Aïda Mimouni Chaabane, Virginie Pez and Raphaëlle Butori
The purpose of this research is to identify how a reward programme name (“loyalty programme” (LP) versus “customer club” (CC)) influences the type of central rewards expected and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to identify how a reward programme name (“loyalty programme” (LP) versus “customer club” (CC)) influences the type of central rewards expected and their impact on loyalty to the retailer.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a survey followed by an experiment.
Findings
Central rewards from programmes called LP are equally hard and soft, whereas central rewards from programmes called CC are mainly soft. Providing customers with central rewards increases satisfaction with the programme and loyalty to the retailer, but only for programmes called LP.
Practical implications
Loyalty managers are advised to pay particular attention to the consistency between the type of rewards they offer and the reward programme name that carries them. Contrary to the name LP that leads to me-too programmes, the name CC offers more flexibility to choose the rewards, providing opportunities to stand out from competing programmes.
Originality/value
By building on a new and original theoretical approach, this research is the first attempt to investigate the effect of the reward programme naming decisions on customers' evaluations and responses.