Freaky Fast Rewards : Building Customer Loyalty Through an Online Rewards Program

Abstract

This strategic marketing plan has been designed for a franchised sandwich shop to increase sales revenue by creating a consumer rewards program. Jimmy John's is a national sandwich chain with over 2,000 stores open in 47 states. Many of the stores are currently using or have previously used a punch card system in which a customer buys ten sandwiches, and the next sandwich is free. This system, however, has only been used for sales that are made in the store. The company has an online ordering service on its website, and this marketing plan would add a similar rewards program to accompany the online system. The paper begins with a review of current literature pertaining to marketing strategies. These strategies are all based off of the theory of product segmentation, and they reveal that a mix of segmentation theory, internet marketing techniques, email marketing techniques, and rewards program techniques can help implement a marketing plan that will build customer loyalty. This building of customer loyalty is vital for a company to be able to grow. The literature review is followed by a marketing plan that includes a situational analysis and tactic recommendations. This plan displays the macroeconomic and microeconomic factors pertaining to Jimmy John's, along with the company's main competition, several aspects of the business in the form of a SWOT analysis, and a consumer profile for the company. The objective of this marketing plan is to increase the sales and profits of the individual stores through an increase of consumer loyalty. This plan will initially span three months, and after the time period has concluded, the plan will be reevaluated and improved. Because Jimmy John's corporate office already funds the company's marketing strategies, the individual stores will not be burdened with the cost for this plan.