Loyalty Marketing and More…

Upromise, the folks that help millions of families save for college has launched a new promotion with Volkswagen that will allow members to earn $1,500 on the purchase of a new Volkswagen minivan - the Routan. This sounds like a really great fit given the Upromise demographic with lots of soccer moms. Members have to pre-order their vehicle before it actually goes on sale and take delivery by the end of November. But the car looks really cool (if you like minivans) and comes at a variety of price levels. Anyone in the market for a minivan should check this out and if you aren’t already a Upromise member, you should join just to get this rebate.

In other news, Incentive Solutions has launched a new business-to-business Loyalty offering for mid-size U.S. companies. Incentive is based in New Zealand and is making their first foray into the U.S. with Reward Paths. Having worked on a number of BtoB Loyalty programs and done a variety of research on what solutions are out there, this is welcome news.

It also appears that Citizens Bank, which has its own Citizens Bank Rewards Program, is shifting around their program. Consumers are now required to opt-in and even pay a fee if they don’t meet certain basic requirements. Here’s a link to their explanation. This is a great idea in my book as it will re-engage those who may have dropped off or kick out the dead wood. I know some other programs that should consider a similar strategy.

Finally, the folks at uBoost have re-launched their service with a variety of upgrades and enhancements. For those of you that don’t remember or didn’t read my previous post, uBoost is an educational rewards program that helps incent children to do well in school. It’s a great concept and if you haven’t done so already, you should check it out.

YALP! It might not be as creative as YAHOO! but there’s another Loyalty Program out there you may not have heard of yet. This one is around rewarding people for being healthy. The company is Virgin HealthMiles, brought to you by the famous Brit Richard Branson and his Virgin empire. Here’s a bit from their boilerplate:

Virgin HealthMiles brings the latest in health & fitness innovation to the United States with a first-of-its-kind health rewards program that motivates and rewards members for getting active.

Read the rest of this entry »

There was an interesting announcement recently about Loyalty company Chockstone. According to the following story/press release, Chockstone has introduced a new program that allows merchants to offer a turn-key Loyalty program without having to issue any type of Loyalty tracking device. Chockstone now offers what they are calling “SingleSwipe” as a way for a consumer to use an existing credit card with a merchant and have that transaction rewarded. While it’s a bit unclear exactly what services are provided to these merchants (for example credit card processing), it does sound like Chockstone will manage a registered card program and keep personally identifiable information private and protect credit card numbers through PCI Compliance. Read the rest of this entry »

You may have seen the news recently that Starbucks is considering rolling out a Loyalty program. Howard Schultz, the returning CEO to Starbucks did an interview with Andy Serwer of Fortune Magazine. According to Schultz, “…we will do more things to better reward our most loyal and best customers.” The rumored program will be based on their customers using a stored value card (a.k.a. a gift card) to make their purchases. Stored value cards are becoming increasingly popular and the ability to re-load the cards with additional funds makes it simple for consumers to pay quickly and get to their much needed caffeine. Read the rest of this entry »

Rumors are swirling around the fact that Rainbow Rewards is having problems. I have it from a very reliable source that people at Rainbow Reward have their resumes on the market because they are concerned with the long-term viability of the program. Rainbow Rewards is like most other Rewards programs but they’ve taken their program a bit further with the addition of lots of “local” merchants. Small local merchants often struggle to participate in national coalition Loyalty programs due to the cost of participation, the difficulty of data sharing and matching, and the small numbers of participating members. But even small numbers of shoppers can be a big advantage. Look for more national coalition programs to begin rolling out local programs over the next 12 – 24 months as the pool of large national merchants reaches a saturation point of companies willing to participate. And look for more Local only programs such as Boston Community Change from Interra OS. Local will be a way these companies can continue to grow.

If you’re interested in learning more about Loyalty, there is an upcoming conference that might interest you. Check out the IQPC 2nd Customer Loyalty Conference on March 31, 2008 at Stonebriar Resort. They have some very interesting companies presenting and an international base of attendees joining them.

There’s a new service that launched recently in the world of Loyalty that aims to take the traditional “coupon” and turn it on its end. There are lots of pros and cons around coupons for both the company issuing the coupon as well as the consumer using it. From a company perspective, how many times have they wondered about giving a discount to someone who would have bought the product anyway? Even with all the sophisticated data collection, tracking technologies and analytic services, proving incremental sales as a result of coupons isn’t easy. On the other hand, if a coupon gets someone to make a purchase that might otherwise have opted for a competitive brand, as long as you get enough of these, can make a coupon campaign a real winner. Read the rest of this entry »

Has it really been that long since my last post? I know things have been busy but time has really been flying. There have been lots of interesting and exciting things happening in the world of Loyalty. Maybe you’ve seen them and maybe you haven’t. In either event, I’ll point out some interesting developments in the next few posts and will be curious for your feedback.
Read the rest of this entry »

For many retailers, this time of year can either make or break their entire year financially. Merchants pull out all the stops doing their best to lure consumers into their stores. Whether it’s a special sale, a buy one get one free offer, holiday music and decorations or photos with Santa, the gimmicks abound. But one aspect of business that is often overlooked that can really make a difference in Customer Loyalty is good customer service. How many times have you tried to buy something and you find yourself searching for someone to answer a question or help with your sale? Some retailers are known for their phenomenal customer service such as Nordstrom and Tiffany’s. But you don’t need to be a high-end retailer to offer good customer service. A recent article in The Arizona Republic entitled “Retailers use customer satisfaction to create loyalty” by Cathryn Creno does a good job of highlighting how good customer service can make a difference. Think about your business and what makes you unique. It doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money to set your business apart from the competition while at the same time building deeper relationships with your customers. What examples have you seen of either good or bad customer service and what did it do to your Loyalty? Let us know by posting a comment.

Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays from everyone at Loyalty Marketers.

The following may be a bit of a stretch for a Loyalty marketing Blog but it’s relevant and interesting – at least I think so. Have you heard about RevolutionCard? This is a new credit card offering that’s trying to create a new niche in the world of payment cards. The card is offered by RevolutionMoney which itself is part of Revolution LLC which was founded by Steve Case. If his name sounds familiar it should – he helped make AOL into a household name back in the day.

RevolutionCard has some interesting benefits to both consumers and merchants such as:

• No physical data is stored on the card
• There is no card number or name embossed on the card
• The card uses a PIN for greater security
• Merchants pay a better rate than typical credit card programs – data flows over the Internet instead of the credit card network lines

The card is currently accepted only in a handful of locations but that should change over time. Recently Buy.com offered an interesting incentive for people who use the card – they can save $20 up to3 times on purchases of $50 or more, for a maximum of $60 in savings. RevolutionCard also has a deal with the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and the teams that play there. I wonder if this card can make a big enough impact to become meaningful? The last thing most people need is another credit card. The fact that this one has some added security measures and some Loyalty benefits will help – but how much?

The Loyalty Marketers Blog has been very quiet these past few weeks. I’m sorry if you’ve come to expect some commentary and there wasn’t anything new. A combination of being really busy and having a bad back problem have kept me away from the computer doing these extra bits of work. In any case, lots of things have happened but I’ll focus on some of the more recent things I’ve seen.

Read the rest of this entry »