Efficiency and effectiveness of loyalty programmes

Customer loyalty programmes (LPs) have matured over the last two decades to become the most important instrument of customer relationship management. Despite the popularity of these programmes current research does not offer any clear explanations as to what characteristics distinguish successful loyalty programmes from unsuccessful ones. In particular studies examining the differences between the use of single-company loyalty programmes (SALPs) and multi-partner loyalty programmes (MVLPs) are rare. Against this background this paper identifies relevant research findings regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of SPLPs and MPLPs and analyses them comparatively.