It is a known fact that international customers would rather buy from local suppliers. Why? Those suppliers are closer. Familiar to deal with. Above all it is part of the local economy.
Customer loyalty programs can help you overcome these disadvantages. These programs give your foreign customers a reason to choose you-- not just this time, but every time and even when it's more convenient or less expensive to shop elsewhere.
Customer loyalty programs such as airlines frequent flyer plans are a growing trend in the world markets. In Germany, for example, they're part of the basic marketing tool kit, because the law makes it difficult to offer price-based incentives. In other markets such as Asia and Latin America, these type of programs and incentives are being used in all types of industries-- business to business and consumer and for services as well as products. The benefits are clear and specific:
Customer loyalty programs live or die by the incentive they offer. Financial incentives- such as coupons, discounts, and rebates may give sales a temporary boost, but they don't build long term loyalty. They in essence encourage price shopping which makes it too easy for a competitor to copy or imitate. The idea here, is to find out what's important to your customer besides money and then offer something they can't get anywhere else no matter what price.
- They generate repeat sales, which are almost and always more profitable than the initial sale.
- They help protect sellers from ruinous price wars and low cost competitors.
Here are some examples from two different markets: Steiff- a German toy manufacturer knows that many of its buyers are collectors. So the company created a special-edition Teddy Bear that is sold exclusively to members of its customer club. The program provided a big benefit to collectors since the special editions would most certainly appreciate in value. The cost of this incentive to the company is nil. Porsche-With the members of Porsche Club, when they fly, they can drop their cars at the Avis lot where the cars stay under the watchful eyes of the clerk. Other drivers can't get that package of perks at any price. These examples can work in a business to business market where for example, loyal customers could be first in line to receive product upgrades, training or service.
Finding the right incentives How do you find the right incentives? Start by finding out what your customers want or need. At the beginning, don't worry too much about cost, instead find out the practicality or how the benefit relates to your product or services. A major place to start could be your competitors programs (not to copy or imitate them, but a starting or jumping- off point). Another area to look is loyalty programs in other industries, products and services that appeal to similar demographics and geographical profiles.
*J. Greg Gimba, a Global Business &Marketing Consultant, Speaker in Business to Business Marketing Programs, Strategic Global Marketing, Market Action Planning (MAP), Customer Cultivation/Retention, Multi-Cultural &Diversity Training. Greg can be reached at anet@worldnet.att.net
J. Greg Gimba
Managing Partner
Anet Consulting Group, Inc.
E-mail: anet@worldnet.att.net
http://www.anet-cgroup.com
http://www.trainingforum.com/speakers/jggimba.html
Phone:1+/904/426-5194 Fax:1+/904/426-8589
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