70 ISSN 1822-6760. Management theory and studies for rural business and infrastructure development. 2009. Nr. 17 (2). Research papers. DETERMINATION OF THE BEST SUITABLE STRUCTURE OF PROMOTIONAL BENEFITS FOR DIFFERENT LOYALTY STAGES' CUSTOMERS Lina Pilelienプ Vytautas Magnus University The peculiarities of the usage of promotional benefits according to customer loyalty stage are being analyzed in the article. The main assumption here is that customers being on different loyalty stages have distinct needs and expectations with the sales promotion offerings. To be ef- fective, sales promotion has to correspond to specific needs of a customer loyalty stage. Accord- ing to the results of the empiric research, the eventual structure of promotional benefits which is best suitable to customers being on different loyalty stages is provided. Key words: customer loyalty, loyalty stages, promotional benefits, sales promotion. The effectiveness of sales promotion used by organizations depends on vari- ous factors. One of these factors is the fulfilment of customers’ needs. According to the customer’s loyalty stage, the benefits influencing his/ her buying decision differ. Consequently, distinct techniques of sales promotion have to be applied for the customers being on different loyalty stages. Therefore, benefits motivating cus- tomers being on a particular loyalty stage are emphasized. The usage of sales promotion in accordance to customer loyalty stage has not been investigated in Lithuania. Foreign scientists (O‘Guinn, 2002; Belch, 2003 et al.) often refer to customer loyalty as an objective of sales promotion. Investiga- tions on customer loyalty and sales promotion are often performed separately; the findings of the research are not compared. Various scientists fragmentarily analyze promotional benefits for consumers (Chandon, 2000; Kwok, 2005; Mittal, 1994; Soman, 1998 et al.), characteristics of customers with different loyalty stages (Bhote, 1996; Černiauskienė, 2007; Griffin, 1997; Egan, 2001 et al.), and other aspects of customer loyalty and its formation. Nevertheless, exhaustive empirical analysis about how the usage of sales promo- tion in accordance to customer loyalty stage influences consumer behaviour and at- titudes has not been found. Scientific problem – how to use promotional benefits to correspond needs of customers being on different loyalty stages. The object of the research is the structure of promotional benefits which is most suitable for the customers being on different loyalty stages. The aim of the research is to determine the structure of promotional benefits which are the most suitable for customers being on different loyalty stages. The objectives set for the research are: • to substantiate theoretically the usage of sales promotion in accordance with customer loyalty stages; • to determine promotional benefits which should or should not be pro- vided to customers being on different loyalty stages;