Why loyalty is the wrong focus for a small business

The double jeopardy law says smaller brands suffer twice over. They have fewer customers, and those customers buy less frequently. Gerard explains what that means for a small business or startup owner deciding where to put marketing effort.

The conclusion is uncomfortable for anyone who has just built a loyalty program. Loyalty is a game that larger, established brands are built to win. They have the customer base and the purchase frequency to make it pay, which is why loyalty is where they compete.

Gerard makes a wider point about marketing theory. Much of what sits in the textbooks assumes a scale a small business does not have, so it does not transfer. For a small business the work sits in customer acquisition and margin.

Double jeopardy describes the position a small business starts from. It also points to which levers are worth pulling.