Loyalty Marketing: A Dynamic Process

The article headed "Loyalty Marketing: A Dynamic Process" has been published by Vijay Dandapani on the 4th January 2010.

It deals with the new ways to manage customer loyalty, taking into account the overall economic situation of high supply and low demand.

The author of this article bases its analysis on a Wall Street Journal which notes that "some large hotel chains, including Marriott International Inc. and InterCntinental Hotels Group PLC, are finding that more members of their customer-loyalty programs are redeeming pointsnot for overnight stays but for merchandise, like jewelry and electronics, apparently to use as holiday presents".

Customers are no longer using their loyalty points for getting free nights as much as they used to do. This change is for most of its part due to the economic downturn.

That is why hotels should be more focus - to develop loyalty - on design innovation which enables an hotel to be different from another and, as a consequence, attract clientele. But as being a high cost investment, it might be done on high traffic locations such as elevators and fitness centers.

But hoteliers should also essentially focus on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Nowadays, they are mostly technology driven. It is far much less expensive than the others ways and more efficient now are being in direct relationship whith the clients.

The conclusion of that is that loyalty programs are no longer the key to loyalty. The key point is the old concept of CRM.

So we can suppose that it is by offering the best service and keeping in touch with clients using the Social Media for instance that hoteliers could be now insured of their clients loyalty.