Loyalty cards are a waste of companies' time, effort & money

A scathing criticism of the rush by retailers to loyalty programmes. There is little evidence that they are worth the investment, and they may be dangerous distractions from the key task of providing better products and services.

Loyalty cards are a waste of companies' time, effort & money

Laura Mazur

Is the latest marketing ploy merely another chimera? The author presents a scathing critique of the lemming-like rush to loyalty programmes, claiming there is only minimal evidence they are worth the investment and that they may actually be dangerous distractions from providing better products and services.

More and more companies have begun to appreciate the economic benefits of devoting more of the marketing budget to keeping their best, most-profitable customers throughout their buying lifetimes. This is not surprising. Current marketing wisdom suggests that:

  • the price of...

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