Samenvatting

IKEA Delft is a very successful business, but it is facing some challenges in the field of marketing, as customer loyalty is changing. Moreover, this marketing plan provides different ways for IKEA Delft to adapt its loyalty program in order to improve in the field of marketing. In this research the customer loyalty program of IKEA Delft has been compared to the loyalty programs of three large retailers GAMMA, Albert Heijn and ICI Paris.
IKEA Delft already uses the IKEA FAMILY card, which is a loyalty card that provides various benefits to customers. Also, this loyalty card is used to gather personal information of the customer, in order to anticipate specifically to customer needs.
The results of this research have provided several opportunities that IKEA Delft could possibly use for their marketing strategy. These opportunities include the best practices of the three large retailers that IKEA Delft can use to improve the IKEA FAMILY program.
Only about 20% of the consumers is aware of the benefits that the IKEA FAMILY program offers. In order for IKEA Delft to increase the total number of the IKEA FAMILY members by 8% and at the same time increase the number of active IKEA FAMILY members by 2% in the business year 2015, it is vitally important to create more awareness among consumers about the benefits of the IKEA FAMILY program. Therefore, the reasons for customers to obtain or use this loyalty card need to be strengthened and adapted.
Moreover, the best practices of the retailers that have emerged are a loyalty program which includes a system wherein customers can earn or collect points, the providing of special member days, and the use of coupons. These practices will ensure that the customer spending will increase and customers will be motivated to use their loyalty card more often. Additionally, these practices are preferred by customers and it will therefore stimulate the customer to repeat their visits. In this way, IKEA Delft is able to gather more customer insights and specifically anticipate the needs of these customers.