It can be safely said that the future of any company depends on its capability to generate customer loyalty. A regular customer translates into regular profits and into a share in the market in the long run. Since winning new customers involves five times more expense than maintaining those current, more and more companies decide to invest in loyalty programs. It has become such a widespread method of attaching customers to the company and the brand that customers themselves hardly ever notice it. Some remain perfectly unaware of the fact that they participate in a loyalty program.

That participation usually starts when a customer has purchased one of the products offered by the company. This may involve filling in a form requiring personal data that will then be used by the company in correspondence. The customer may also receive a loyalty card for collecting points in return for purchases. The points will entitle the customer to various prizes, bonuses and discounts.