New study pinpoints the secrets behind inspiring loyalty

Customer service, honesty and integrity, and quality products are the most important factors for companies who enjoy a good reputation.

These key findings emerge from a new study looking at what makes the British public loyal to companies and the effectiveness of loyalty schemes.

Customer service is the most important consideration, with just over a third of people saying this is the thing they use to judge an organisation's reputation.

However, the findings also suggest businesses would be wise to make people and planet a priority for the future, with caring for employees and having concern for the environment coming out top in a list of things that companies should pay attention to over the next few years.

The research, by Ipsos Mori and the Logic Group, also looks at what type of incentives work best as part of loyalty schemes. Loyalty scheme members indicate that they want special treatment in exchange for their loyalty, and this doesn't necessarily mean financial rewards. Seventy one per cent say they prefer loyalty schemes where they earn better offers or services for being more loyal.

Businesses should make offers that are relevant to their customers, but be wary of anything too tailored. Discussion groups exploring this found that tailored offers are disliked because they are felt to be too restrictive – consumers may not want to buy the same thing twice, or feel they are missing out on other options - and because they smack too much of "big brother".

How a company uses technology is also important. Only a fifth of the British public say they like to receive offers via new technology channels, and double that proportion say they do not like this. Just under half would prefer receiving offers while shopping and a similar proportion again would like to use a credit or debit card as a loyalty card.

Attitudes to technology vary depending on the age group, however, with younger consumers between the ages of 15-34 more open to the idea.

The report notes: "It will be key, when developing loyalty schemes that involve new technologies, to bear in mind the target consumers. For example, a company with a product or service used by older consumers should perhaps be more cautious about the introduction of new technology channels as part of day-to-day scheme interactions."

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