Small and medium sized businesses (SMB’s) may have hit a wall when it comes to customer loyalty programs. According to a new report from BIA/ Kelsey, only 30% of small to medium sized businesses currently offer customer loyalty programs, but another 21% still plan to add a loyalty program within the year. BIA/ Kelsey has been studying small and medium sized businesses and can say “There was effectively no statistical change in this finding compared with the 2012 survey.”
Steve Marshall, director of research at BIA/ Kelsey, has stated loyalty programs are “becoming an increasingly important tool for customer retention.” So what are SMB’s doing to drive business instead of loyalty programs?
Many look to customer acquisition promotions, estimating that 17.7% of their business comes from such promotions. These could be anything from discount deals, daily deals, coupons, or other things of the like. Many of these are not aligned with a loyalty program.
There is a “solid interest and intentions in loyalty programs,” according to Marshall. 54% of these companies that already offer loyalty programs are using homegrown programs. Methods would primarily include paper-based methods like punch cards. What does this mean for service providers? There are ample opportunities to help these companies by providing sophisticated electronic platforms that link CRM systems and payment platforms.
As the year progresses, and the 21% hopefully initiate their loyalty programs, we are likely to see many move towards more advanced loyalty programs. It will be great to see what BIA/ Kelsey will find with SMB’s loyalty programs in 2014.
Read more at : http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/infographic-the-rise-of-customer-loyalty-programs-35397/