Key CCG Services
Rather than design a custom loyalty program, this southeastern discount general merchandise retailer with 650+ stores opted for an off-the-shelf, standardized program. While the decision allowed a quick launch, what it didn’t provide was proof that the program was working. And that’s exactly what senior management was demanding: quantifiable evidence of the impact that the loyalty program was having on sales. Plus, they wanted an ongoing ability to generate program data that could provide insights to improve the business.
The marketing team had made an effort in the right direction. But the off-the-shelf loyalty program they picked under pressure soon proved less than ideal. The vendor was able to support the promotional and marketing aspects of the loyalty program. But their analytic capabilities weren’t strong. They couldn’t provide financial evidence that would convince senior management that, despite razor-thin margins for the business, the loyalty program was yielding a positive return.
Senior management was demanding quantifiable evidence of the impact that the loyalty program was having on sales.
That’s when their CMO reached out to CCG.
Data and Then Some
CCG brought in loyalty experts to augment the store’s marketing team, which included the platform vendor, the agency of record and internal staff. We were able to provide the missing analytics capabilities, pulling program data directly from the third-party loyalty platform. We then developed customer segments and trending reports to track the program’s success.
But data alone will only get you so far. It was equally important that CCG also brought three decades of CRM and loyalty expertise, best practices, industry benchmarks and competitive reviews. Through ongoing work with the retailer, we were able to leverage these assets, as well as the data analytics, to help the company improve its program and increase the impact.
On a regular basis, CCG reviewed the program’s performance and made recommendations. These included:
CCG also helped vet coupon fulfillment houses to expand the program’s benefits.
Delivering the Goods
With reliable metrics in hand and an objective, third-party view of what was working and what wasn’t, the loyalty team was ready to approach senior management again. CCG’s deep data dive was able to show how specific groups of customers, such as top spenders, were behaving. Specifically, this helped us prove that the program was driving their behavior, while having little effect on infrequent shoppers.
Ultimately, CCG’s recommended KPIs were used to measure the program’s ongoing impact. And our quarterly program recaps, which included ROI calculations and recommendations, were shared with senior management to help determine where to focus for the greatest impact.
Key CCG Services
Strategic Customer Initiatives
Strategic CRM consulting
CRM business case development
CRM/loyalty program support services
ROI measurement
Data, Analytics & Research
Marketing & email performance analysis
Database analysis & mining
Qualitative & quantitative customer research
Are you next?
Are you feeling pressure to prove that your loyalty program is contributing to corporate goals and revenue? Could your analytic capabilities use a boost? CCG’s retail marketing experts can help with ROI measurement, data analytics and modeling, customer research and more. Complete the form below or call us at 303.986.3000 to schedule a free consultation and see how we can help you.
