Title: What customer loyalty activities are Volkswagen and Saab using in the
Swedish car industry?
Authors: Jenny Röhrl & Niklas Stockborg
Supervisor: Thomas A. Michel
Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology
Course: Bachelor’s thesis in Business Administration, 15 ECTS
Purpose: The purpose with this study is to examine the activities that
Volkswagen and Saab use to create customer loyalty in the Swedish car industry.
We will also analyze possible differences between the companies and focus on
the financial and emotional benefits used in the companies’ loyalty programs.
In addition to this, we will also describe their use of CRM-systems and with
the help of exiting theory, offer suggestions of how Volkswagen and Saab can
improve their activities they use to create customer loyalty.
Method: To attain the purpose with our study we have chosen to use a
qualitative method. We have carried out interviews with company representatives
of Volkswagen and Saab. These respondents have information that is relevant for
this study.
Result: Both Volkswagen and Saab offer their customers financial benefits
through their customer clubs. Both companies offer very similar benefits and
the main difference is the design of it, Saab uses a beneficial bonus system in
which the customer earns points that equals into discounts while Volkswagen
offer their customer discounts on specific products and services.
Both companies also offer their customers similar emotional benefits such as
test drives and invitations to different events. There is however differences
between the companies regarding their use of loyalty programs. Volkswagen does
not use a specific loyalty program that is tailored towards their new customers
while Saab does. Saab customizes their communication towards their customers
according to where they are in the product life cycle. Saab`s CRM-system is
more advanced and complex with the use of four base modules; selling tools, ...
