Future proved business growth with loyalty programmes
A few years ago, telecom operators were generating revenue and increasing their market share by investing resources in customers and through acquisition of various companies. Currently, however, in the face of increased customer attrition rate and declining ARPUs, loyalty programmes are the need of the hour.
For 66 per cent of telecom customers, tailored or customized services, rewards and proactive care are the key drivers to win customer loyalty. For 89 per cent of operators, creating one integrated customer profile is crucial for supporting customer retention and loyalty strategies. However, only 21 per cent of telecom service providers have the needed collaboration between IT and loyalty departments. (Source:Amdocs)
What is a loyalty program?
Loyalty programs are a type of reward program and a marketing strategy structured in order to encourage the customer to continue their association with a product or service. The customer registers their information with a company, following which they are given a unique identifier which can be use while making a purchase in order to enjoy the benefits of a loyalty program. A loyalty program can give a customer special sales coupons, discounts, rewards, free merchandise, advanced access to new products and lot more.
Building successful loyalty programmes
As today’s customers want value, service and rewards; merely a competitive price strategy is not enough to retain existing and acquire new customers. Competition has forced telecom operators to validate their sales and marketing strategies with loyalty programmes. Thus, customer retention is as important as customer acquisition to stay ahead of the competition. In this context, operators are focusing on how to build an effective loyalty program.
A successful loyalty program:
- Must share an equal value it earns in proportion to the value consumer gets.
- Should be aligned with companies’ objectives and goals.
- Must cater to the interest of the customers.
- Must be attainable, meaningful and relevant to the customers.
- Must have a capability to entice new customers to change their behaviours simultaneously retaining existing customers by rewarding present behaviour.
A loyalty program should include a combination of effective rewards, promotions, communication and convenience to be successful.
Summary
In a highly competitive market, telecom operators can retain their values by building an affinity with subscribers, along with a pre-established expectation of trust driving loyalty. Keeping existing customers and acquiring new customers is a powerful weapon in today’s market. Today, therefore, loyalty-based initiatives have become a necessity in the marketing mix, helping operators attain their marketing goals with the implementation of a successful loyalty program and creating a win-win situation for all.
