Maritz: Slow Rewards Fail

Most consumers who leave loyalty rewards programs do so because it takes too long for them to build up enough points to earn a reward, according to a poll by Maritz Loyalty Marketing.



The division of St. Louis-based performance improvement company Maritz Inc. found that 70 percent of consumers who leave a rewards program cite the length of time it takes to earn rewards. This rises to 79 percent for consumers in the 18-24 age group.

“Marketers need to provide consumers with realistic and achievable goals,” says Gail Sneed, director, market development of Maritz Loyalty Marketing. “The customer has to be able to believe that they can earn an appealing reward in a reasonable amount of time.”

Other issues that caused customer defection include the perception that that customers were not being rewarded properly (23 percent), dislike the fee (22 percent), didn’t like the reward choices (20 percent), preferred other programs (18 percent), program rules kept changing (17 percent) and poor customer service (16 percent), the study found.

Among individuals earning over $125,000 a year, 27 percent left because they preferred a competitor’s program or reward choices.

In addition, 58 percent of the 1,047 people surveyed said they prefer online updates and program management, rising to 65 percent in the 18-24 age group.

http://www.maritzloyalty.com/