Home topics small-business-resources sales-and-marketing Marketing Marketing Seven steps to customer loyalty success Guest Author March 26, 2008 Customer loyalty programs in the marketplace today all compete for the same thing— new and repeat business. The key to running a successful program is to plan wisely for it. Keeping in mind the old adage that says it is seven times more expensive to find a new customer than to retain an existing one, the ability to market directly to existing clients is, to say the least, invaluable. It comes as no surprise that consumer programs that are clearly defined and targeted are more likely to make it in the retail world. Here are some tips on how retailers can get the most out of customer loyalty programs: 1. Know who your customers are, what they want and what they don’t want. A program that is designed to meet consumer needs will be more popular than one that doesn’t. We need to understand how customers want to engage in the program, what kinds of rewards they want and how they want to be communicated with. 2. Be clear about what you want to achieve. The program can then be tailored to your customers to support your objective. For example, you may want to devise special deals for specific consumer groups, like increasing sales of expensive electrical goods among high-income earners. Alternatively, your program may be structured to capture consumer information and spending preferences. 3. Reward in a way that persuades customers to