Dive Brief:

• Just 16% of businesses believe their loyalty programs are meeting their priorities, according to a study by analytics research company International Institute for Analytics (IIA) for business analytics firm SAS.

• More successful loyalty programs emphasize customer experience and personalization and have dedicated departments to manage the programs, according to the report, “Keeping Customers: Successful Loyalty Through Analytics.”

• For its report, IIA surveyed 325 marketing executives from companies with loyalty programs.

Dive Insight:

This report found some important differences in how loyalty program goals and priorities are set and measured by those with successful programs. The report found that the number of loyalty program members, and number of points used are less critical than customer attraction and engagement, calculating how members can serve the brand, and how the programs serve broader company goals.