Is This How Airline Brands Create Airline Loyalty for Life?
Jennifer Billock March 28, 2018
Flimsy punch cards and rewards program tags you scan or swipe are a dime a dozen these days – but do they actually translate to real brand loyalty? This new study shows exactly what companies need to do to attract and retain customers for the long-term.
In a new study called “Humanizing Loyalty: A Road Map To Establishing Genuine Emotional Loyalty At Scale,” researchers worked tirelessly to evaluate what exactly drives a successful loyalty program and how companies can get the gift they always want: a customer who stands by them without fail for the long haul. The results essentially boil down to five key tenets of a good loyalty program.
1. Trust
Studies show that 85 percent of people distrust others around them, even companies they’ve been loyal to but that have recently botched it big-time (we’re looking at you, Facebook). So if a company can equate rewards with cash, something that’s incredibly important in modern American society, it fosters trust. Airline miles are a prime example of this – the ability to redeem them for something tangible makes the transaction more meaningful.
2. Identity
This one’s simple. Brands that recognize a customer gain more loyalty. Customers are sharing tons of data with the companies they frequent; why would someone want to stay with a company that doesn’t remember that information?
3. Experience
The data has been collected, and a good loyalty program will use that data to create a full and engaging experience, tailored to each specific customer. ““Many consumers are favoring experiences over more material purchases. Mirroring this shift, an index of hotel, restaurant and leisure stocks has gained 25% since the start of 2016, while apparel stocks have fallen 18%,” AdAge reported.
4. Flow
Companies need to make using their loyalty program a habit, one that’s beneficial for the customer. Delta, for example, does this with its app, alerting customers to specific meaningful information – like when their bag is loaded into the plane.
5. Meaning
A good loyalty program needs to have meaning for its participants. No more useless points to redeem for things customers don’t need or want; instead, they’re looking for impactful solutions, like help paying off loans or credit cards.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
Sorry I for the typo: BASHED in forums. United is an example of how to alienate customer loyalty by thumbing their nose at a customer that flew over 700K PAID miles on UAL. This is over 2/3rds the way to being a million miler! United should reward half a million milers with lifetime silver but they would say it "dilutes" the benefit. Well guess what, silver is already pretty watery!!!!
I've flown over 700K paid miles on United from 1987 to 2015. I was elite (gold or silver) at least 18 of 20 years from 1995-2015. When I failed to re-qualify for silver status for 2016 only because my 2015 activity was a couple thousand miles short of 25K, and United would not make an exception to allow me to Silver (after 3 letters asking for a waiver to silver) I realized that United was dis-loyal to me. Since 1/1/16 I have only used MPlus miles to fly United other than one paod Europe trip where a friend gave me 2 globals that I was able to confirm prior to purchase of the ticket. United is a classic example of how to lose customer loyalty by employing a "what have you done for me lately" attitude.. I will only fly United when the fare is cheaper (which is rare) or the schedule is perfect (which is does happen), someone gives me an upgrade or United is the only carrier that flies to that destination. I see why United routinely gets based in forums.
So it shows people are growing up. Cheap giveaways like trinkets to the natives are finally seen as worthless and trust that the airline will deliver what it promises and look after you if it cannot is more important. The miles, upgrades etc only have meaning in an economic downturn when they cannot fill the planes with revenue pax. Anyone who flies regularly knows this.
I forlornly hope Qatar Airways and its Privilege Club read and head the above truisms, and in which I found, no use of the diminutive word, "enhancements"!
WHAT flimsy punch cards are a dime a dozen in airline programs these days? Who still uses punch cards??? American made it easy to win my "lifetime" loyalty, by making it reasonably possible for me to earn lifetime elite status with them (by not restricting it only "butt-in-seat" miles until Dec 2011). I don't see how an airline can earn "lifetime" loyalty if isn't willing to give someone perks that actually will last "a lifetime". All airline efforts that are here-and-now can only earn here-and-now loyalty, not "lifetime" loyalty. Keep in mind, true "lifetime" loyality means that you stay loyal to that airline even if your amount of flying drops of radically as you change jobs or retire. But if an airline takes away ALL of your elite benefits when that happens, why should you remain loyal in return? The thing is, the report doesn't seem to be looking at it from the standpoint of elite status at all. It seems be talking about who flyers who don't earn elite status can be made loyal to an airline "for life". that seems like a very tall order to fill, with all the changes sweeping the airline industry overall. For example, if someone chose an airline before but bails on that airline because they started charging for bags, the airline did that because most of their competition did, then how can the airline keep that customer? An airline can't stay static in a vacuum even if that might keep some customers loyal to it more than if the airline follows changes the competition does.