Loyalty 360 to release Engagement is the Journey, Loyalty is the Destination

"In talking with marketers, we realised that customer engagement is a concept that is often very misunderstood," says Mark Johnson, CEO of Loyalty 360. "Too often marketers use the terms engagement and loyalty interchangeably. Understanding the differences and interconnection between the two, however, is the key to building and maintaining strong, sustainable, profitable customer relationships."

As Engagement is the Journey, Loyalty is the Destination explains, developing an engagement strategy begins with identifying the customers' expectations from the brand. What are they looking for when they reach out to a brand? What do they want the brand to deliver? It is an accepted belief that when customers buy products or services, they expect quality delivered with good service at an equitable price. How experiences with a brand make a customer feel - which is critical because more than 70% of consumer loyalty and spending decisions are based on emotional factors - is what sets it apart from the competition.

Loyalty 360 has identified several key "feelings" that engage the customer, solidify the connection, and move the customer along the loyalty continuum. These drivers include:

• I want to feel valued by the brand
  
• I want to be able to trust the brand
  
• I want the brand to be relevant in my life
  
• I want a personal relationship with the brand
  
• I want the brand to be humble
  
• I want to feel part of the greater good

The report also assesses how adept various tools and technologies are at moving customers along the path to loyalty.

"Companies employ a variety of initiatives to stir up customer interest in their products and services. Many marketers may be surprised, however, to see that we've rated popular touchpoints such as Twitter, Groupon and social networks like Facebook as being ineffective in creating and deepening customer engagement," explains Johnson. "While important in igniting a dialogue between the brand and the consumer, when you get under the hood of these tactics you see that they don't deliver the type of experiences that engage customers and drive them toward loyalty.

Johnson will present Engagement is the Journey, Loyalty is the Destination at Engagement Expo 2011. Taking place 6-8 November at the Westin Stonebriar in Dallas, Engagement Expo will examine the role engagement plays in the journey to customer loyalty and advocacy.

About Loyalty 360

Loyalty 360 aims to be an unbiased, market driven, voice-of-the-customer focused clearinghouse and think-tank that is committed to bringing customer loyalty to the forefront as a critical marketing strategy. The organisation gives members the expert insights and guidance they need to understand loyalty better and develop programs that effectively engage their customers and employees and build stronger relationships with them. For more information go to www.loyalty360.org