The importance of rewards in the management of multisponsor loyalty programmes

Abstract

This work attempts to specify procedures to improve the management of loyalty programmes based on one of their structure elements: prizes or rewards. The starting point is the premise that the current classifi cations of prizes found in the academic literature focus on the offer, are reductionist, and only permit the establishment of eventual effects between such rewards and one part of the programmes (the monosponsor type). Therefore, from the programme users ' viewpoint, we propose to contrast the importance of the rewards in comparison to other management elements. Subsequently, from a classifi cation of incentives based on consumers ' preferences, we will determine their interest in such rewards and establish the infl uence of these rewards on consumers ' satisfaction with the programmes. The results will allow us to establish effective conclusions for the management of multisponsor programmes and will represent a basis of useful specifi c knowledge for future investigations focused on understanding this important marketing instrument.

Loyalty Programmes: Current Knowledge and Research Directions*

“…2007). Therefore, the likelihood of LP adoption depends on the customer's assessment of how much effort he or she must invest to obtain the expected benefits – usually in the form of reward attainment (Kivetz and Simonson 2003; Lara and de Madariaga 2007). Accordingly, low shopping frequency is a key reason for the refusal to join a particular LP (Mauri 2003; Noble and Phillips 2004; Stauss et al .…”

Loyalty Programs: Generalizations on Their Adoption, Effectiveness and Design

“…Socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender) generally have little or no influence on LP enrollment (Demoulin and Zidda, 2009;Magi, 2003;Reinares Lara and de Madariaga, 2007). Income levels suggest some interesting effects.…”

“…A UK survey reveals that multi-vendor LPs account for more than half of LP participation (52%), and members use these LP cards more frequently than they use cards of sole-proprietary LPs. Similarly, a Spanish survey indicates the importance of diverse reward options for members, particularly those related to intangible, social concepts (e.g., charity, ecology, tourism) (Reinares Lara and de Madariaga, 2007). For partnering firms, LP coalitions offer cost and strategic advantages related to networking, the spillover effects of partners' images, and cross-selling opportunities (Lemon and von Wangenheim, 2009;Rese et al, 2008;Simonin and Ruth, 1998;Varadarajan, 1986).…”

“…A customer's decision to enroll in and truly adopt an LP reflects his or her evaluation of the potential benefits of membership relative to the perceived cost and risks of such enrollment and relationship maintenance (Ashley et al, 2011;Demoulin and Zidda, 2009;De Wulf et al, 2003;Kivetz and Simonson, 2003;Leenheer et al, 2007;Reinares Lara and de Madariaga, 2007).…”

Consumer learning as a determinant of a multi-partner loyalty program’s effectiveness: A behaviorist and long-term perspective

“…Consumer loyalty to the program then implies loyalty to the retailer. The effectiveness of multi-partner programs, in which the same program is applied by several partner retailers, has been less often considered (Lara and Madariaga, 2007). In this second case, the consumer's loyalty to the program does not necessarily entail loyalty toward each of the partner retailers.…”