Companies expecting to sit back and rely on their loyalty programs need to take a hard look at how their programs connect with key customers.

I wrote about the true purpose of loyalty programs earlier and this survey really brings to light that piece. Marketers want to sit back and let the loyalty program be the driver of loyalty business, when that is just a piece of the puzzle. There's so much rich, valuable data that comes with the loyalty program, that is what should be the focus, using the program as the carrot to give as much data about the customer as possible.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers (73 percent) said that loyalty programs should be for brands to show appreciation for their loyal customers. And yet, two-thirds (66 percent) of marketers see it the other way around: loyalty programs are for consumers to show their commitment to their businesses. “Businesses must revise their strategy and prove to consumers that loyalty goes both ways,” the report’s authors point out.

It is troubling to see so many marketers looking upon their loyalty programs like this. We all know that customers will want the most they can get out of the program and nothing is ever enough, but marketers need to be more strategic.

Similar to the complaints about loyalty programs being used by companies to get the sale rather than develop customer relationships, consumers also have gripes about email marketing practices. Interestingly, businesses seem to know their is a problem but can’t seem to change bad habits.

While 58 percent of the marketing executives polled acknowledged that customers don’t want to be sold, companies continue to pummel consumers with untargeted, untimely offers. Many businesses know this is a problem. Over a quarter (28 percent) of companies said they believe the reason consumers most often unsubscribe is because they’re sending too many emails and irrelevant offers. Consumers agree: just 10 percent said the majority of promotional marketing they receive is relevant to their purchase interest.

Marketers need to combine the practices of the loyalty program and email marketing (all of digital marketing for that matter) under one umbrella. All of these disciplines need to work hand in hand. I talked about companies changing their organizational structure to accommodate the new digital marketing age.

When 90 percent of the promotional marketing customers receive is irrelevant, there is a problem. I know in the emails I receive this is the case. With so much data about customers, it is a wonder this still is happening in 2015. As has been my mantra since Adobe Summit, relevant content will be the key to better customer experiences.

Even though companies are getting better about the frequency of emails, there is still a faction of email marketers that believe more is better. The secret to frequency of emails is to engage the customer a little more than the frequency in which they buy from you. This way there is not an over saturation of emails, but there is also the opportunity to drive more frequency.