I am of the opinion that most customer loyalty programs don’t work because people don’t care about the business, not because people can’t get the free product or gift somewhere else.

One simple example is the Subway frequent purchasing program (or any restaurant for that matter). People frequent a Subway because they like Subway. They would go often because they like the food not because if they buy 20 sandwiches they can get one for free.

The key is that people need to have a personal connection with the business. If they have a personal connection, and emotional connection, a customer loyalty program is absolutely meaningless.

I don’t want free stuff. I want good service. I want a positive customer experience. I don’t want someone to bribe me into coming back because if I had a bad experience, I am not going to come back… regardless of the unique, free gift.

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Corey Smith is the Vice President of Innovation at Fisher’s Document Systems where he maintains a blog on business and technology.

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