RAPID RESPONSES
Clubcards are gold
I disagree with Richard Perks’s analysis of Tesco. [Tesco’s marketing strategy needs a new broom in 2012 to sweep away its Clubcard, last Friday] If Tesco invested in a cost-cutting exercise it would probably discover what most businesses using voucher/discount schemes are finding; that cheap customers pay at the cheap price and never return. Ask any business owner how much repeat business they get from Groupon offers – very little.
The Clubcard is the single biggest weapon in Tesco’s arsenal, but it is failing to utilise it. By far the biggest cost for any business is the acquisition of customers. Where a business can really leverage its investment is in profiling spend/purchase history of its existing customers.
Tesco has really detailed information on all customers but does very little with it. Yet this information is, quite simply, priceless.
Why is this key? It can give an idea of lifetime value of a customer, it can measure number of visits and how often people buy but above all it means Tesco can provide highly relevant offers to specific groups of people. Technology is great at doing mass communication personalised to groups of recipients. All I have seen from Tesco is Clubcard vouchers for a range of products with very little bearing on my purchase history
Gary Kind