You Can’t Buy Customer Loyalty

The first question to ask yourself is: “How do we define loyalty?” Often it’s defined as some combination of RFM (recency, frequency and monetary) data, as well as product and seasonal-buying information.

Next, ask: “Why are our loyal customers loyal?” It could be stellar customer service, unique product offerings or on-time shipping. Catalog company executives must learn what differentiates their catalogs from competitors’ offerings in the minds of loyal customers. That is, why are your loyal customers so darn happy with you? If you really want to find out, ask them! An in-package, Web-based or mailed customer survey or an outbound calling program can put catalogers in touch with their best customers—and best customers usually won’t mind being asked.