Ketchup is a pioneering leader in the loyalty program management and consultancy space. It has helped many leading brands across Turkey create and implement cutting edge loyalty programs that have successfully provided the strategic means to attract, retain, and reward valuable customers. Ketchup understands the importance of creating authentic, relevant, meaningful, personalized and data-driven customer experiences that modern consumers are seeking.
The advent of rising digital integration, mobile connectivity, and a variety of swiftly evolving social media platforms all combine to make for a challenging marketing landscape that is difficult for many to navigate. To help shed more light on exactly what brands need to do to increase customer loyalty and enhance customer engagement, Ketchup has released the findings of a recent study that constituted the first loyalty program research ever conducted in Turkey.
Ketchup took a comprehensive look at the landscape of the industry and surveyed 105 brands and 600 consumers regarding their thoughts, perceptions, behaviors, and practices on the state of loyalty programs and how various retailers across the spectrum are stacking up.
Some of the key highlights of the study showed that many companies across a majority of industries including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), electronics, banking, fuel, supermarket, and travel industries had, at one time or another, implemented a loyalty program in some fashion. Most marketing professionals (55%) considered customer retention to be the most important reason for instituting a loyalty program. 50% considered customer engagement and ROI to be the next most important aspects, with brand awareness trailing those factors.
Ketchup’s research also found that loyalty programs had a number of positive outcomes. The report stated that 74% of retailers currently operating loyalty programs reported an increase in brand awareness, which was the leading positive effect. However, well over half of brands (64%) also saw an increase in profits. Data collection also increased significantly as 43% of brands benefited from the rise in accumulated customer information.
Another category assessed the future of loyalty programs, and what it will take to succeed going forward. The majority (64%) of brands and marketers reported that effectively integrating mobile devices and smartphone apps was crucial. Personalization followed closely with 44% of those surveyed feeling that individualized incentives and rewards were also essential. Rounding out the top five essential characteristics of a successful loyalty program included coalition brand partnerships, social media integration, and gamification.
Consumers were also an important part of Ketchup’s report. 600 consumers aged 20-50 participated in the study. The majority of consumers (41%) considered discounts to be the most important reason to engage with a loyalty program. 17% believed that feelings of exclusivity were the most important aspect.
From a consumer perspective, grocery retailers and supermarkets overwhelmingly dominated the collective consciousness of the Turkish population. 82% of consumers reported being aware of the loyalty programs offered by grocery retailers and 70% of those consumers were actually enrolled in such grocery loyalty programs. Brands in the telecommunications and banking industries trailed most supermarkets in this respect.