Adage provides some fine point of view on how loyalty can  support business in a recessionary or slow growth economy – by targeting loyal customers and customizing offers:

As a 15-year employee of Hilton Hotels, Adam Burke, senior VP-customer loyalty, has had to contend with the problems caused by economic slowdowns and recessions.

“Like a lot of people in the [hospitality] industry, we’re starting to see some slowing,” Mr. Burke said. “Our Honors members tend to be the group that buoys us through a downturn. They are the core audience and tend to stay loyal and sustain the business especially through those downturns.”

Hilton’s Mr. Burke said that’s why the company focuses on customizing its offers. “We’re in an environment where we have, at any given time, as many as 100 offers in market being personalized on individual customer preferences. It’s become a very cost-effective way to run the business and generated a ton of business for the hotels.”

Dawn Marie, head of retail practice at Rapp Collins, said “”It’s important for us to help our clients understand that loyalty is not a plastic card. It’s about creating experiences and recognition with programs versus just making it a plastic card inside a wallet. That’s what is next for loyalty.”