Customer Loyalty Programmes and Clubs (2nd ed.)

Citation

Calvert, P. (2003), "Customer Loyalty Programmes and Clubs (2nd ed.)", The Electronic Library, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 266-267. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470310462470

When we think of loyalty programmes the first thing we expect is some sort of financial reward for giving our custom to one provider. Until recently, however, German law forbade selling the same product to different customers at different prices, hence the idea of a loyalty scheme depended upon something other than price. This book, then, being about loyalty programmes that rely upon service quality and other non‐financial benefits, is useful reading for librarians and other service providers. There have been a few initial attempts at loyalty programmes in libraries, though the ones I have seen have actually been based on charged services, such as the “hire four and get the fifth one free” idea used for some bestseller collections in public libraries.

For anyone considering a loyalty programme or club, there is much excellent advice here from an experienced practitioner. The checklist (p. 36) lists 11 essential steps. The first question to ask is, “Is my product good enough?” and that is something that librarians will find hard to judge as they operate in a world without an obvious bottom line. The second question is “Which primary goal does the loyalty club programme pursue?” and here the manager needs to be sure of the target, whether it be keeping existing customers, attracting new ones, creating communication opportunities, or something else. The next questions are: Which are the target groups?; Which loyalty programme type would best help to achieve these goals?; Which benefit should the loyalty programme offer? The sixth question is about the long‐term financial cost to the supplier, and anyone concerned about the value of their airline loyalty points will certainly recognise the way this can jump up and bite you if you do not keep an eye on the debt that comes with loyalty programmes. The next questions concern the communication concept behind the programme, its organisation, the establishment of a customer database, and the integration of the programme with the rest of the organisation. Lastly, how can the success of the loyalty programme be measured?

The author proceeds to answer, or give clear guidance, on how the organisation should answer these questions. The original edition was a success when first published in 1998, and the second edition has new chapters on pricing for customer loyalty, and e‐loyalty (customer loyalty on the Internet). Obviously this book is targeted at the management market, but information managers who are looking at methods for keeping existing customers, or developing new markets, should find some challenging ideas in here. It has a thorough bibliography, a good index, and is strongly bound. Recommended.