Author Archive

29 February 2016

The other day I wanted to talk to an airline while booking a flight. You guess the story, don’t you? Yes, I’ve ended up booking with a different airline. A case study into the negative impact on loyalty if airlines cut costs at the wrong end.

26 January 2016

Sometimes the most boring activities can bear some unexpected surprises. Like buying ink cartridges. I mean if you look at that activity through a CRM lenses. Otherwise it risks remaining boring throughout.

04 January 2016

Since one year, everybody has been talking about revenue-based programs. So it is time to review the market and examine the question how many miles you should earn per dollar spent. The question as such seems not logic – and the answer is, at best, a bit surprising, too.

21 December 2015

As for many of you, Christmas is the time for me when memories of childhood come back, of that magic surrounding these days. And there is an interesting link with loyalty programs, at least for me.

08 December 2015

Listening to certain social media experts, one could get the impression that all sales, marketing and loyalty departments could be shot down as social media is about to take over all these functions. A critical analysis.

10 November 2015

easyJet has announced a loyalty scheme for early 2016, Flight Club – which has nothing in common with a loyalty scheme. How ridiculous can this airline still get?

30 October 2015

High profile airlines love to create high customer expectations as part of their marketing strategy. But do they overlook that this can actually have a negative impact on customer loyalty?

03 September 2015

Yes, data is the holy grail in the loyalty game and even the closest partners are reluctant to share any data between themselves. But putting the limits too high can actually come with a price tag in the case of irregularities. A personal experience with oneworld.

06 August 2015

Copa ended last month its long standing practice of co-branding a partner’s FFP by launching its own program, ConnectMiles. Does the model of co-branding FFPs, not very widespread anyway, have a future?

21 July 2015

Loyalty programs are full of promises – and hardly any keeps all of them. The price of that can be very steep and actually lead to the exact opposite of the purpose of those programs, creating dissuasive behaviour and making customers turn away.