When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Interesting topic.... do you agree? Let me explain, on the one hand, companies are making use of eCommerce to increase their market share while keeping their customers loyal. Therefore, they can retain existing customers, attract new customers to attain sustained profit growth through data warehousing, data mining and customer relationship management. On the other hand, loyalty programmes focus on helping customers to get more value for their rands and at the same time, helping the customers to improve on their social consciousness and health. In this highly competitive market, companies are being challenged by the following factors:

• Customers are spoiled for choice.
• Customers expect rapid service at a lower cost as they want companies not only to meet their specific needs, but also to anticipate what those needs will be in the future.
• Winning customers' trust by offering them a few savings, opportunities to earn points and achieving goals like improving their health (Discovery Vitality).
• Difficulty in retaining customers due to the emerging sales channels, rapid introduction of improved and innovative products along with the increased global competition.
• Technology is changing faster than the customers, customers are changing faster than companies and companies are changing faster than the people who run them. In order to outlast the competitors (direct or indirect), companies have to realise the importance to amend their strategies and processes by investing in technology infrastructure to support their eBusiness activities.
• The Internet has become a mass media vehicle for customer-sponsored communications. Customers are turning more frequently to various types of social media to conduct their information searches and to make their purchasing decisions.

The answer? Companies should focus on providing excellent products/services, adapt to all challenges, provide additional services (especially trustworthy customer service), understand their customers' expectations, offer value for money, advertise systematically and invest in improvements in order to survive!