From S&H Green Stamps to American Airlines' AAdvantage frequent flyer program to Groupe Aeroplan's coalition loyalty program, loyalty initiatives continue to evolve. Today more than 75 percent of consumers are enrolled in at least one program, according to Jupiter Research, and the number of people in two or more is estimated to be one third of the shopping population.
 
As popular as loyalty programs are, these initiatives alone are not enough to ensure customer loyalty. Over the past two years, as companies face new challenges involving transparency from social media, inconsistency in delivering customer experiences across channels, and a price-focused economy, customer loyalty has become increasingly tenuous. Additionally, the cost of replacing customers is the highest it's ever been "It's become much more difficult for companies to really gain the type of loyalty that they used to," says Oscar Alban, principal global market consultant for Verint. "Companies are very concerned, very concerned about losing customers."
 
Read the entire 1to1 article.