Rethinking Loyalty

CPA is the metric of choice for over 40% of American businesses, a choice that we’ve seen drive several companies into a downward spiral of high turnover and low satisfaction ratings. We recommend the creation and calculation of a new metric, like Cost Per Satisfied Customer, an argument spelled out in a short post on MediaPost and a longer version on TheDrewBlog.

Seven years ago the Richline Group, a division of Berkshire Hathaway, went against the prevailing wisdom of brand consolidation and instead created separate jewelry lines for all its major retailers. Though this approach taxed the marketing support team, the overall result was extraordinary sales growth and much happier, more loyal customers, as Drew explores in his recent FastCompany.com post.

Unlike most brands that are on sale every day, The Grammys come but once a year, creating an interesting marketing challenge for CMO Evan Greene. The solution is a fan-centric approach including tons of content, active social listening throughout the year and unique engagement opportunities, all of which have helped to push fan approval and TV ratings to record heights (see Q&A with Greene on TheDrewBlog).

Dow Water & Process Solutions sells a lot of “widgets” that meet a myriad of technical specifications. But rather than focus on speeds & feeds, they produce seminars, modeling systems and lots of other content that has helped demonstrate Dow’s know-how. As Snehal Desai, Global Business Director at Dow explains in his Q&A on TheDrewBlog, “expertise is our biggest differentiator against our competition.”

A couple of weeks ago, Time Warner Cable Business Class announced the launch of PerkZone, a multi-faceted loyalty program that Renegade helped create. We don’t usually toot our horn in this newsletter, but we’re particularly proud of PerkZone, which provides a two-part platform with discounts from leading companies and an informational forum tailored for small business owners.