Loyalty predictions for 2010

In 2010, the loyalty landscape will continue to be quite dynamic as companies continue to adapt to the uncertain economic climate. In particular, here are a few predictions for three specific industries:

FINANCIAL SERVICES: credit and debit issuers will continue to reflect on how to evolve their loyalty program value propositions in a challenging regulatory environment. With high levels of negative public opinions of the banking industry, issuers will have to navigate carefully as they make changes to existing rewards programs.

Among forward-thinking banks, we may see a trend toward the simplification of the loyalty options they provide cardholders rather than the adoption of annual fees for reward cards.

RETAIL will continue to see strong growth in loyalty efforts. For example, the executive teams of two major retailers (Walgreens and Rite Aid) have already publicly proclaimed that they will launch customer loyalty programs. We expect we will see other major retailers follow their lead. Retailers continue to increase their efforts to leverage customer insights from loyalty programs in ways that move well past simple marketing applications. In fact, about 10 retailers are already actively finding ways to apply customer-specific insights into their merchandising strategy. In 2010, more retailers are expected to make strides in progressing on the path to "enterprise loyalty".

TRAVEL Some airlines and hotels will start to reap the fruits of their efforts to improve their rewards and benefits. Several companies like Hyatt, Marriott and Delta have reengineered many of their elite membership benefits to encourage frequent travelers to consolidate their travel activities with just their brand. As the economy begins to improve in 2010, many of the loyalty leaders in the travel industry will be well positioned to capture an even greater share of the frequent traveler's business as companies start to loosen travel and entertainment budget restrictions.

The U.S. loyalty landscape is vibrant and growing. And, while companies face challenges in ensuring their loyalty programs are distinct and set up for long-term sustainability, continued growth is expected in loyalty efforts and customer adoption. In fact, 2010 may be the year that the number of U.S. loyalty program memberships exceeds 2 billion.

Source : Promo magazine

Author : Kelly Hlavinka. She can be reached at Kelly.Hlavinka@colloquy.com

Overview of Retail Customer Loyalty Programs: Seven Key Areas Leading Retailers Need to Focus on

Very good list of actionable best practices.

“In coming months, survival in retail will be directly related to the ability to understand, precisely, the shopper’s state of mind, deliver solutions that serve their interests, and effectively execute shopper marketing programs.” — Millerzell Research

Customer loyalty programs are intended to exactly deliver this — to be able to track and reward customer behavior – and statistics indicate that consumer participation in rewards programs is on the rise across all demographic segments.

Based on our experience delivering innovative customer engagement solutions for our retail clients and on available industry research, we’ve compiled a list of actionable best practices that can help retailers take their customer loyalty program to the next level.

Source : Tata Consultancy Services

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Cost-Per-Lead Figures Vary by Vertical

Companies in the travel industry have the highest cost-per-lead (CPL) to obtain basic consumer information through opt-in digital advertising, while companies in the technology industry have the lowest CPL for basic information but the highest CPL for premium information, according to a report by online lead generation firm Pontiflex , which breaks out the costs of both types of leads by vertical.

In its “Cost-per-Lead Advertising Data Report,” Pontiflex defines basic data as information such as a user’s first name, last name, e-mail address and postal address. Premium fields include more detailed data such as telephone numbers, social networking usernames, and custom questions.

Not surprisingly, the higher the number of fields of information collected, the higher the cost per lead. However, paying more doesn’t always mean a company is guaranteed more and better leads. Asking for additional fields of information increases drop-off and reduces lead volume, Pontiflex said.

Pontiflex’s analysis found that the overall cost for a basic lead, across all industries is $0.60, while the cost for a premium lead is $2.27. However, the increases are not consistent across industries.

Full article : www.marketingcharts.com

Consumers use loyalty programs to save money

A recently released study by First Data, entitled “2009 Consumer Loyalty Study,” found that more and more consumers are signing up for, or regularly using, reward programs, especially when it comes to fuel and convenience-store purchases.

According to a report in Progressive Grocer, 35% of consumers who are members of gas rewards programs indicated their choice of retailer was “very” influenced by that membership.

Other findings included: Although the vast majority of consumers prefer coupons for discounts on total purchase, just 61% of members indicated that they receive that reward as a member of a retail rewards program.

Also, reports of frustration with loyalty programs are on the decline. More members say they haven’t experienced any problems or frustrations related to rewards programs (20% in 2009 compared with 14% in 2008).

Rewards Programs Adapt to the Recession

Despite the recession, U.S. consumer participation in rewards programs is on the rise across all demographic segments, according to COLLOQUY research released today. The study reports a 19% participation growth by the general population since 2007.

Consumers are leaning on loyalty programs to stretch household budgets further by earning rewards for their purchases. The retail category demonstrates the highest positive impact in reward program attitudes, with 75% of 2,152 surveyed reporting a net neutral or positive effect on their program participation as a result of the economy. The Financial Services sector remained relatively flat, with 52.7% reporting "no difference" in the impact of the recession on program participation.

• One-third of consumers find retail loyalty programs "more important" when battling tough times
• 18 to 25 year old Millennials represent fasting growing demographic

Loyalty marketing programs recognize and reward the best customers of a business. The statistics are included in COLLOQUY’s latest white paper titled, "After the Meltdown: Consumer Attitudes and Perceptions About Loyalty Programs in the Post-Recession Economy." The paper is available for a free download at www.colloquy.com/whitepapers.

Source : Colloquy

Five Ways Social Marketing can Improve Customer Loyalty

An article in multichannelmerchant.com says: "Social marketing programs are not about hard sells to your customers. Rather, social marketing programs should be about connecting with your customers for the long-term —on their terms—and sharing information and experiences."

Source : multichannelmerchand.com

Rt: 10 Tips for Building Customer Loyalty

Sustaining a loyal client base is one of the biggest challenges that businesses face each day. You may have hundreds of competitors, so how can you market your product to obtain consumer loyalty? Consumer loyalty comes from attaching a certain perceived value to your product in the mind of your consumer. In order to create this perceived value you have to establish relationships and trust with your customers. Here are some useful tips to help companies maintain and generate loyal customers:

#1 How is your earning rates for loyalty program rewards? Analyze earning rates by segments to understand engagement of target segments.

#2 Have you analyzed your reward program redemption rates. Who redeems? What do they buy? What’s the average sale at redemption?

#3 For your loyalty rewards program, which customer earn the rewards and are not redeeming. Do you have a plan to engage them?

#4 Hard benefits, like rewards, are just one part of the value proposition. What are your soft benefits that build the emotional connection?

#5 Enhance your loyalty program value proposition by tailoring soft benefits to resonate with key growth and retention customer segments.

#6 Tiering your loyalty program gives your customers a reason to give you a greater share of wallet and creates upward migration in spend.

#7 Loyalty benefits should be a mix of hard and soft benefits. Hard benefits reinforce value and soft benefits build emotional connection.

#8 Create an Internal Communications plan for your loyalty program to educate everyone on the value to the organization and to the customer.

#9 Internal communication plan should educate, motivate and engage employees in supporting the loyalty program and company goals.

#10 Internal communication plan for your loyalty program need to include a dashboard of results at the program, customer and employee level.

Source : 10 Tips for Building Customer Loyalty by Sallie Burnett

Google & Virgin America's Online Scavenger Hunt Campaign Rocked

Here's more proof that fun is what brand-building and customer loyalty are all about these days. Love this Google-Virgin scavenger hunt!

Google Apps partnered with Virgin America to launch a unique campaign where they invited people taking Virgin America flights all day, as well as those sitting on computers at home or work to participate in an online scavenger hunt for clues to answer questions they would pose at you on a website called "Day In The Clouds."

http://www.dayinthecloud.com

Millennials Fuel 19% Jump in Loyalty-Program Participation

Despite the current recession, US consumer participation in loyalty and rewards programs is rising across all demographic segments and has grown 19% since 2007 among the general population, according to a study by Colloquy.

Activity in specific demographic segments is up even more, the research found. Participation by Millennials (ages 18-25) - which represent the fastest-growing demographic for loyalty programs - has soared 32% since it was last measured in 2007, while participation by women is up 29% in the same time period.

Source : Colloquy

iMedia Connection: How to turn your email program into a dialogue

Building greater customer dialogue into emails has a number of tangible benefits. Check out these ways to liven up messages and add the element of conversation.

View >>

Why Do Online Shoppers Abandon Purchases? High Shipping Costs Top the List

A new PayPal survey reveals that nearly half (45 percent) of online shoppers have abandoned their carts multiple times in the past three weeks due to high shipping costs, security concerns, and lack of convenience. The average cost of abandoned goods in US shopping carts is $109.

Through the survey, PayPal found the main reasons why shoppers did not follow through on their purchases were:

1. High shipping charges – This tops the list of reasons for cart abandonment with 46 percent citing this as their reason for not making their purchase. Today we are announcing PayPal’s new Express Checkout feature (the PayPal Instant Update API) which allows order details to be shown earlier in the process including shipping options, insurance choices and tax totals. This new feature can help online retailers give shoppers the information they are looking for in order to complete a purchase.
2. Wanted to comparison shop – Shoppers are savvy and want to know all their options before they commit to the purchase. Thirty seven percent said this was their reason for abandoning, making comparison shopping second on our list.

The survey also found that people who have abandoned their carts once are likely to abandon them again. Some additional information depicted by the survey results include:

• Nearly half of respondents have abandoned their carts in the last three weeks.
• More than 25 percent left the site to search for a coupon.
• One third of shoppers later returned to the same site to buy.
• An additional 20 percent purchased the items at a brick and mortar store or competitor’s Web site.

Building Loyalty in Business Markets (B-to-B)

There’s an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review that’s worth reading. It questions current theories regarding customer retention and the link between company profits & customer loyalty.

Retailers Now Top Loyalty Marketers

U.S. retailers now constitute the largest collective market for loyalty reward program memberships, outstripping travel-hospitality and financial services aggregate memberships, according to Colloquy.

According to its latest research, across-the-board retail loyalty program memberships now number 701 million, representing 39% of the U.S. loyalty market. That compares to 556 million in travel-hospitality, which includes airline, hotel, gambling, car rental and cruise programs, representing 31% of the market, and financial services credit card programs at 422 million for 23% of the market.

“With the travel category in maturity and the financial services category likely to contract, we expect retailers to be at the forefront of innovative loyalty marketing for years to come,” said Colloquy partner Kelly Hlavinka, in a statement.

Source : Colloquy

Loyalty Leading Indicators

• Nearly 90% of Americans participate in some type of rewards program, and most are enrolled in more than one. (BusinessWeek)

• From 2006 to 2008, U/S. loyalty program memberships increased from 1.341 billion to 1.807 billion – an adjusted growth rate of nearly 25 percent. (Colloquy)

• 96% of people are currently a member of a reward scheme and 64% of people belong to three or more loyalty schemes. (The Wise Marketer)

• Reward program members are 70 percent more likely to be word-of-mouth champions (defined as customers who are "actively recommending" a product, service or brand) than the general population. (Colloquy)

• The percentage of overall active memberships in the U.S. – those memberships that demonstrate some type of engagement within a 12-month period – remains at 43.8 percent, with a blended average of 6.2 active memberships per household. (Colloquy)

• Consumer expectations regarding brand value went up 20 percent this year versus last. (Brand Keys)

• Just under two-thirds of consumers (65 percent) say price is becoming more important than convenience in brand purchases. (Information Resources Inc.)

• Seventy-three percent of customers who are enrolled in rewards programs say that they hope that data generated as a result of their participation in rewards programs are used to develop a better program for them. (Market Platform Dynamics)

Overstock.com Taps Online Community as a Supplement to Loyalty Program

Capitalizing on the power of word of mouth and new media, Overstock.com is emphasizing its loyalty program, The District O Private Lounge as a new channel for customer intelligence. Known for offering brand-name merchandise at discount prices, Overstock.com recently revitalized its Club O loyalty program by utilizing rich customer feedback. Featuring 300+ active members, the Private Lounge is designed to enable Overstock.com customers to play significant roles in keeping the online retailer fresh and its customers loyal. In its first year, the community has helped the retailer refine its popular television advertising, reinstate some of its customers’ most-missed Web features and reinvigorate Overstock.com’s holiday shopping sales.

The District O Private Lounge, which initially kicked-off with the goal of enhancing Overstock.com’s loyalty program, has since blossomed into a primary source for customer insight that extends well beyond Club O. Communispace, which creates online customer insight communities, recruited members for the community and now engages them in activities ranging from open discussions around the best and worst loyalty programs, to generating feedback on the retailer’s television commercials. Energized by the community experience, members also initiate their own activities in the community, generating unexpected insights that keep Overstock.com in step with its customers’ changing needs.

"Although we’ve long relied on quantitative research to understand our customers, we’ve never had a way to engage in active dialogue with them, something that’s incredibly valuable for an online business," said Patrick Byrne, Overstock.com Chairman and CEO. "We’ve already established a meaningful connection to our customers through The District O Private Lounge, and we’re looking forward to learning more from these members. Their distinctive voices will clearly resonate in our strategy and communications in the future, specifically within our enhanced Club O program.”

"Businesses are facing new challenges as consumers adjust spending and change habits to cope with the recession," said Diane Hessan, CEO of Communispace. "Overstock.com is committed to understanding its customers’ challenges by listening and engaging with them directly. The best way to build and sustain customer loyalty, especially now, is by making your customers active stakeholders in achieving mutual success."

Source : Retail TouchPoints

How Loyal Are Consumers? Retailers Lead, TV Service Providers Lag In Loyalty

Bruce Temkin, Vice President & Principal Analyst at Forrester Research just published research called How Loyal Are Consumers? Not Very that examines the loyalty that consumers have with 113 large firms across 12 industries: airlines, banks, cell phone service providers, credit card providers, hotels, insurance firms, Internet service providers, investment firms, medical insurance companies, PC manufacturers, retailers, and TV service providers.

We asked 4,500+ US consumers about three areas of loyalty:

1. Willingness to consider the provider for another purchase
2. Reluctance to switch business away from the provider
3. Likelihood to recommend the provider to a friend or colleague

Here are some of the industry-level findings (in terms of the percentage of loyal customers):

• Willingness-to-repurchase
  • Leaders: Retailers (89%) and Insurers (82%)
  • Laggards: TV Service Providers (69%) and ISPs (73%)
• Reluctance-to-switch
  • Leaders: Retailers (80%) and Investment Firms (73%)
  • Laggards: Airlines (62%) and TV Service Providers (63%)
• Likelihood-to-recommend
  • Leaders: Retailers (81%) and Insurers (75%)
  • Laggards: TV Service Providers (59%) and Health Plans (60%)

Source : Customer Experience Matters

Brand Loyalty and Economic Recession Influence Teen and Young Adult Consumer Behavior

Euro RSCG Discovery, the North American data analytics, CRM and behavioral marketing
agency network of Euro RSCG Worldwide, today announced a new study of teen and young
adult consumers, ages 13 to 21, found that consumer behavior among females in this
age group has shifted more than that of males in the economic recession.  The
study also found brand loyalty is increasingly important among this age group,
as a majority of teenagers and young adults (73%) shop at a set group of
stores.

"There is an immense opportunity for gender-specific behavioral marketing that
will engage teens and young adults in this recession, especially when it
targets those that spend their own money," said Zain Raj, CEO of Euro RSCG
Discovery and Global Practice Leader, Retail Brands of Euro RSCG Worldwide.
"Although the economy is impacting teen consumers, and particularly young
women, loyalty patterns indicate that marketers stand to benefit most from
advertising brand value and finding new ways to become part of this age
group's brand rituals."

According to the survey, female teens and young adults are more worried about
the economy (92% v. 87%) and are more likely to engage in money-saving
activities (41% v. 35%) than males.  Compared to one year ago, nearly half of
females in this age group are looking for sales (48%) and staying home (51%)
more often, compared to fewer than 43% of males in both categories.

The males surveyed were more likely to report not being affected by the
economic slowdown (15% v. 7%) and that the relationships they have with the
stores they shop at have grown stronger over the last year.  In fact,
significantly more males than females always (6% v. 3%) or usually (26% v.
17%) buy brand name clothing at full retail price.  Almost half (48%) of the
males polled buy high-end brands just as often, and nearly one-third (29%)
spend money on entertainment more often. 

However, males are more likely to shop for one item at a time (42% v. 33%) and
to think of clothing as seasonal (19% v. 13%).  They are also far less likely
to seek information from media, catalogs and the Web for their purchase
decisions.

"Now more than ever, it is important for brands to capitalize on the
relationships they have with this younger audience," said Raj.  "While young
consumers are becoming more conscientious about their purchases, they still
return to the stores and brands they are familiar with when it comes time to
buy."

The survey revealed the best opportunity to target the younger generation of
consumers is in stores, despite a high proliferation of internet and social
network use among this age group.  The study found that more than 70% of
teenagers and young adults research and make purchases in stores.  In
addition, stores were the most prominent source of fashion purchase
information, compared to word of mouth (53%), catalogs (37%), magazines (23%),
online (20%) and TV (17%).

The study, based on an online survey of 1000 teens aged 13 to 21, was
conducted in partnership with American Student List, the nation's leading
provider of student and youth marketing data and part of the Euro RSCG
Discovery network. Data was weighted to be geographically representative.

Source : Euro RSCG Discovery

SOURCE  Euro RSCG Worldwide

Mise en place simple d'un programme de fidélisation

Fidéliser un client, c'est créer une relation de confiance. Un programme de fidélisation, c'est une arme de séduction massive. Un programme de fidélisation permet de comprendre les habitudes et comportements d'achats de vos consommateurs : valeurs des achats effectués, produits et services achetés et la fréquence d'achat.

Lorsque votre compréhension des habitudes de consommations de vos consommateurs est maîtrisée, vous pouvez alors communiquer de façon optimale. Vos interactions seront pertinentes, car, elles seront basées leurs besoins et leurs désirs.

Avant de mettre en place un programme de fidélisation, vous devez considérer les éléments suivants :

Rétention de vos clients
Tout type d'entreprise est concernée par la rétention de sa clientèle. Des solutions pour les petites entreprises sont disponibles, via le Web et Internet. Une entreprise telle que FanBox simplifie le processus d'implantation et de lancement de votre programme de fidélisation ou de carte-cadeau.

Une mise en marché ciblée vers vos clients les plus rentables se traduira par un retour sur investissement plus élevé que des efforts de recrutement de nouvelles clientèles.

Vos clients ne sont pas tous égaux
Votre entreprise doit concentrer ses efforts sur ses clients contribuant le plus à votre chiffre
d'affaires. Une base de données contenant les informations transactionnelles aide grandement à identifier les clients les plus profitables et développer des avantages et privilèges propres à vos clients loyaux.

Quels sont vos objectifs?
La première chose à faire, avant la mise en place d'un programme de fidélisation, c'est de fixer un ou des objectifs. Ex. :

• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients achètent plus souvent?
• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients achètent plus d'un produit ou service?
• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients achètent des produits ou services complémentaires?
• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients achètent des produits à plus forte marge ou à valeurs ajoutées?
• Est-ce que je veux que mes clients réfèrent des nouveaux clients

Les objectifs varieront selon votre type de produits ou service et votre secteur de marché.

Simple d'utilisation
Il est important que votre programme de fidélisation soit simple et que la récompense soit atteignable. Une prime inatteignable peut générer un effet négatif sur votre entreprise et du même coup, affaiblir le lien de confiance entre vous et vos clients.

Mesure des résultats
Il est primordial de mesurer les résultats de votre programme de fidélisation, afin de déterminer si ce dernier à un effet positif sur la rentabilité de votre entreprise. Ex:

• Ai-je atteint mes objectifs?
• Est-ce que les bénéfices sont supérieurs aux coûts du programme?
• Ai-je augmenté le taux de satisfaction de mes clients?
• Est-ce que mes clients me refirent des nouveaux prospects?

Soft drink bottle caps become loyalty tokens

Drinkers of Jarritos soft drinks in the US are being given the opportunity to turn in their bottle caps for prizes ranging from music downloads to HDTVs, through a new loyalty rewards promotion called Club Jarritos. Club Jarritos begins this month as a points-under-the-cap promotion through the Jarritos, Mineragua, and Jarritos Kids brands.

Anyone aged 13 or over can redeem points for prizes including CDs, Chivas T-Shirts, Voit soccer balls, and unique jewellery. Other rewards include gift cards for retailers such as JCPenney, Best Buy, and The Home Depot, as well as movie tickets, MP3 players, and even money transfers via MoneyGram. The promotion is being supported using Spanish-language radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet, and alternative media (such as e-blasts and text messaging). Details are available to consumers through the Club Jarritos bi-lingual web site as well as through in-store displays.

Source : The Wise Marketer

Segmenting on Loyalty - Television viewing data

In Simulmedia’s ongoing analysis of second-by-second television viewing data, we’re learning more about how people choose the programs they watch and how they watch the programs they choose. Some of the most surprising insights we’ve uncovered relate to people’s loyalty to programming.

Approaching loyalty through our personal television watching experience, we start with the programs to which we are loyal, the programs we eagerly await each week. In light of our attitude toward those programs, we can’t help think that everybody that watches our programs is like us, that our programs’ audiences are as devoted as we are.

Extending to other programs, we think that all programs have a similarly loyal audience. All these other programs that we’re not watching, they have their loyal audiences. Other viewers are making dates to watch these programs and are eagerly awaiting their start times.

Dominant promotional strategy bolsters this perspective on television viewing. Networks focus their marketing efforts on their loyal “core” audience - typically a demographic. By concentrating their promotional arsenal in their own programming, networks endeavor to extend their core audience’s viewing to the next program. If network’s loyal core audience is consistent and large, then the standard promotional strategy makes sense.

It turns out that we’re wrong.

Program loyalty is the exception, not the rule. Only a minority of a program’s viewers is faithful and watches every installment. Most of any program’s audience is just passing through. They tune in to a program once or twice in the course of a season, and then go their merry way.

Source and long text : Simulmedia

New Research Examines Escalating Competition in Bank Rewards/Loyalty Sector

A new report from Mercator Advisory Group's Retail Banking Practice, Weaponizing Loyalty: New Schemes Bolster Bank Competitiveness offers an in-depth examination of bank loyalty initiatives vitally relevant in today's banking environment.

These new rewards/loyalty initiatives are supported by a new crop of loyalty vendors offering financial institutions, and their merchant partners, the ability to parse bank customer transactional data to craft customized rewards across a spectrum of deposit products.

These services will change the competitive landscape of the retail banking industry. By year end 2010, Mercator Advisory Group predicts that 360º relationship-based loyalty programs will be the New Normal within the banking industry and that merchant funded co-branding, deposit account-based rewards programs and promotion individuation will become the hallmarks of these programs.

Source : Loyalty 360

Toronto Star : Loyalty program customer questions fuel charge

Source Toronto Star, Ellen Roseman

Last week's column on Aeroplan's policy of charging one cent a mile to spouses of deceased members drew a spirited response.

Readers had questions about both Aeroplan and Air Miles, Canada's biggest travel reward programs.

Q: What happens to Air Miles points after the member dies?

A: You can merge your account with the account of a family member who has died with no fee required.

Shawna Rossi, a spokesperson for LoyaltyOne, which runs Air Miles, says you must complete a "merge account form" and send it with supporting documents to Air Miles.

Q: My husband and I recently redeemed Air Miles points for two WestJet return flights to Florida.

There were extra fees of $374 for the two reward flights, including a $20 administration fee per ticket and a $75 fuel surcharge per ticket.

Air Miles told me it doesn't keep the fuel surcharge, but passes it on to the airline. But when I checked WestJet's website, I found there are no fuel surcharges any more. Is this just a money grab?

A: Air Miles has a fuel surcharge for reward tickets and so does Aeroplan – even though WestJet has dropped the surcharges and Air Canada has eliminated the fuel surcharge for North American flights.

I asked both loyalty programs for an explanation.

Shawna Rossi, Air Miles: WestJet has not removed this charge from the redemption class of tickets it sells to us.

The reward miles required for an Air Miles redemption has not increased since 2005 and we have no plans to increase the number of miles required at this time.

Unfortunately, this fuel charge is something we must pass on to collectors. It is part of the taxes and service charges the airline requires us to collect on their behalf for all redemption tickets.

As for the $20 per ticket booking fee, it covers services such as issuing the itinerary, e-ticket, paper ticket, etc.

Christa Poole, Aeroplan: Air Canada requires Aeroplan to collect fuel surcharges on all Classic flight rewards.

For international destinations, the fuel surcharge amounts are equivalent to those charged by Air Canada when customers purchase a regular ticket.

The North American fuel surcharge for Classic flight rewards is $27 per one way, while those for international flights vary by market and are the same as for Air Canada tickets.

Air Canada reflects the cost of fuel for North America in its ticket prices, which may increase or decrease accordingly.

However, Aeroplan does not vary its mileage levels for Classic flight rewards and is required to collect a separate surcharge, reflecting Air Canada's cost to purchase fuel.

Q: As an Air Miles member, I tried to redeem points for a Canon FS20 camcorder shown in its magazine.

I was told that model wasn't available because Canon had supplied the wrong image.

I think Air Miles should take responsibility for the error. Do I have a valid case?

A: Air Miles refused his request at first, saying Canon decided not to offer that camcorder in Canada after the magazine had gone to print.

"Rewards are subject to availability and restrictions imposed by suppliers," he was told.

Manvinder Pabla, the member, felt there was a principle involved.

"If it was too late to retract the offer, then why didn't they insert a flyer to correct it?"

Air Miles changed its stand after the Toronto Star got involved. It agreed that Pabla, a long-time collector, deserved to get the camcorder shown in the magazine at the 4,200-point level.

Starbucks runs mobile coupon loyalty program

Starbucks Coffee Co. is running a loyalty program based on 2D bar-code coupons deployed via SMS.

The coffee giant tapped digital technology provider Codilink, which specializes in mobile services helping companies to offer loyalty programs to their clients. The campaign is currently running in Guadalajara and San Luis Potosi, Mexico, but based on the 60 percent mobile coupon redemption rate, it is likely to be expanded.

Source : MobileMarketing

Frequent Flier Mile Controversy

Frequent flier miles - many people get excited when they heard those words. How many of you have signed up for credit cards or shopped in certain places just to get an extra 500 to 1,000 points? A lot of you, right? But, did you know that even though you have bought and paid for these frequent flier miles, you cannot sell these miles.

Surprising isn’t it? Well, it’s even more surprising to find out that, while you can’t sell your miles, your favorite airline has been doing just that. Sites like Points.com can purchase miles from you at significantly less than what you would be getting in a free market. And, a lot less
than the amount of money that the airlines are making off of their frequent flier mile programs.

Confused? Then, let’s get you some background on the subject. The frequent flier mile programs were first created as rewards for customer loyalty. These miles could be turned into discounts or credits for airplane tickets. But, soon this changed from just a customer loyalty program into a commodity that could be earned in different ways, including buying from a certain store or using a certain credit card.

Basically, you began to pay to get those loyalty miles. And, in turn, airlines began to make a profit off of these sales because of their relationships with the vendors. As the profits grew bigger from these sales, the airlines began to put more and more restrictions on how you could use your miles and when. The rise of the blackout periods took over.

So, consumers had a ton of miles that they couldn’t use or were getting ready to expire. Now, with panic setting in, they decided to do the next best thing. Sell those miles, get some cash and finally get some benefit out of their miles. Frequent flier brokers began popping up to service this segment of the market and help out the frequent flier in need.

Yet, the airline industry couldn’t just leave this well enough alone. Fearing that this simple exchange of goods would threaten them, they began intimidating their most precious commodity: the consumer. They would disable accounts or take away miles from anyone who dared to sell what was rightfully theirs.

The right to buy and sell frequent flier miles continues to be fought on many grounds, including the courtroom (check out the Delta SkyMiles case from a few years back). There are proponents and opponents on both ends of the spectrum. But, Web sites like www.Flyhub.com have been popping up on the side of consumers to help them buy and sell their frequent flier miles.
And, the fight will continue for many years to come.

Source : www.articledashboard.com

Teams, fans rally around Twitter

While some sports marketers have gotten to first base with Twit­ter, no one has been able to drive it home yet. Still, Twitter is a hit in the sports community thanks to the microblogging site's ability to engage and inform in real-time.

While it has yet to be used widely to drive sales conver­sions, Twitter's potential to pro­vide brand and product insights and its ability to add interactivity to other media channels, such as television, print and e-mail, makes it increasingly difficult for direct marketers to ignore it when launching a campaign.

Because Twitter is an open appli­cation programming interface (API), marketers can scrape Twit­ter feeds for data, said Jason Inasi, president at Miami-based The Fac­tory Interactive. “Twitter as a data mining, predictive trending tool is amazing because you can do stuff in real-time,” Inasi said.

The social media site has amassed a large crowd — a total of 9.3 mil­lion members as of March — but for sports marketing, the real appeal is the synergy in purpose.

“Sports is fun. Twitter is fun,” said David Smith, president at Steiner Sports Direct. The ques­tion is how to leverage Twitter to make it fun for fans, he added.

Last week, the NBA's Phoenix Suns franchise ran a TV broadcast ad during the last game of the regu­lar season soliciting for Facebook and Twitter followers, promising 500 prize giveaways to new users. The trend began last year when several well-known athletes led the way into this emerging media, and quickly discovered loyal fans were thrilled to connect with the some­times hard-to-reach celebrities.

Source : DMNews

CEOs building stronger relationships with customer & employee

National CEO Survey Highlights the Power of People.

Company leaders focus on the strength of internal and external relationship-building.

While CEOs ante up to the challenges of today’s competitive pressures and the current economic conditions, they’re recognizing the power of people. Whether better managing their company’s clients, employees or both, today’s CEOs are strengthening business by building stronger relationships with these individuals, according to the 2009 Management Action Programs Inc. (MAP) Quarterly CEO Survey conducted by Vantage Research. Surprisingly, these CEOs aren’t as concerned with lowering product prices to steer their companies through the recession right now. Instead, over 50 percent are now turning their attention to stabilizing or growing revenues through customer/client retention, using softer tactics, like beefing up services, interactions and communications, the survey indicates. As well, nearly 70 percent of these company leaders are motivating staff with simple, yet effective non-financial rewards, such as verbal and written recognition.

“The results from MAP’s latest survey demonstrate that in the face of today’s economic crisis, CEOs are going back to basics,” says Lee Froschheiser, president/CEO of MAP (www.mapconsulting.com), a veteran business-consulting firm that has accelerated sustained growth for over 13,000 companies and 160,000 executives since 1960. “There is renewed focus on treating both employees and customers right, which is a key driver in maintaining a sustainable business. If CEOs can rise to the challenge, they create a win-win situation: They retain their best employees and their best customers.”

Source : www.mapconsulting.com

Building Your Brand by Creating Community

What are the most important goals when building your brand online? No matter the product, service or industry, those goals likely include:

1. Starting a relationship with your customers that can't be duplicated by the competition, encouraging loyalty and providing value.
2. Maximizing customer interaction time with your brand, as well as building mindshare and influence.
3. Building an e-mail list for targeted follow-up and communication.

Source and complet article : Chief Marketer

I have just read Reality Check and it exceeded my expectations

Reality Check

Reality Check from Guy Kawasaki provides "hardcore information" for "hardcore people who want to kick ass.

I have just read Reality Check and it exceeded my expectations.

FanBox MS2, the Ultimate Tool in Relational Technology

MS2 is a unique platform that offers unparalleled performance. Through exhaustive research and major investments, it brings together state-of-the-art relational marketing technologies. It also offers two innovative concepts which, once combined, can be represented by a mathematical formula: MS2=DMA*+CCC*.

DMA* or Discreet Member Analysis consists of a detailed, real-time analysis of the consumer habits and preferences of each of your clients. This analysis allows you, for example, to make a specific offer to customers at the very moment they arrive at a cash register or an interactive terminal.

CCC* or Consumer Constant Connection represents the multiplication of targeted communication possibilities and opportunities with each of your clients, thanks to the acute knowledge you acquire of their needs and preferences. You are kept up-to-date, step by step, of what they consume, allowing you to monitor trends in their needs and habits.

For more info about MS2: dguay (at) fanbox.net

* All rights reserves, MS2, DMA and CCC

New Loyalty Program Offers Patent Lawyers Value in Challenging Economic Climate

At a time when law firms and in-house legal departments are tightening their belts, Patent Resources Group (PRG) has introduced a new Loyalty Program to provide patent legal professionals the valuable Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit they need to continue practicing.

The new program offers exclusive pricing on any 2009 Advanced Courses for attendees of any one of Patent Resource Group’s 2008 Advanced Courses, Workshops, Seminars or Patent Bar Review courses. Additionally, attendees of any 2009 course will receive Loyalty Program pricing for any subsequent Advanced Courses in 2009, as well as in 2010.

Source : Patent Resources Groupe Newsroom

You Liked This Product. Now What?

Product recommendation is one of the most elusive--and potentially profitable--forms of merchandising online, where consumer behavior can bring in reams of data about the way people shop. But figuring out what to do with that data, and how to present what you learn, is a psychological challenge all its own.

No company has tackled personalized recommendations on a larger scale than Amazon, which has a 100-person team devoted solely to suggesting other products its customers might like. So the small-but-influential world of personalization paid attention when Amazon's head of personalization from 2003-2004, David Selinger, left for Overstock, and learned to leverage impulse deal-buying as well as a big back catalog of products. After over a year at Overstock, Selinger left to co-found a company called RichRelevance in 2006, which would take what he had learned and turn it into an algorithmic tool he could sell.

The problem is that online customers are a particular and fickle bunch: even if you serve them up interesting product suggestions, you can still fail to get a good conversion rate if you don't present the suggestions in a palatable but unobtrusive way. Do it right, and you can increase sales by 25%, as Amazon did under Selinger. Do it wrong, and you can alienate people or even piss them off.

Source : FastCompany

La problématique du lancement des campagnes de fidélisation

Lancer une nouvelle campagne de fidélisation est souvent une gageure et une prise de risque importante. Deux points sont pourtant à retenir pour minimiser les risques et tendre vers le succès.

Liens vers un très bon article sur le sujet

How to use Bluetooth successfully in mobile marketing campaigns

Most mobiles come with Bluetooth as standard but there is still some confusion over how it can be used for marketing - so the DMA Mobile Marketing Council's Mark Brill explains how to implement innovative proximity campaigns, without falling foul of the law.

Source : MyCustomer.com and DMA

RFID-enabled loyalty program

TOP Food and Drug, a Washington State grocery chain operated by Haggen Inc., has deployed an RFID-enabled customer relationship program in its stores. The program, TOP Connection, uses RFID-enabled key tags (or adhesive tags for cellphones) to target customers with tailored marketing promotions and value-added services.

The TOP Connection system uses a software platform from Accelitec Inc. This system, which is interfaced with RFID readers placed at checkout terminals and the key tags issued to customers, functions as an on-demand customer acquisition and retention platform, and holds encrypted customer information on secure servers. The software platform is compatible with legacy hardware and software used by most retailers.

To participate in the program, customers enroll and set up an online profile, including personal information and product, communication and payment preferences. The amount of information provided by customers guides the level of participation in the program, with more detailed data accessing highly customized offers and marketing. Key tags, which are designed by Vanguard ID Systems and use UPM Raflatac HF RFID inlays, are issued after enrollment and scanned automatically at checkout.

Source RFID News

Consumers who pay their bills online are more profitable and loyal to their financial institution

Aspen Marketing Services, working with CheckFree, now part of Fiserv, and a top 10 financial institution, performed a comprehensive analysis of offline and online banking customers to understand how online bill usage impacts both profitability and customer churn.

They found households that use online bill pay are up to 271 percent more profitable and 76 percent less likely to churn than households that do not. They also found that new online bill payers show a dramatic increase in profitability after adoption, delivering 15-20 percent more profit after adopting bill pay.

Further, they discovered that bill pay data is a unique and incremental source of data that can be leveraged to predict a range of important outcomes, including churn, cross sell and future profitability. This paper demonstrates that, rather than just being a simple cost center, online bill pay can be a valuable tool to drive profit, reduce churn and predict future customer behavior.

Source : Fiserv

Le Club Med lance son programme de fidélisation mondial

Club Med vient d'annoncer le lancement de son tout premier programme de fidélisation "Club Med Great Members". La création de ce programme s'inscrit dans la stratégie de montée en gamme du voyagiste et répond aux attentes de ses clients en quête de reconnaissance. Il remplit trois objectifs : montrer au client qu'il est une priorité, avoir un programme relais de la stratégie (haut de gamme, convival et multiculturel) et s'appuyer sur l'histoire du Club et de ses clients en transformant les "gentils membres" en "great members".

Concrètement, le programme permet aux clients d'accéder à trois statuts : "turquoise", "silver" ou "gold"' selon leur niveau de fidélité. Pour obtenir le statut "silver", une famille de quatre personnes doit avoir passé plus de quatre semaines en trois ans au Club Med et plus de huit semaines pour passer au statut "gold". Une fois détenteur de son statut "silver", le client fidèle bénéficie de la priorité d'offres en avant-première ou dédiées, de la garantie du meilleurs prix pour les "early bookers" et à des ventes privées du Club Med et de ses partenaires. Il peut également profiter de réductions en boutiques et sur les excursions. Quant aux membres "gold", ils ont accès à une série de "privilèges" dédiés. Ils peuvent, par exemple, être surclassés en chambre de catégorie supérieure, obtenir un transfert privilégié pour tout séjour dans un village de quatre ou cinq tridents, bénéficier du check-in prioritaire, etc.

Le programme "great members" a également été pensé comme un complément à la carte Club Med - American Express. Ainsi, chaque utilisation de la carte pour régler des achats effectués en France ou à l'étranger, chez les commerçant du réseau American Express, permettent de cumuler des points transformables par la suite en réductions pour des séjours au Club Med.

Source : e-marketing.fr

Building brand loyalty through social brand action

Consumers are seeing the financial services industry reflect a past of greed and lack of governance to the point of public money bail outs, thousands of people losing their homes and jobs and a global credit crisis. Link this to the growth of the internet and explosive growth in people's access to 'knowledge' and you have a backdrop of change in how organisations are integrating social value propositions into their brand values.

The link goes even further. The public is also more aware of the environment and going green. Green products or services, although considered with a touch of cynicism by consumers, do not take away the fact that people want to do something to help our neglected planet.

Social brand capital is not a new idea, in fact companies like clothing firm Patagonia and Body Shop embraced CSR in their products and communication 20 years ago, with most companies today focused on issues that effect our social and cultural well being. Corporations are much more aware of their carbon footprint and the need to use responsible ingredients and packaging. In fact, many companies in their annual reports and websites identify their activity on social brand responsibility.

"Branding today is about creating and building value–centric brands to show leadership in social responsibility well beyond how brands define themselves in terms of their functionality and image."

This phenomena of social consciousness is now expanding as customers seek out products and services that make them feel they are "doing their bit" for the environment and being socially good citizens. The change is fuelling a new greener approach in brand marketing and the developing a greener feel and look for a brand purchase beyond price.

Source : MyCustomer.com

E-Mail Marketers Sending in the Dark

Ignorance, budget constraints among reasons why not

The proposition for e-mail marketing in the Web 2.0 world is simple—a low-cost medium with a good return on investment that can be easily tracked.

But for many e-mail marketers, tracking is proving tricky.

According to eROI, 18% of US e-mail marketers are not tracking the effectiveness of their campaigns.

Reasons for not tracking varied. Most marketers not tracking site conversions did not know how. Lack of time and budget were also concerns.

Similarly, the biggest reasons for not tracking e-commerce conversions were lack of knowledge and budget.

Source: eMarketer

New iPhone Apps Providing Retailers With New Ways To Connect with Consumers

Dating back to the days of its first release in July 2007—when it sold one million units in just the three days—the Apple iPhone has been a hot commodity. Now less than two years from its debut, the iPhone is poised to be a game changer in retailing and mobile commerce.

With this summer’s introduction of the iPhone OS 3.0 beta software, industry insiders predict Apple will integrate micro transaction technology allowing consumers to pay for products directly through their iTunes account without ever having to use a credit card.

From Retail Touch Point

The soft drink launches a new flavor with a loyalty program that targets users in their digital comfort zone

The soft drink launches a new flavor with a loyalty program that targets users in their digital comfort zone -- Facebook, blogs, and online games. But will design flaws short circuit the whole campaign?

Source : iMedia Connection

The Top 5 Corporate Blogging Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them

Most business blogging fails to accomplish anything that is really meaningful, or more importantly measurable. That leaves a lot of businesses frustrated with the media as a whole, and a lot of well-intentioned projects abandoned.

Today, we are going to fix that problem by pointing out five common mistakes and how to remedy them.

Source: Chief Marketer

Harley-Davidson Loyalty Program HOG

Getting Brand Communities Right

In 1983, Harley-Davidson faced extinction. Twenty-five years later, the company boasted a top-50 global brand valued at $7.8 billion. Central to the company’s turnaround, and to its subsequent success, was Harley’s commitment to building a brand community: a group of ardent consumers organized around the lifestyle, activities, and ethos of the brand.

The full story at: Harvard Business Review

In Britain, the time has come to rethink loyalty program

The research report, entitled 'Imperatives for Customer Loyalty', explains that the traditional models for engendering customer loyalty are changing with the economic climate, even in sectors where existing barriers to brand-switching are significant.

Click here to download the free report

Source : The Wise Marketer, Ipsos, The Logic Group

Skype Is Largest International Voice Carrier, Says Study

Skype carried around 33 billion minutes of international voice calls last year, or around 8 percent of all international voice traffic, according to market researcher TeleGeography.

The growth in the company's international traffic -- 41 percent in 2008 -- has been remarkable, according to TeleGeography analyst Stephan Beckert, and has made Skype the largest provider of cross-border voice communications in the world, he said in a statement.

One explanation for the growth in minutes -- despite the fact that the phone has to compete with, for example, instant messaging -- is conference calling, according to Steve Blood, vice president in Gartner Research. Companies are putting the squeeze on air travel, and instead using conference calls to save money, he said.

Source: Skype Is Largest International Voice Carrier, Says Study

Re-Courting Customers For Winback Strategies Requires Right Access To Data

One of the toughest areas of retailing to define is customer value. The reason is because recency and frequency can change radically within a short period of time. When is a customer simply out of the market for your product? When are they in danger of going to a competitor? And when do they need to be reactivated aggressively or “won back?” With new customers tough to come by, many retailers are finding strategies to define and execute these winbacks.

Source: Retail Touch Points

E-Marketing? Eh Marketing? Canadians Are Wired Up

Canadians Juggle Their Online Lives

Canada has some of the world’s most committed Internet users. In 2009, more than 69% of the population is online—compared with less than 65% in the US.

Moreover, four-fifths of Internet users in Canada spend at least an hour a day online for personal reasons, according to a 2009 survey by MSN Canada and Harris/Decima. Of those users, 45% spend 3 hours or more online each day.

But you can have too much of a good thing. Canada’s enthusiasm for online social activity is beginning to cause a few headaches.

A large part of the personal time Internet users in Canada spend online is taken up with e-mail and instant messaging (IM). Two-thirds of the Web users polled said they checked their e-mail often during an average day, and 95% checked at least once a day. In addition, over one-third of respondents used IM several times a day.

That doesn’t sound excessive. The problem is that nine in 10 Web users have more than one online account or profile to manage, according to the survey—and one in five has 10 or more accounts. The average among Canada’s Internet users is seven online accounts. No wonder that 53% of those polled said it was time-consuming to log in to all their accounts, manage message traffic and keep profiles up to date.

Social networking, in particular, makes big demands on Canada’s Web users. (A full 30% of survey respondents said they checked their social network profiles frequently each day.) And those with multiple accounts can’t devote equal attention to all of them. Almost one-half (45%) of Web users said they could not manage their accounts effectively, and more than one-half of those with four or more online accounts said they spent most of their time managing just one.

The issue is even more acute for Web users in Canada who use the Internet chiefly as a social tool, noted Andrew Assad of Microsoft Canada. More than one-quarter (27%) of Web users with this strong social motivation defined themselves as chameleons when engaged in social networking; they tended to create different profiles for different audiences, and changed their style and approach depending on the context of interaction

Source: eMarketer

Twitter Posts Meteoric 1,384% YoY Growth

Twitter experienced 1,382% year-over-year growth in February 2009, with the number of total unique visitors increasing from 475,000 in February 2008 to 7 million last month, according to Nielsen Online. This increase makes Twitter the fastest growing member community site for the month.

Zimbio and Facebook , which were the second and third-fastest growing communities, posted triple-digit growth, with the number of visitors to those sites increasing 240% and 228%, respectively.

Study finds word-of-mouth's impact on loyalty into the B2C wireless market

The study examined the financial impact of both positive and negative WoM, and highlighted the impact that customer loyalty and WoM can have on a company's brand and bottom line.

Download white paper

Source: The Wise Marketer and Satmetric

RT @mobile_drew A marketer w/out a mobile loyalty program in '09 or '10 will risk losing customers to competitors

Forrester Report Finds Retail Leads Loyalty Pack, But Channel Connections Still Missing

Retail was the clear winner in last week’s Forrester customer experience report, but its author sees a lot of room for improvement. Although the retail industry performed the highest out of 12 categories in using customer experience to stimulate loyalty, Forrester Senior Analyst Bruce Temkin said cross-channel touch points could make retailers better at loyalty marketing, if the customer experience was made a higher priority.

“Retailers have been operating with customer needs in mind for longer than any other business,” says Temkin. “But no one is really doing well across channels. Retailers still tend to set their web operations up in complete isolation from the other business units.”

The Forrester report “Customer Experience and Loyalty” examined the correlation between customer experience and loyalty across 12 industries: airlines, banks, cell phone service providers, credit card providers, hotels, insurance firms, Internet service providers, investment firms, medical insurance companies, PC manufacturers, retailers, and TV service providers. It looked at how three elements of customer experience (meeting needs, being easy to work with, and enjoyability) correlate with three components of loyalty (repurchase plans, reluctance to switch, and likelihood to recommend).

The report found the most direct connections between repurchasing and enjoyability as well as a clear link the most with the likelihood to recommend. It also turns out that industries have different loyalty profiles. For instance, retailers and health insurers can influence loyalty the most by meeting customer needs while banks and hotels can affect customer repurchase plans from all elements of customer experience.

Retailers scored the highest correlation between customer experience and loyalty in almost every category. The retail industry’s overall score was 81, with useful at 86, easy to use at 85 end enjoyable at 75.

Meeting customer needs were found to be the strongest link to repurchasing. For every industry except airlines, meeting needs had the highest (or was tied for the highest) correlation with consumers’ plans to make another purchase. The “easy to work with” category also has a strong link to repurchasing and recommendations.

Source : Retail Souce Point and Forrester

Baseball fans can score with Miller High Life Extras

The Extras loyalty program from Miller High Life, which allows consumers to earn reward points by purchasing specially marked packages of High Life and High Life Light, is now offering baseball-themed High Life merchandise.

In 1903, pitcher Cy Young won 28 games, Buck Freeman led the league with 13 home runs, and the Boston Americans (aka Boston Red Sox!) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the World Series. That same year, Miller High Life made its debut, and the brand has enjoyed a strong connection with baseball ever since. "Extras has been a huge hit with beer drinkers since we launched it last spring, and we believe that offering exclusive High Life-themed baseball merchandise is just another way to keep the program fresh and add value for our loyal fans," says High Life Senior Brand Manager Kevin Oglesby. "From a High Life baseball jersey to a base-and-bat barstool, the Extras program offers something for all fans."

Miller High Life will partner with such baseball legends as Wade Boggs, Tony Perez, Ryne Sandberg and Fergie Jenkins, who will interact with fans during appearances at bars and stores while promoting the High Life Extras program.

"Fans have known for a long time that beer and baseball go together pretty darn well," said Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. "Baseball fans will definitely be impressed with the merchandise High Life is offering through the Extras program."

Each bottle or can in eligible packaging will be worth 10 points, and consumers earning reward points can create an account and upload point codes at MillerHighLife.com, where they will be able to track points, and view and order the exclusive, limited-edition merchandise. Point totals needed to earn the baseball merchandise range from 2,500 for a High Life baseball hat to 27,500 for the base-and-bat barstool. Extras account members also can send e-cards to friends who are not already participating in the program and invite them to enroll. For each referred person who enrolls and participates, the referring consumer will receive 60 points.

Source: MillerCoors

Permission-based email aids loyalty to CPGs

The receipt of permission-based email from a consumer packaged goods company positively influences consumers' offline purchasing decisions, enhances the company's reputation and generates loyalty to its brands, according to research from loyalty marketing firm Epsilon.

Email communications elicit behaviour from consumers that is measurable by marketers as well as behaviour that is otherwise difficult to track. When asked how often consumers took the following actions as a direct result of receiving permission-based email from a CPG company, on a four-point scale, the survey revealed that:

• 91% of respondents downloaded or printed a coupon;
  
• 81% clicked on a link in an email to learn more;
  
• 76% tried a new product for the first time;
  
• 75% read company or brand content;
  
• 67% researched retail locations that carry the product;
  
• 66% ordered a product sample;
  
• 65% shared a coupon or forwarded the email;
  
• 65% purchased the product online;
  
• 34% typed or copied a URL directly into their browser.

The report has been made available for free download from Epsilon's web site - click here (PDF document; no registration needed).

Big Price Cuts Linked to Long-Term Brand Damage

Companies that lower the prices of their products during the recession may risk damaging long-term brand perceptions because suspicious consumers assume something is wrong with the product or brand if it’s being discounted.

Google TV Unveils Two New Reporting Functions

Google today announced two new reporting capabilities for its Google TV Ads service, bringing more data to a service already renowned for its metrics-heavy approach.

Everybody Loves Social Networking, Except Some Advertisers

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006974

How to Build a Personal and Business Following on Twitter

http://www.emarketingandcommerce.com/story/how-build-personal-and-business-following-twitter

Digital lifestyle tracking service could be a hit for mobile marketing initiatives

Digital lifestyle tracking service could be a hit for mobile marketing initiatives.

http://shortn.me/hb

This program allows users to stream any of the hundreds of thousands of songs available on YouTube to PCs

Built by a clever 15-year-old web developer, muziic.com allows users to stream any of the hundreds of thousands of songs available on YouTube directly to PCs (without fiddling with videos), where they can then be organized into an iTunes-like interface.

Check it out now before it's gone, as the site has yet to receive the blessing of Google, record companies, or the various rights holders to the songs.

Why Bad Times Nurture New Inventions

Has the Internet Made You More Productive? http://is.gd/nwv6

La manne des cartes-cadeaux non échangés

Selon un rapport établit par TowerGroup, il s'est vendu pour quelque 80 milliards de dollars de cartes-cadeaux, en 2006 aux États-Unis.  La valeur de ceux qui ne seront jamais échangés se chiffre à environ 8 milliards.

Cela représente un montant plus important que les fraudes portant sur les cartes de débit et crédit réunies.

L'année dernière, ce phénomène a rapporté 16 millions de dollars US à la chaine d'électronique Best Buy.

Source: "The Gift-Card Economy", de Stephen J. Dubner et Steven D. Levitt, New York Times Magazine, 7 janvier 2007.

27 avril - journée internationale des adjointes administratives et secrétaires

Le 27 avril, c'est la journée internationale des adjointes administratives et secrétaires.  Il s'agit de l'une des journées les plus soulignées dans le monde des affaires.  Cette journée est à l'honneur des gens s'exerçant un travail de premier plan.

Faites de cette journée du 27 avril, un moment spécial :

• Repas d'appréciation;
• Diffuser un courriel dans toute l'entreprise afin de remercier le personnel de soutien pour leurs réalisations;
• Offrez un certificat Vipass, le cadeau qui plait à tout coup!

Un sondage réalisé auprès des adjointes administratives, nous révèle ce qu'elles désirent ou apprécient recevoir :

• Une journée permettant une tenue décontractée en milieux de semaine;
• Un bouquet de fleurs
• Un déjeuner surprise au restaurant
• Un après-midi de congé, qu'elle pourra utiliser à sa guise (coiffure, manucure, spa,...)

Si vous n'êtes pas certains ce qu'elle préfère, utilisez le certificat Vipass.  Elle pourra l'échanger chez plus de 60 bannières nationales, 300 restaurants (hôtels, auberges, spas,...) et encore plus

Question & réponse – Le cadeau personnalisé

Question : Comment puis-je offrir un cadeau mémorable à mon équipe de soutien administratif?

Réponse :    Rien de plus apprécier qu'un événement.  Faites de cette journée un événement en offrant un arrangement floral ou faites préparer un repas chez un traiteur.  Lors du repas, déposez un certificat Vipass à l'endroit où chacun des membres de votre équipe s'assoira.  Lorsque vous commanderez vos Vipass, prenez soin de les personnaliser au nom de chaque personne.

Faites vos achats dès maintenant au www.vipass.ca

La carte-cadeau est un prétexte...

Il est vrai que 40 % des cartes-cadeaux sont vendues au cours de la périodes des Fêtes.  Mais si vous avez manqués cette période, ne pleurez plus...  60 % des cartes-cadeaux sont vendues le reste de l'année .

Pour certains, il s’agit simplement d’un item supplémentaire sur les tablettes.  Pour d'autres, c’est un moyen puissant d’acquisition de nouveau consommateur.  Mais tous sont d’avis que les cartes-cadeaux modifient profondément les comportements d’achats des consommateurs.

La carte-cadeau est le prétexte : le type de stratégie de commercialisation et d’utilisation déterminera l’efficacité de ce véhicule afin de bâtir la fidélité du consommateur.  

Mais tout d’abord quelques données provenant d’un sondage effectué par American Express auprès de consommateurs ayant acheté des cartes-cadeaux au cours de l’année 2005.

• Ils concentreront leurs achats chez quelques marchands (62 %)
• Ils offriront des cartes-cadeaux, en remplacement de marchandise (60 %)
• Les consommateurs sont convaincus qu’ils effectueront leur magasinage plus rapidement et subiront moins de stress (74 %)
• Ils sont d’avis que les cartes-cadeaux ont modifiés leurs façons de faire des courses.

Plus de la moitié des répondants achète des cartes-cadeaux, car le récipiendaire a des besoins spécifiques et qu’il est préférable que celui qui reçoit choisisse ce qu’il désire vraiment.

Il n’y a pas que les adultes qui sont friands de ce produit.  La carte-cadeau est le cadeau idéal des enfants et des adolescents. 93 % des adolescents américains ont reçu une carte-cadeau dans les 12 derniers mois.  Plus de 63 % des individus de ce groupe d’âge ont acheté une carte-cadeau.  L’anniversaire d’un parent ou d’un ami est l’occasion le plus populaire pour offrir d’une carte-cadeau.  La valeur moyenne d’une carte-cadeau offerte par un adolescent est de 25 $ et le récipiendaire visite le commerçant dans le mois suivant la réception.

Le groupe des 5 à 14 ans n’est pas en reste. 4 parents sur 5 ont déclaré avoir acheté une carte-cadeau pour leur enfant ou que leur enfant a reçu une carte-cadeau, au cours de la dernière année.  Les parents préfèrent offrir des cartes-cadeaux, car les enfants peuvent acheter ce qu’ils veulent, quand ils le veulent.  Les adultes offrent des cartes-cadeaux plus que tout autres produits afin récompenser leurs enfants (résultats académiques, semaine de relâche).

Il existe une multitude de façons d’augmenter la vente carte-cadeau dans un environnement de commerce aux détails.

Concours « Glisez et gagnez »
- Les commerçants peuvent utiliser différents types de promotion afin d’ajouter de l’excitation pour les détenteurs de cartes.  Par exemple, la création d’un concours où le consommateur glisse sa carte-cadeau au point de vente afin de gagner un prix instantané.  Imaginez : l’acheteur offre une carte-cadeau (portant une certaine valeur) et le récipiendaire a l’opportunité non seulement d’utiliser sa carte, mais de potentiellement de gagner un prix!  Qui ne désire pas donner une carte-cadeau qui en plus peut faire gagner?

Coupons sur mesure
- Une autre opportunité qui bénéficie autant au marchand qu’au consommateur et l’utilisation de la carte-cadeau à titre de coupons.  Il s’agit de bonifier le paiement avec une carte-cadeau et ainsi augmenter le trafic lors de moment moins achalandé.  Par exemple, certains restaurants utilisent ce type de promotion en début de semaine.  Ils offrent un apéritif ou un dessert aux consommateurs qui présentent une carte-cadeau valide.  Ce type d’offre est un investissement marketing puissant et permet d’augmenter l’achalandage dans des périodes lentes.

Ajout en bonis
- Un excellent moyen d’augmenter la valeur des cartes-cadeaux est de bonifier le montant lors de l’activation.  Une promotion de ce genre pourrait prendre la forme suivante :  Achetez une carte-cadeau de 100 $ et nous ajoutons 20 $.  De toute façon, le consommateur utilisera la valeur ajoutée dans votre commerce.

Regardez à l’intérieur de votre propre commerce et voyez ce que vous pouvez offrir en bonis lors d’achat d’une carte-cadeau.  Si vous trouvez un produit ou un service que vos consommateurs désirent vraiment à peu ou sans frais, vous avez un outil puissant dans votre arsenal marketing.  Regardé bien, ça en vaut la peine.