Building Loyalty the old fashioned way - earning it

Over a year ago I wrote an article which was not in favour of Online Loyalty functionality.  At the time, I felt (and still do feel the same) online businesses are trying to find lazy methods to lock in customers. 

The problem we now have is technology is catching up with the demand!  Loyalty functionality has become cost effective and more readily available which is actually a bad thing.  Why??  It is now easier for Online businesses to justify the expense in utilising this tool and rely more on this functionality in the attempt to build a locking mechanism for instead of focussing on an enriched buying experience.  My previous article explains what is required to achieve an enriched buying experience, even though it was written in October of 2008, it is still very relevant. 

Forsee Results has conducted a brilliant survey of large retailers in the UK measuring the level of satisfaction customers gained from buying online.  I will not spend time regurgitating the results, have a look for yourself if you are interested, however, the one metric I will mention is about building loyalty.

The study surveyed over 10,000 responses to customer satisfaction levels over the Christmas period of 2009 using a 100 point scale.  The survey asked questions about the website experience plus the delivery of the product once purchased.  Among other findings, the survey showed

highly satisfied shoppers are 91% more likely to buy from that retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise (which is a good proxy for customer loyalty), 83 percent more committed to the brand, and 75 percent more likely to return to the website

So put away your Loyalty functionality and focus on the basics!!  Only once the basics are firmly in place should you be considering a loyalty function for your online business.