The Customer Loyalty Solution : What Works (and What Doesnt) in Customer Loyalty Programs

The systems described in this chapter may not work for your situation. The payoffs from letting customers behind the counter can come only if

• The customers actually want to come behind the counter and will use your new Web site to do so.

• The customers gain something that is of value to them from using your new system.

• The costs of setting up the system are not too high in relation to the payback. Some companies have spent millions of dollars on such systems with no hope of payback. Boeing’s system was very, very expensive. But the company was building market share in a $7 billion market.

• The system will have a measurable impact on your customers’ retention and spending rates. How can you know that? You must run little tests to find out.

• You have tested everything on a small scale before you make big mistakes.