Understanding Customer RelationsPage | 1Benefits of Membership CardsLoyalty cards are a fantastic way of spreading the word about the company as well a simple way to retain the customers and use the concept of push marketing to make them buy more at the supermarkets. Patmore and Balnave in their book published in the year 2018 on the topic,” A global history of co-operative business” have stated that the membership cards are a great way to know the customers. It also helps them in identifying their shopping patterns, shopping habits which can then be adjusted to the loyalty offers to match their needs. The authors have also mentioned that supermarkets are constantly eying to get a new customer on board with them; membership cards are a great way of spreading positive word of mouth about the supermarkets to their relatives and friends.So, Danaher and Gupta gave some interesting insight on “What do consumers get and give in return for loyalty programme membership ? “ , they mentioned that customers get good discount and offers when they avail membership card from the supermarkets. According to the authors the members can avail early bird discount on selected product categories along with the increased benefits of higher discount. Supermarkets in order to target and retain the customer provide information on the new product offering to the customers via email and make it a point to make them feel special on their birthdaysor any other important days. Danaher and Gupta mentioned that at certain supermarkets, customer having membership cards have the option of fast check-out, which saves them a good amount of time. Thus, loyalty cards are not just beneficial for the supermarkets it does hold a significant amount of benefits for the customers creating an aura of Win-Win strategy.Pearson in the year 2016 mentioned that the supermarkets are able to create a strong brand identity with the usage of membership cards. At some places the cards are seen not just as a symbol of customer loyalty but also as a status symbol. Pearson then mentioned that membership cards are a good way to retain the customers, as the customers are aware that they have certain points which they can redeem to buy products from the supermarkets. This would push them towards the store and knowing the consumer behaviour, they always end up buying more. It is thus a tried and tested
Understanding Customer RelationsPage | 2formula for retaining the customers and stays competitive in the ever evolving retail sector. Customers are always looking for discount when shopping at supermarkets, membership cards ensure that they receive a good amount of discount when they buy certain products at the supermarket. Another major benefit which was identified by Pearson was identifying the shopping patterns of the consumers through loyalty cards and targets them on the social media with such products, creating a comprehensive strategy to get the customers back to the store. Loyalty cards are thus a great way of attracting and retaining customers with visible advantages.Challenges faced by Supermarkets in adopting membership cardsAuer and Petit in the year 2015 mentioned some of the challenges encountered in retaining customers through membership cards. Membership cards are a great source of benefits to the customers, but it does not appear as plain as it sounds. Membership cards give a lot of information to the supermarkets about the customers, supermarkets are able to identify and track even the debit and credit card payments made for the goods with precise details. This is very powerful information in the hands of supermarkets; customers are becoming increasingly aware of the pitfalls of falling into the trap of membership cards. In order to save themselves from getting their email spammed by the offers of supermarkets refrain from adapting to the cards, thus causingtrouble with the loyalty programs of the supermarkets.Customers have become smart due to the advent of social media and the tools of digital marketing, Shan in the year 2017 emphasised on how a smart consumer easily dodges the lucrative deal of super markets. Shan mentioned that as supermarkets know about the customer’s shopping habits as to what he purchases, what he wears or prefers to eat, they target them using the tool of Google adverts. They play the card of relevancy with the consumers and influence them in making their shopping decisions. This, by a number of consumers is seen as an encroachment on their privacy, thus they decide to move out of the membership programs. They take the loss of missing out on the discount and other benefits provided by the membership cards at the cost of keeping their lives really private.
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.
Related Documents
BHO6630 Business Research Methodology Assignment Solvedlg...
|9
|1895
|114
Use of digital marketing in a specific communications strategylg...
|14
|1058
|347
ITC563 - IT Management Issues - Question Answerslg...
|12
|2961
|81
Samle Paper on Relationship Managementlg...
|4
|1118
|108
Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship Business Modellg...