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Product or brand loyalty strategy?
I love Frosted Flakes. It's one of the staples of my childhood, and I indulge myself every so often. But does that mean I love every other Kellogg's cereal? No. At the same time, I love what Apple does with all its products, and I'll be interested in just about any product it puts on the market, because it's Apple. For some companies, the idea is to create a loyalty strategy around certain products, while for others, it's about a larger brand umbrella.
Which strategy is best? I think it depends on the company. In today's lead 1to1 Weekly article, Avis Budget Group's executive vice president discusses the similarities and differences his brands have. But for him, it all comes back to meeting customer needs and creating a strategy on every level where customer focus shines. What is the loyalty strategy at your company? Does it focus on products, or the broader brand? How is it working?
The article didn’t discuss corporate contracts because Scott Deaver didn’t discuss it in his presentation. But that certainly is a key driver of behavioral loyalty. You also make a great point about the premium package options.
Not sure why the article doesn't address the biggest driver of loyalty for car rental market...corporate discount contracts that require all employees to use the "preferred provider"...the rental car category is driven by corporate travel, not weekend leisure travel (that's why you can get a weekend rate that's typically 50% of the weekday rate)...with those contracts driving the enormous majority (90% + I'd guess) then the issue of loyalty shifts from the individual consumer to the corporate travel decision-maker
If I were Avis I'd be pitching "premium" packaged services to those decision makers -- like a new capability available from OAG whereby employees cell phone numbers are registered by the corporate travel department and travelers receive flight status updates automatically for all of their trips...I also understand that OAG will offer the ability to book a flight directly from your mobile device (when your flight status indicates a cancellation or delay of more than one hour) by mid-2008...those are the kinds of high-value services that create loyalty through preferred provider contracts...