From FastCasual.com: I recently ran my first half marathon, and as I reflected on the experience, I realized that the mindset needed for successful marathon running is very similar to the mindset you need to launch a successful customer loyalty program. To achieve strong results in either one, you have to be patient, willing to stick to your plan and trust your training.

Patience

In a marathon, you can’t simply run as fast you can at the gun. It’s tempting to join the many runners who take off at a pace that’s far too fast. Even though you have a lot of adrenalin and excitement at the start of the race, you have to be patient and know that you’ll eventually pass all of these runners who aren’t pacing themselves. Similarly, with loyalty marketing, you have to be patient with results, as you won’t see them immediately as you might after running a short-term customer acquisition campaign.

With a strong loyalty program, a realistic objective is for your customers to come back one more time per month every month for years. This eventually results in an entire business franchise that is stronger, because your customers have superior lifetime value to that of your competition. With this kind of strategic advantage, you will eventually pass the competition that’s too focused on short-term results.

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