| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 商學研究所 === 91 === Loyalty program has become the most popular and wildly used marketing tool. The major goal of loyalty program is to retain customers and motivate consumptions. In addition, it hopes to build long-term customers’ loyalty. Although loyalty programs have been used extensively, we have very few understandings about the effects of loyalty program on consumers’ perceptions and processes of responding. The issues related to loyalty program includes: loyalty program threshold, the nature of reward, the type of the reward…etc. This research aims to identify the factors that determine the success of a loyalty program.
From past researches, guilt has shown to be an important factor influencing consumers’ purchase intention and attitude (Aaker 1986). This research wishes to explore the following subjects: the factors that influence consumers’ guilt, the way consumers process their guilt, the interaction between marketing programs and guilt, and the effects of the consumers’ characteristics on willingness to share the rewards.
This research discusses the effects of loyalty program threshold, willingness to share, guilt on consumers’ preferences toward reward choices. The conclusions of this experience include:
(1) Increasing the loyalty program threshold will increase preference for loyalty programs that offer luxury rewards rather than necessity rewards.
(2) For consumers with a higher tendency to feel guilty when purchasing luxuries, higher loyalty program threshold will have a stronger positive effect on preference for luxury over necessity rewards.
(3) For consumers with a higher tendency to feel guilty when purchasing luxuries and higher willingness to share, higher loyalty program threshold will have a stronger positive effect on preference for luxury rewards that can be shared with others.
(4) For consumers with a lower tendency to feel guilty when purchasing luxuries and higher willingness to share, higher loyalty program threshold will not have a stronger positive effect on preference for luxury rewards that can be shared with others.
(5) For consumers with a lower tendency to feel guilty when purchasing luxuries and lower willingness to share, higher loyalty program threshold will not have a stronger positive effect on preference for luxury rewards that is for self over luxury rewards that can be shared with others.
From the conclusions above, this research provides the following the marketing implications:
(1) The phenomenon that consumers may over constrain their purchases of luxuries exists. People do not purchase enough luxuries.
(2) Based on the phenomenon that consumers over constrain their purchases of luxuries, companies may design successful loyalty programs:
1. For companies selling luxuries, it is important to match the main products with the rewards because greater effects can be created through benefit congruency.
2. For companies selling low-priced necessities, they may consider to provide more luxury rewards. In addition, the promotion period should be extended, so the customers would have enough time to accumulate their purchases and meet the award threshold.
3. For companies that mainly facilitate trades, such as credit card companies and mass retailer, they may provide more flexible redemption programs (e.g. multiple thresholds) to motivate consumers to join the loyalty program and increase purchases. As the loyalty program thresholds increase, the rewards become more luxurious.
(3) After identifying the segment that have higher tendency to feel guilty, emphasize on decreasing and justifying the guilt.
(4) Identify the threshold that customers distinguish as high or low requirement.
(5) Provide more luxuries rewards that can be shared with others.
(6) For companies that sell brand-name luxuries, their marketing strategies can focus on eliminating the guilt of purchasing luxuries.
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