By Kim T. Gordon

With the skyrocketing cost of customer acquisition, it makes great sense to focus marketing efforts on retaining and up-selling current customers. In fact, it can cost as much as five times more to win a new customer than to keep an old one. Yet many small-business owners remain doggedly fixated on prospecting -- at the expense of programs for existing customers that would more cost-effectively build sales and increase profitability.

Customer loyalty programs (often called reward programs) have become essential in price-sensitive arenas and where there are parity products or services. They're so pervasive among large businesses that right now about half of all Americans belong to at least one. Drugstore chain, CVS Corp., has signed up 32 million "ExtraCare" card members alone. And the world's largest theater company, Regal Entertainment Group, rewards frequent moviegoers with free concession food and other discounts.......[read more after logging in]

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