Converting the nonstop customer into a loyal customer

Abstract

Purpose – With a burgeoning stream of online choices, fostering customer loyalty is a constant challenge. Companies must become masters of the new “nonstop customer” experience. They will at times have to analyze the data on their customers' behavior for new opportunities, and at other times directly influence their customers' choices. Design/methodology/approach – Customers continue to escape from traditional marketing channels into digital realms where they can become more knowledgeable and empowered than they have been in the past. So the nonstop-customer experience model uniquely places evaluation, not purchase, at its center. Findings – The article offers a new rule number one of marketing is: know your customer's behavior on their path to purchase. Practical implications – To understand what customer journeys are being taken by customers, the model groups loyalty behaviors into four general archetypes: emotional loyalty, inertia-based loyalty, conditional loyalty and true deal chasing. Originality/value – The article proposes that marketing departments act on the insight they gain from analyzing their customers in terms of the four loyalty profiles in two ways: by sometimes reinforcing customer behaviors, and at other times redirecting them.