A Research Trends group presentation for Marketing Research (MARK 4000) at the University of Georgia with Mrs. Candida Hollenbeck

1. How To Maintain
Customer Loyalty
The March Marketers
Alexandra Knoll, Ali Anjum, Matt Silich, Rachel Reid, Shai Ben David, & William
Patrick

2. Purpose
❏ To explore different promotional
strategies and market research
approaches to attract new
customers, retain current
customers, and maintain
prevalence as a brand in the
marketplace
Learning Objectives
❏ Explain the purpose and advantages of survey
research designs
❏ Describe the types of survey methods
❏ Discuss the factors influencing the choice of survey
methods
❏ Explain experiments and the types of variables used in
causal designs
❏ Define test marketing and evaluate its usefulness in

3. Vocabulary
❏ Research Survey Methods(n.): Research procedures for
collecting large amounts of data using question and answer
formats
❏ Respondent Errors(n.): The type of non-sampling errors that can
occur when selected prospective respondents cannot be initially
reached to participate in the survey process, do not cooperate, or
demonstrate an unwillingness to participate in the survey
❏ Casual Research(n.): the investigation of cause-and-effect
relationships
❏ Self Administered Survey (n.): A survey in which respondents
read the survey questions and record their response without the
assistance of an interviewer

4. Magnum Hotel’s
Loyalty Program
“...the marketing VP realized all he had was a
current membership listing and the total
program costs to date of about $310,000,”
(Hair et al. 107).
Chapter Five Introduction
Research Survey Methods(n.): Research procedures for
collecting large amounts of data using question and
answer formats

5. “Make your best customers even better”
The SUPER
Consumer
Kraft’s
Approach
The Five
Myths

6. Advantages of Survey
Methods
❏ Can accommodate large sample sizes so that results can be
generalized to the target population
❏ Produce precise enough estimates to identify even small
differences
❏ Easy to administer and record answers to structured questions
❏ Facilitate advanced statistical analysis
❏ Concepts and relationships not directly measurable can be
studied
Disadvantages of Survey
Methods
❏ Questions that accurately measure respondent attitudes
and behavior can be challenging to develop
❏ In-depth data difficult to obtain
❏ Low response rates can be a problem

7. Airline Industry:
Customer
Preferences
Timeliness
Meals
Assurance
Comfort
Safety
Convenience
Helpfulness

8. Airline industry
❏ Nearly every airline has a loyalty
program
❏ Two of the most effective programs:
❏ Southwest Airlines Rapid
Rewards
❏ American Airlines AAdvantage

9. Airline Industry: Southwest Rapid Rewards
❏Suitable for recurrent flyers who live in the Southwest United States.
❏Earn points for every dollar spent on Southwest flights and with the airline’s hotel,
car rental, and retail partners
❏Additional points can be earned by making everyday purchases using the Southwest
Rapid Rewards credit cards from Chase Visa
❏Must purchase airline tickets through the Southwest Airlines website or with a
customer service representative

10. Airline Industry:
Southwest Rapid
Rewards
Four membership categories:
Basic, A-List, A-List Preferred,
and Companion Pass

11. Advantages of Southwest
Rapid Rewards
❏ No blackout dates
❏ Rapid Rewards Points can be earned on flights and hotels
❏ Miles can be used for any available seat on any Southwest
flight
Disadvantages of
Southwest Rapid
Rewards
❏ Southwest's only flights outside the U.S. are to Mexico and the
Caribbean
❏ The number of points needed to redeem a free flight varies widely
❏ Points and cash cannot be combined to cover flight costs
❏ Points can expire

12. Airline Industry: American Airlines AAdvantage
❏ Benefits travelers based in eastern, central and southern American cities
❏ Earn miles for every mile flown on American Airlines, American Eagle, US Airways flights and
American Airlines-marketed or codeshare flight.
❏ Earn miles for flights on affiliated partner carriers through American Airlines' extensive
"oneworld" frequent flier network, which includes British Airways
❏ Collect miles for everyday purchases if you use any Citi AAdvantage credit card by MasterCard
❏ Must book your flight through the American Airlines website and input your designated
AAdvantage number

13. Airline Industry:
American Airlines
AAdvantage
Four membership categories:
Basic, Elite Gold, Elite Platinum,
Elite Platinum Executive

14. Advantages of
American Airlines
AAdvantage
❏ Can earn miles with more than 1,000 partner companies
❏ Rewards can be used for both air travel and hotel stays
❏ Miles can be collected and redeemed on all AAdvantage
affiliate oneworld carriers
Disadvantages of
American Airlines
AAdvantage
❏ Miles can only be earned for one program per trip
❏ Mileage credit for American and AAdvantage-affiliated partners will
be forfeited if your account is inactive for 18 months
❏ Can only earn miles for one seat per flight
❏ Points can expire

15. Airline Industry

16. Airline Industry
http://academic.mintel.com.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/display/742604/?highlight#hit1

17. Airline Industry:
Big Data
“[Airlines use big data]to solve how to
recognize and enhance customer value, and
how to cultivate high-value customers” -
Bob Mann, Industry Analyst for R.W.
Mann & Co.
❏Focus on big data to understand
customer flying habits
❏ Tracking bags, personalizing offers,and
optimizing operations to boost customer
loyalty
Respondent Errors(n.): The type of non-sampling errors
that can occur when selected prospective respondents cannot
be initially reached to participate in the survey process, do
not cooperate, or demonstrate an unwillingness to participate
in the survey

18. Airline Industry: Big Data
❏3 ways that Airlines use big data to increase loyalty
1. capturing sensor data to optimize maintenance
2. forecasting the weather to optimize fuel loads
3. identifying demand signal–offers allow much greater opportunities for airlines to
differentiate themselves
❏Social media websites help airlines collect customer attitudes and online transaction
behavior

19. Hotel
Industry

20. Hotel Industry
❏Hotel chains all across the world have implemented rewards programs
❏One of the most prominent chains that focuses on their loyalty rewards program is
Marriott
❏Small-brand chains and independent hotels are working to get themselves on the map
in the eyes of the consumer
❏Airbnb is a lodging service that may begin to utilize customer loyalty

21. Hotel Industry:
Marriott
❏ Marriott’s Reward Points Program is the most
successful in the business
❏ Marriott’s program targets smaller brand
hotels and creates partnerships with them to
widen their rewards program
❏ Benefits of Marriott’s Rewards program:
❏ points/frequent flyer miles
❏ free hotel lodging

22. Hotel Industry: Marriott
❏Marriott has adequately tapped into millennials by targeting younger travelers
through their loyalty program
❏Marriott has the highest return on loyalty points, with an average return of 9.4% for
every dollar spent
❏Marriott has also collaborated with the airline industry, most recently Delta Airlines,
to spread their program even further

23. Hotel Industry: Marriott on Social Media
❏ Marriott has dominated with a strong presence across
social media platforms, especially Facebook
❏ Marriott’s lack of focus on social media as of late suggests
Marriott is more focused on super consumers/creating
brand loyalty amongst current consumers
❏ Through causal research, marketers could analyze the
relationship between social media and business success
and discover if better the social media presence causes
more success within the business
http://academic.mintel.com.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/display/720054/?highlight#hit1
Causal Research(n.): the investigation of cause-and-effect
relationships

24. Hotel Industry:
Marriott
Personal
Experience

25. Hotel Industry: Small Brands &
Independent Chains
❏ Small brands and independent chains must customize their
reward programs
❏ These chains must analyze how truly loyal consumers behave in
the hotel industry

26. ❏ “Loyalty is a loose concept in the minds
of most travelers”
❏ “Even high frequency travelers only
spend 58% of their time with their
preferred brand, and 65% report staying
with 2 or more brands in the past 6
months.”
Hotel Industry: Small
Brands &
Independent Chains
http://academic.mintel.com.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/display/753360/?highlight

27. Hotel Industry: Airbnb
❏Airbnb is an international company that focuses on helping people list and find
lodging at cheap prices
❏People can list an extra room in their house on the website, and someone can look
into renting it through Airbnb
❏Airbnb has been extremely successful with millennials and people of lower income
because it is very inexpensive and informal

28. Hotel Industry: Airbnb
& Spring Break
Airbnb has succeeded amongst
millennials, as they are looking for
the cheapest option for spring break
trips

29. Hotel Industry:
Airbnb❏ Airbnb is considered a serious competitor brands
such as Marriott, Holiday Inn and Hilton.
❏ According to Matthew Morrow of Fox Business,
Airbnb is currently valued at $24 billion.
❏ It’s success in the industry has threatened plenty
of hotel brands, who fear Airbnb's accessibility,
appeal to millennials, and affordability

30. Cruise-Line Industry

31. ❏ The cruise line industry has a
wealth of different types of cruises
that includes options for the
individual or an entire family
❏ They even have THEME-based
cruises
❏ There are currently about 40+
types of cruises available
Cruise-Line
Industry: Scope

32. Cruise-Line Industry: Before
❏ Loyalty Programs used to believe that customers would be
swayed by the same universal set of “perks” without actually
considering what their consumers wanted
❏ The “perks” generally meant preferential services

33. Cruise-Line Industry: Customer Engagement
❏Customer Engagement, or target
marketing, was key to gaining the
customer loyalty
❏Engagement helped brands target their
loyalty programs towards their customer
segments more efficiently increasing
loyalty in the long run and decreasing
wastage of resources
Self-administered Survey: A data collection
technique in which the respondent reads the survey
questions and records his or her own answers without
the presence of a trained interviewer.
http://academic.mintel.com.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/display/740079/?highlight#hit1

34. Cruise-Line Industry: Customer Feedback
“At one time we thought … had the best program because…
Now, we think the best benefits are provided by… It depends
more on what people want rather than the services provided
because if you don’t need them. You won’t use them!”
❏ Brands are using social networking websites, like
Facebook and Twitter, and User-Generated Reviews to
garner customer loyalty and engage customers

35. Cruise-Line
Industry: Top-Tier
Some of the best loyalty programs of
2016 that follow this trend include:
❏ Azamara Club Cruises
❏ Carnival Cruise Lines
❏ Celebrity Cruises

36. AZAMARA CLUB CRUISES: LE CLUB VOYAGE
LOYALTY PROGRAM
Advantages: Preferential Services, First Spots in Shore
Excursions, Priority Tender Services, Complimentary Laundry,
Free Internet, Discounts for various cruise line features, and
More free stays on the cruise line.
Disadvantages: Booking must be done in advance for free days,
Hidden Costs for Recreational Features, Price changes during the
holidays, and Extra wait times according to capacity.

37. Maintaining Loyalty
❏The best loyalty programs often have a form
of sustainable profitability for when
margins are low
❏Sustainable Profitability depends on two key
sources
❏ Abundant Access Capacity
❏ Exogenous Subsidies

38. Cruise-Line Industry: Impressions
❏The cruise-line industry may not have yet
identified a SUPER CONSUMER
❏Brands are more concerned with catering to
wide range of consumers rather than one
type.
❏Customer loyalty is maintained through
sustainable profitability.
❏Customer Engagement comes in the form of

39. Customer Loyalty: The Future

40. Customer
Loyalty:
Technology

41. Customer Loyalty: Universal Loyalty

42. Customer Loyalty: Problems
❏The Loyalty Programs are working too well, specifically in the airline industry
❏Airlines are trying to make their rewards programs more complicated to
discourage membership
❏The loyalty programs within other industries could begin to see problems

43. Thank you!March Marketers

44. Bibliography
Basket, Harriot. "Tours and Hobbits! The Strangest Flier Rewards." CNBC. N.p., 11 Apr. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
"Best Airline Rewards Programs." Best Airline Rewards Programs. U.S. News. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
"Best Hotel Rewards Programs." Best Hotel Rewards Programs. U.S. News and World Report, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Cruise Critic. "Cruise Line Loyalty Programs." Cruise Critic. The Independent Traveler, 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
"Delta Hotels Joins Marriott Rewards, Giving Members Even More Choice And Flexibility When They Travel." Delta Hotels Joins Marriott Rewards, Giving Members Even
More Choice And Flexibility... Marriott International, Inc., 1 Feb. 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Hair, Joseph F., Mary Wolfinbarger Celsi, David J. Ortinau, and Robert P. Bush. Essentials of Marketing Research. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2013. Print.
HBS Working Knowledge. "Six Myths About Customer Loyalty Programs."Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Morrow, Matthew. "How Airbnb Became More Valuable Than Marriott & Hilton." How Airbnb Became More Valuable Than Marriott & Hilton. Fox Business, 22 June 2015.
Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Noyes, Katherine. "For the Airline Industry, Big Data Is Cleared for Take-off." Fortune. 19 June 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Yoon, Eddie, Steve Carlotti, and Dennis Moore. "Make Your Best Consumers Even Better." Harvard Business Review (2014): Print.
Woodie, Alex. "How Big Data Helps Airline Profitability." Datanami. 03 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.