USA Today has a piece about Starbucks' revised loyalty program, which now awards stars based on dollars spent rather than transactions made, a shift in emphasis that created a fair amount of tsouris among consumers.
"Even a casual perusing of social media," the paper writes, "finds many loyal Starbucks customer unhappy with the changeover (but let’s rightly note that social media is not always a great barometer, being far too often a vehicle to vent and all.) Similarly, according to an NBC news piece, soon after the change, 'YouGov, a company that tracks shopper sentiment), reported that Starbucks Buzz score has dropped by more than 50 percent since the announcement.'
"So just what can we learn from this and what makes for a good loyalty program? The bottom line is that a valued loyalty program is one that is simple and offers clear benefits to customers for choosing to buy and stick with a brand."
"Even a casual perusing of social media," the paper writes, "finds many loyal Starbucks customer unhappy with the changeover (but let’s rightly note that social media is not always a great barometer, being far too often a vehicle to vent and all.) Similarly, according to an NBC news piece, soon after the change, 'YouGov, a company that tracks shopper sentiment), reported that Starbucks Buzz score has dropped by more than 50 percent since the announcement.'
"So just what can we learn from this and what makes for a good loyalty program? The bottom line is that a valued loyalty program is one that is simple and offers clear benefits to customers for choosing to buy and stick with a brand."
- KC's View:
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I continue to find the carping to be interesting, and I'm a little surprised that it hasn't subsided. I get it - people who spend $2 for a cup of Starbucks coffee are annoyed that it takes longer to get a freebie than it does for people who spend $4 per cup. At the risk of seeming callous, that's life.
