping can be made better.

Allow me to explain three ways you can make your mystery shopping programs better today…

Better Design:

Programs need to be designed to monitor what is important to the organizations and to the customers. You can do this by mapping out each part of a customer journey – the good and bad – so that businesses can manage the experience and not the numbers.

Companies don’t need to shop every location every week. Instead, you can develop sampling plans with the aim of reducing costs while giving nothing away in terms of reliability or usability of results. Many companies have benefited from this approach.

Better Execution:

To clients I have worked with, the two most important aspects of their Mystery Shop programs are the quality of the operations and the shoppers themselves:

• Operations: Here technology is key. Companies are able to benefit from richer, quicker, more reliable feedback. Mobile technology – which includes the ability to geo-tag photos, record video and upload instantly – is a key part of this. It is possible to layer this on a foundation of operational excellence to provide companies with unmatchable execution.
• Shoppers: The best mystery shopping program managers know how to train, manage, compensate and retain the most sought after shoppers in the industry. Mystery Shoppers work for everyone – no-one in the industry has an exclusive panel. However, the best program managers ensure their shoppers are paid generously and quickly, are well-trained and treated with the respect they deserve.

Better Impact:

The nature of reporting is important but it’s not just about the volume of data, it’s about the approach to understanding and taking action on the feedback that comes from the shoppers. Leading companies have invested time, talent and resources to make sure our reporting has an impact wherever and whenever it is seen.

• Online, real-time results: Top programs provide real-time results, allowing companies to act swiftly and decisively on issues. Results are presented in a sophisticated dashboard environment which allows any level of stakeholder to quickly explore and act on results.
• Integrated insights: Good business decisions are not made in isolation. This is why leading practitioners integrate Mystery Shop, Customer Satisfaction, Employee Satisfaction and other data streams into a single reporting platform.
• Built in ownership: Best in call processes ensure that everyone pays attention and is accountable for correcting performance gaps.
• Fair data: Low (or high) scores may be outside of a manager’s control and it is important to recognize this. Using best practice approached, a company can ensure that locations are compared and ranked accurately and that staff are rewarded and recognized appropriately.

All of these three factors help dramatically improve the value of Mystery Shopping.

Interested in hearing more? Ipsos Loyalty’s Mystery Shopping service is one of the largest mystery shopping agencies in the world. We complete over a million assignments every year across all industry segments and organization sizes. You may contact us at craig.bradley@ipsos.com.

Ipsos Loyalty is the global leader in customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty research and consulting with over 1,200 dedicated professionals located in over 80 countries around the world. Our thought leadership and leading edge technologies help our clients build strong customer relationships which lead to better business results. This has made us the trusted advisor to executives across industry sectors in B2C and B2B on all matters relating to measuring, modeling, and managing customer relationships.  For further information contact your local Ipsos office, details at: www.ipsos.com/loyalty.

Representatives from Ipsos, Nature’s Path, T-Mobile, and Premera Blue Cross will share tips, techniques and case studies to show you how you can challenge conventional thinking about your brand, your offering and your audience. Our goal is to share experience-based insights to help you better understand new ways to measure and test what you need to.

We will be tweeting during the event and you can join the conversation and follow us at #Daring2B.  Following the Summit presentations, we will be hosting a cocktail party and tours of our new office space in the Civica Office Commons.  It’s going to be a great day and I hope to see many of you this afternoon!

Although unemployment/jobs dominance has decreased recently, the top three issue concerns among Americans include unemployment/jobs (48%), healthcare (36%), and taxes (30%). April marks ‘Tax Season’ in the U.S., and this month’s report reflects this, as taxes have solidified its position as the third ranked issue, behind healthcare, in the last six months. Another recent shift is the surge in concern about crime and violence (22%) likely driven by issues surrounding the gun control debate.

Americans and our Canadian neighbors share the same top three issue concerns – unemployment/jobs, healthcare and taxes. Interestingly, select other countries (UK, France, Germany, Brazil and Japan) also have some similar top issue concerns. For example, all selected countries in this study except Brazil share unemployment/jobs as one of their top three issues: France (71%), UK (49%), U.S. (48%), Japan (48%), Canada (39%) and Germany (33%). Here is a breakdown of the top issue by country:

• Brazil – Healthcare (63%)
• Canada – Healthcare (41%)
• France– Unemployment/jobs (71%)
• Germany – Poverty and social inequality (58%)
• Japan– Unemployment/jobs (48%)
• UK – Unemployment/jobs (49%)
• U.S. – Unemployment/jobs (48%)

Public Perspectives is a monthly subscription report produced by U.S. Public Affairs which features Americans’ assessment of their national and local economies, their personal finances and their issue concerns. Data for this report were taken from Ipsos Global @dvisor, a survey conducted monthly in 24 countries around the world via Ipsos’ Online Panel system. To learn more about Ipsos Global @dvisor, please click here.

Since September 2012 healthcare and unemployment/jobs continue to run neck and neck for top priority. Looking at these two issues by gender, age, income and region reveals some interesting findings. Concern about unemployment/jobs ranks first among younger Canadians (41%), lower income households (44%), and Atlantic (57%) and Ontario (49%) residents. While healthcare ranks first among older Canadians (49%), higher income households (48%), and residents of Alberta (49%) and British Columbia (42%).

In comparison to our U.S. neighbours, we share the same top three issues concerns – healthcare, unemployment/jobs and taxes – but not necessarily in that order. While select other countries (UK, France, Germany, Brazil, and Japan) have some similar issue concerns as the U.S. and Canada, they also differ in certain circumstances; for example immigration control in the UK, and crime and violence in Brazil are higher priorities in these countries.

Public Perspectives is a monthly subscription report produced by Canadian Public Affairs which features Canadians’ assessment of their national and local economies, their personal finances and their issue concerns. Data for this report were taken from Ipsos Global @dvisor, a survey conducted monthly in 24 countries around the world via Ipsos’ Online Panel system. To learn more about Ipsos Global @dvisor, please click here.

Did you know that almost one-quarter (24%) of Puget Sound area residents attend “Happy Hour” at least once a month? Or, that 69% are planning on taking a vacation this year and 67% think they are getting enough fruits and veggies? It sure sounds like Puget Sound residents know the recipe to a balanced lifestyle.

As you may remember from my last post, Ipsos recently presented a medley of fun facts at the PSAMA MarketMix conference. The data was sourced from our Voice of the Northwest (VoiceNW) research solution, which provides a lens into the thoughts and opinions of Puget Sound citizens on a wide range of subjects. For those that didn’t make it to the conference, here is a summary of some key lifestyle habits of those in the Pacific Northwest.

Residents are diving into the social media waters. Puget Sound residents are no doubt savvy when it comes to social media. Three-quarters have “liked” the page of a company on Facebook, and almost one-quarter (23%) of area residents have written at least one blog post. That said, with 61% of residents admitting to never having scanned a QR code, some trends just haven’t caused a splash.

E-Commerce is gaining momentum too. Puget Sound residents are increasingly using the Internet to make purchases. With faster delivery and wider selection, who would blame them? Books (65%), music (52%) and home electronics (48%) are more likely to be shopped for online than offline. Plus, 63% of area residents have bought something through an online group offer.

But they are rather blasé towards basketball. Almost half (46%) have “no interest at all” in March Madness and are “not at all likely” to attend a Sonics game their first season back in Seattle (49%).

They’re traveling quite a bit…but not for work. With dreary weather throughout the winter, more and more residents will plan a getaway for personal reasons. In the next 6 months, consumers are more likely to travel by air for leisure (45%) than for business (18%), and more likely to stay overnight in a hotel for leisure (57%) purposes than for business (21%).

Puget Sound residents think they are a lucky bunch. In fact, a whopping 67% of area residents believe in luck, especially when it comes to gambling. Compared to other U.S. residents, consumers in the West (20%) are more likely to have visited a casino in the past month than those living in the Northeast (10%), Midwest (12%), or South (9%). However this is one activity that hasn’t made its way to the digital space. Puget Sound residents are more likely to gamble in a casino (46%) than they are to gamble online (8%).

Interested in learning more fun facts? Keep an eye out for more VoiceNW research findings.

If you were a child of the 70s, and had a mischievous personality, then you no doubt heard Mom’s “battle-cry” as she headed upstairs to a place of peaceful repose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvE65VOcAL0

Who doesn’t need a break, time-off, or time away from the daily stresses of our busy lives?

Why are so many Americans screaming for a vacation? Maybe it’s today’s work calculus…  Work twice as hard, for half the benefits, and achieve a quarter the results…

A recent study from Ipsos Public Affairs, confirms Americans’ desire to get away annually, and 63% of full time employees consider taking a vacation a necessity (read more in our Thought Starter: Americans Give “Getting Away” Two Thumbs Up)

But…do Americans really value the time off given to them by employers?

A recent Expedia study (11/16/12) conducted among 8,700 Americans, between the ages of 18-64, contrasts the behaviors of Americans and Europeans vacation habits annually.

The study notes the average American receives 12 vacation days per year, and only uses 10 of these days for vacation, while the average European receives 25 vacation days per year, and uses 100% of these days. The only country where full time employees treat vacation time more like Americans is Italy, where 20-30% of annual vacation time goes unused.

Clearly there is a history of government and union guidelines which may dictate vacation time-off across Europe, or it could be simply viewed more like a birthright vs. a benefit of employment.

Let’s face it…Americans can now be reached anywhere, anytime, and for any reason (work email connectivity, Twitter feeds, vmails, etc). Add to this the stress of a sluggish post 2009 U.S. economy, and it’s easy to understand why so many Americans not only need time away, but also why so many have a hard time using all their vacation time annually.

I have a saying I use every time I head out for a business trip…“I expect something to go wrong with my travel plans, and when it doesn’t, I am pleasantly surprised.” 

One finding from the Ipsos study, which makes me happy for vacationers of all types, is 79% of surveyed individual’s state their vacation went off without a hitch or problem. 

Maybe I need to use their travel agents in the future for my travel. Hopefully travel agents don’t fully disappear like the Calgon brand did!!!

For more information about the MVP project, please visit:
The Ipsos’ Health Policy Institute

For example, in a typical week, 28% of adults aged 18-49 stream video content in primetime: that’s far from the 70% watching ‘live TV’, but close to DVR playback (33%) and above Video & Demand (23%), potentially challenging these consumption methods.

• 56% of those streaming in primetime are doing so less than 5 hours per week.
• Streaming in primetime is still benefiting ‘traditional’ content, as broadcast/cable shows account for 51% of the online streaming.
• 18-34 year olds are more likely to stream video content (34%) than 35-49 year olds (22%).

And, as for the streaming of original online content (content not available through traditional cable or broadcast distribution), its mostly ‘snack size’ length keeps overall consumption low and allows for almost simultaneous marketing and consumption.

• A majority (53%) of adults watch one hour or less per week and 52% of this content is under 25 minutes long.
• Computers & laptops are still the most popular devices for streaming original online content (59%), followed distantly by tablets (12%) and smart phones (10%).
• 47% of those who stream original content do so as a result of someone telling them about the content.

As an industry that has only recently adjusted to and monetized the shift in viewing away from the traditional “scheduled time period/at home” model, which has been happening for over a decade, the rise of original online content as well as online content distributors creates a whole new challenge for the industry. Both the new and traditional models will not only be forced to converge with each other but will both have to contend with technology that will continue to change both consumer expectations as well as their consumption of video.