Leveraging loyalty programs to build customer-company identification

This study proposes that loyalty programs lead to customer-company identification (CCID) formation. The empirical results show that non-financial benefits from loyalty programs can promote CCID by inducing customers' feelings of status and belonging in a company-initiated community. Relationship marketers interested in building customer identification with loyalty programs therefore should design proper non-financial investment portfolios to strengthen and confirm customers' feelings of status and belongingness.