Customer loyalty programs are attempts to bond customers to a company and its products and services by offering incentives— such as airline frequent flyer programs or special credit cards with valuable benefits—t0 loyal customers. In support of loyalty programs, companies often invoke the “80/20" principle, which states that about 80 percent of revenue typically comes from only about 20 percent of customers. However, this profitable 20 percent are not necessarily loyal buyers, especially in the sense of exclusive loyalty. Studies have demonstrated that only about 10 percent of buyers for many types of frequently purchased consumer goods are 100 percent loyal to a particular brand over a one-year period. Moreover, 100-percent-loyal buyers tend to be light buyers of the product or service. “Divided loyalty” better describes actual consumer behavior, since customers typically vary the brands they buy. The reasons for this behavior are fairly straightforward: people buy different brands for different occasions or for variety, or a brand may be the only one in stock or may offer better value because of a special deal. Most buyers who change brands are not lost forever; usually, they are heavy consumers who simply prefer to buy a number of brands. Such multiband loyalty means that one company's most profitable customers will probably be its competitors’ most profitable customers as well.
Still, advocates of loyalty programs contend that such programs are beneficial because the costs of serving highly loyal customers are lower, and because such loyal customers are less price sensitive than other customers. It is true that when there are start-up costs, such as credit checks, involved in serving a new customer, the costs exceed those of serving a repeat customer. However, it is not at all clear why the costs of serving a highly loyal customer should in principle be different from those of serving any other type of repeat customer. The key variables driving cost are size and type of order, special versus standard order, and so on, not high-loyalty versus divided-loyalty customers. As for price sensitivity, highly loyal customers may in fact come to expect a price discount as a reward for their loyalty.
According to the passage, advocates of customer loyalty programs claim which of the following about highly loyal customers?
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逻辑简图：
第一段：解释customer loyalty programs，并引出80/20理论--提出理论的不足，用2层evidence进行论证--提出更合适的说法"Divided loyalty"并阐述理由，并得出结论：一家公司的profitable customers，同时也是另一家的profitable customers.
第二段：继续提出customer loyalty programs拥护者的观点--先肯定再批驳--提出最核心的变量
A. They often expect price discounts as a reward for their loyalty to a product.（最后一句，层次定位错）
B. They can be served at lower expense to a company than can nonloyal customers.
C. They tend to be light but predictable buyers of the product or service in question.（第一段第二层，段落定位错）
D. They are to try out new brands or products that appear on the market.（未提及）
E. They are difficult to differentiate statistically from other types of repeat customers.（第二段第二层，层次定位错）
细节题：定位到文章第二段第一层。同义改写。
第二段中间的However是关键，把握好这个转折就可以知道第二段后半段是批驳者的观点
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2021-08-26 12:36:23
本来以为第二段全部都是支持者的观点，这样The second paragraph functions primarily to：才选的是 address certain contentions put forth by advocates of customer loyalty programs，而不是reconcile competing viewpoints regarding the of customer loyalty programs。如果只有第二段前半部分是支持者的观点的话，这两道题的答案就矛盾了。所以到底第二段的内容是谁的观点啊？
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2020-11-09 12:23:45
203564xjos回复Mariposa爱学习
contention是争论的意思，从这一点也可以看出第二段讲述了两种观点
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2021-08-26 12:38:57
216136gqif回复Mariposa爱学习
醍醐灌顶
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2021-10-24 15:20:12
It is true that when there are start-up costs, such as credit checks, involved in serving a new customer, the costs exceed those of serving a repeat customer.
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2018-08-14 16:26:54
审题！！题目说的是advocates的看法！！
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2017-09-22 13:03:09
默默回复就要740
最与中心句对应的句子
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2018-05-17 13:40:24
好题目啊~！ A虽然可以定位到文章最后一句~~~但是呢在本题并不对~ 因为要看清题目问的是什么~！ advocates of customer loyalty programs claim which of the following about highly loyal customers 问的是 advocates of customer loyalty programs 而A是反对这个PROGRAMS的人所持有的观点~~~~~~~ 最后一句话~看清楚题目的问题，问谁的观点，再进行定位~
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2016-04-11 09:57:11
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