Loyalty Marketing and More…

Since this site is all about Loyalty, let me introduce you to my favorite Loyalty program – Red Sox Nation (www.redsoxnation.com). As a die-hard Red Sox fan, this club provides some great perks, though they could be doing so much more. Even though I think it could be better, the one perk they offer that is better than anything is access to tickets. As you may or may not know, the Red Sox have the longest continuous sell out streak going currently as they only have around 35,000 seats in Fenway and many committed (or should be committed) fans. Tickets are hard to come by but being a member of Red Sox Nation gets you access to tickets a few different ways. This weekend I’ll be going to two Sox games vs. the dreaded N.Y. Yankees. These are the hardest tickets to come by and I got tickets to both games by being a Member of RSN. Red Sox Nation has three different program levels each with different perks but I purchased the cheapest just so I could keep my membership. Best $14.95 I ever spent. And as the Sox go into this weekend against N.Y. 13.5 games up (as of today), all I can say is GO SOX!!!

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The weather is starting to heat up in the Boston area — 93 degrees today — as people prepare to get away for the long Memorial Day Weekend. With the unofficial beginning of Summer upon us, things often slow down a bit in the business world as people tend to take longer weekends and work fewer hours. But things are still bustling in the world of Loyalty. I came across the following event that sounds interesting.

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Do you think Loyalty works better for a particular type of business? Does the industry vertical have an influence? Does size matter? These are all important questions affecting existing or contemplated Loyalty programs.

A friend/business acquaintance recently acquired a 30+ location restaurant chain. We’re talking about Loyalty Marketers possibly providing some marketing and Loyalty consulting. As I was working on some strategy and brainstorming information, I got into a discussion with someone about whether a Loyalty program could work for a restaurant. This person said they wouldn’t pick the restaurant just because they had a Loyalty program.

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There were two interesting things that happened in the past few days that I think are worth noting. The first was the announcement about the Chase Rewards Plus (www.chase.com/rewardsplus) online shopping site that provides additional value to Chase Rewards credit cards. Now Chase cardholders can earn additional points or cash back by shopping online through the Chase online mall. I think this was a reaction by Chase to the Citi Thank You program (www.thankyounetwork.com) and other credit card and debit card Loyalty offerings hitting the marketplace. It will be interesting to watch and see how the different financial services companies deal with loyalty programs.

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Welcome to the first Blog post for Loyalty Marketers. This Blog will hopefully become a place where people can learn and exchange ideas on Loyalty Marketing and other important business concepts. I hope you’ll check back often to see what’s new at Loyalty Marketers and share some ideas of your own.

What does Loyalty mean to you?

To get things started, I’d like to share some ideas about Loyalty that have been running through my head for a while. I’ve spent a lot of time working on Loyalty programs in one form or another, whether on direct merchant programs or coalition (multiple merchant) programs. There have been a number of academic studies about the influence of Loyalty programs, some finding positive results and others questioning the value of these programs. One study released recently by two professors from Stanford University concluded that Loyalty doesn’t deliver the desired effect. You can read a synopsis here. My problem with their research was the question they tried to answer - “Do reward programs get customers to buy more often after they have accumulated a lot of credits toward the reward.” I wonder why they chose such a narrow definition of whether a rewards program can work?

In my humble opinion, Loyalty in the business world exists even though some people may challenge that. What people are loyal to differs from person to person and sometimes may differ within the same person from merchant to merchant or from day to day. What matters to me today may not be the same as what matters to me tomorrow or next week. Knowing what matters, or at a minimum taking an educated guess at what matters, if done right, can allow a business to provide great value and make a strong connection with a customer.

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