Key CCG Services
Faced with dwindling market share and declining comp store sales in the late 1980s, Macy’s needed a new way to spur profitability. Traditional customer-retention tactics like couponing and discounting were old hat, and no one knew if they were impacting the bottom line, anyway.
14
greater spend by President’s Club members
142
incremental profit per customer per year
250
return on investment
Macy’s needed a new approach — and they picked CCG as the strategic partner who could get the job done.
Inventing a Pioneering Rewards Program
CCG’s retail marketing experts collaborated with Macy’s to develop a loyalty program that would reward best customers. This was long before rewards programs were standard practice, and the new President’s Club broke ground as one of the first programs of its kind in the country.
From a consumer perspective, the President’s Club was a way to recognize Macy’s most valuable customers — those who spent $2,500 or more per year with the retailer. From the retailer’s perspective, CCG and Macy’s targeted a list of strategic objectives for the fledgling program to achieve.
- Strengthen customer relationships to grow revenue and increase customer lifetime value
- Retain Macy’s best customers
- Recognize customer loyalty
- Reward customer behavior with services, rather than discounts or coupon incentives
- Communicate frequently to deliver low-key promotional messages, value-added content, recognition and soft rewards
- Measure spending levels of test versus control groups
Bringing Macy’s Loyalty Program to Life
In defining the objectives for the program, CCG was instrumental in helping Macy’s define best customers’ interests, needs and motivations. Those insights were crucial as CCG put together a strategy to bring the President’s Club to life.
For instance, CCG determined that soft benefits should be a key component of the rewards package.
The exclusive content, delivered via a quarterly President’s Club newsletter, was a key tactic supporting the program as it reinforced President’s Club benefits and requirements. Combined with additional frequent, one-to-one communications, the content allowed Macy’s to recognize and thank their best customers — and motivate them to maintain or increase their spending levels.
The content also delivered value in the form of articles on topics of interest to members, such as home furnishing ideas, fashion news and new product announcements. That helped position Macy’s as an expert resource while allowing the retailer to promote products in a helpful, non-salesy manner.
Reveling in Rewards Program Success
Put it all together, and the President’s Club had what it took to build customer relationships and produce a sustained, measurable impact on profits. And that’s exactly what it did.
Over the years, Macy’s has continued to believe in the value of a customer rewards program. And while they’ve made changes to keep up with the times, there’s no question that today’s efforts owe a singular debt of gratitude to the one that started it all!
Key CCG Services
Strategic Customer Initiatives
Strategic CRM consulting
Account management
Loyalty program development, refinement & management
FasTrackTM program implementation
Omni-channel content strategy & planning
CRM/loyalty program support services
Content & Creative Services
Content development
Content strategy & planning
Custom content
Visual content
Research & writing
Print & digital design
Direct mail & other print assets
Print production & fulfillment
Are you next?
Are you ready to revamp your approach to customer loyalty or refresh an existing rewards program? CCG’s retail marketing experts can provide everything from strategy to development and implementation, to measurement and refinement. Complete the form below or call us at 303.986.3000 to schedule a free consultation and see how we can help you.
