No abstract

Companies that offer loyalty reward programs believe that their programs have a long-run positive effect on customer evaluations and behavior. However, if loyalty rewards programs increase relationship durations and usage levels, customers will be increasingly exposed to the complete spectrum of service experiences, including experiences that may cause customers to switch to another service provider. Using cross-sectional, time-series data from a worldwide financial services company that offers a loyalty reward program, this article investigates the conditions under which a loyalty rewards program will have a positive effect on customer evaluations, behavior, and repeat purchase intentions. The results show that members in the loyalty reward program overlook or discount negative evaluations of the company vis-à-vis competition. One possible reason could be that members of the loyalty rewards program perceive that they are getting better quality and service for their price or, in other words, "good value."Organizations have long sought to reward the loyalty of preferred customers with enhanced services or price discounts. Recently, loyalty rewards programs have become prevalent across a variety of service industries. For example,• Reward programs based on service usage levels (i.e., frequent buyer programs) have become common in the transportation and hospitality industries.• General Motors has launched a cobranded credit card that allocates 5 percent of spending toward the purchase or lease of a new car.• American Express has offered two airline tickets for heavy card use during a 6-month period. • MCI's "Friends and Family" program has offered incentives to enroll friends and relatives with the company.Generally, the goal of these programs is to establish a higher level of customer retention in profitable segments by providing increased satisfaction and value to certain customers. For example, many supermarket preferredshopper programs are targeted toward heavy users. The managerial justification for these programs is that increased customer satisfaction and loyalty have a positive influence on long-term financial performance (Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994;Reichheld and Sasser 1990). Managers typically believe that it is desirable and expected for a properly executed loyalty rewards program to increase usage of the company's product or service offerings (O'Brien and Jones 1995). To determine the long-term efficacy of a loyalty rewards program, a company must quantify the program's influence on future purchase behavior (e.g., usage levels). Furthermore, it must verify that the positive financial outcomes of the rewards program exceed the investments made in the program. Unfortunately, there is virtually no prior research about the Do loyalty programs increase customers' satisfaction with the product/service offering and their satisfaction with the company? Do they increase the duration of customer-provider relationships and usage levels of products/services? These questions are critical to service organiza...

No abstract

The authors provide a critical examination of marketing analytics methods by tracing their historical development, examining their applications to structured and unstructured data generated within or external to a firm, and reviewing their potential to support marketing decisions. The authors identify directions for new analytical research methods, addressing (1) analytics for optimizing marketing-mix spending in a data-rich environment, (2) analytics for personalization, and (3) analytics in the context of customers’ privacy and data security. They review the implications for organizations that intend to implement big data analytics. Finally, turning to the future, the authors identify trends that will shape marketing analytics as a discipline as well as marketing analytics education.

PurposeExisting research suggests a multitude of approaches to value co‐creation that bring with them a range of different ideas on what constitutes the concept. The purpose of this paper is to identify the sources of the differing approaches, and so reduce the complexity of the concept and develop a business‐oriented analytical framework for assessing the opportunities presented by value co‐creation.Design/methodology/approachThrough exploration of the different theoretical approaches to value co‐creation the sources of friction are identified. Addressing the conceptual complexity provides a sound basis for the development of a business‐oriented analytical framework.FindingsThe multifaceted nature of value co‐creation arises owing to the differing approaches to what determines the value, the co‐, and the creation elements of the concept. The study concludes that both scholars and practitioners should focus more on identifying and understanding what kind of value is co‐created for whom, using what resources, and through what mechanism.Practical implicationsA business‐oriented analytical framework is developed that helps practitioners to assess and approach the opportunities presented by value co‐creation.Originality/valueThe paper introduces an analytical and fresh perspective on value co‐creation. It helps to clarify the nuances in the nature of the concept and contributes to an enhanced understanding of it.