Reward Program Members are Word-of-Mouth Champs: Colloquy

It pays to keep loyalty program members happy, especially if marketers customers to spread the word. Participants are 70% more likely to recommend a product, service or brand than the general population, a new study found.

Some 55% of reward program members are self-described brand champions. In comparison, 32% of non-reward program members describe themselves as word-of-mouth advocates, according to the study by Colloquy.

Most people in a rewards program (68%) said they would recommend a brand with a year’s time. And those that actively participate in a program are three times more likely to be word-of-mouth advocate, the study found.

Of those who engage in word-of-mouth activity, 73% said they do it to share their thoughts with manufacturers, whereas 68% said they spread the word to get smart about products and services, or to be among the first to discover new items. Another 63% said they hope to get free product samples and 61% said they like to share their opinions.

“Loyalty marketers should find the champions buried within their program memberships, and build relationships that reward them for positive WOM activity,” Colloquy Editorial Director Rick Ferguson said in a statement.

Colloquy is a provider of loyalty marketing publishing, education and research. The study polled more than 7,000 people in the U.S. and Canada.