Posts Tagged ‘loyalty programs’
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
We read a lot about gift card “breakage”. That pre-paid industry term that translates to “gift cards that have been sold but never redeemed”. Breakage is a negative term for gift card holders and it’s really not such a positive one for retailers (surprisingly). Although breakage leads to higher profit margins; retailers and merchants are NOT gaining customers or building loyalty if those gift card holders never visit the store to become a real customer.
Let’s turn this principle into an opportunity for employers, loyalty programs, and Scrip gift card programs, to communicate to their participants and engage them with your program. You know who you have given gift cards to. So, communicate with those program participants, and use that information to engage them in your program. Although many will have redeemed their gift cards, show you care and send them a reminder to use their cards…that employee, loyalty points redeemer, or the Scrip gift card buyer will thank you for the reminder.
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Tags: B2B gift cards, bulk gift cards, corporate incentives, employee recornition, loyalty programs, loyalty programs and gift cards
Posted in General, Incentives & Engagement | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Customer loyalty is key in the market companies currently compete in. Not only is the economy still recovering from a major recession, but the pace of media messaging causes consumer fragmentation that has never been seen before. Maintaining customer loyalty can make or break companies and their bottom lines. Here are three ways companies often get customer loyalty and brand loyalty programs wrong:
- Neglecting existing customers- As important as it is to constantly bring in new customers and new business, it is equally important to maintain the relationships with existing customers, as they are already bringing the company revenue. It is important to focus on maintaining your existing loyalty base, giving them exclusive access or a special gift card as an incentive could easily meet their recognition needs without costing the company very much money
- Rewarding spenders but not sender- Spenders spend a lot of money with your company, and it is easy to recognize their loyalty. But senders or people who send their friends and family and use their personal networks to bring additional customers to your products are arguably more important to building and maintaining a successful business. Providing incentives, such as gift cards or discounts for referrals build brand loyalty with the existing customer, while creating the potential for further brand loyalty from the newly referred customers
- Creating a loyalty program vs brand loyalty- whether you create a one-time program like a buy one get one free, or a long term program, such as a points rewards program, loyalty programs usually create loyalty to the program rather than loyalty to the brand. Customer loyalty to a brand originates from a customer feeling like they are being treated exceptionally by the company or the brand. The best way to do that is to take care of loyal customers on a case-by-case basis, essentially having no structured program at all, rather simply taking care of customers when needed, such as giving a gift card as a spot reward, or discounting a purchase when a loyal customer spends a large sum of money
Find the best way to treat your loyal customers in a way that makes them feel special, and it will keep them coming back consistently, and bringing their friends and family too. As we kick-off 2012 it might be time to re-evaluate your loyalty program, and ensure that you are getting customer loyalty right this year.
The author:
Rachel Merkin is a recent college graduate, beginning a career in marketing and public relations. She has been exploring the worlds of social media and B2B gift cards since 2006. When she is not blogging, tweeting, or finding ways to leverage Facebook as a marketing tool, she spends as much time IN or ON the ocean as possible, beaching and boating.
Tags: gift cards, loyalty programs, loyalty rewards, motivation
Posted in General, Gift Card Trends, Loyalty | No Comments »
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
The Citi Thank You Program is revolutionizing the use of rewards points. Imagine being able to share points with your friends to save up for a get-away weekend, or save up points with one friend for another friends’ birthday present. Many people pool points for gift cards from retailers who partner with Citi to make their gift cards available through the Citi ThankYou program such as CVS/Pharmacy and Charming Shoppes stores. This allows consumers to use points for gift cards for themselves, or to use as gifts, giving the recipient of the gift a chance to choose their own gift. You could even pool points with friends and family to make a group contribution to a good cause. Well, now you can. The new Citi ThankYou Point Sharing App on Facebook allows groups of friends to pool points in order to redeem the value of the points for a bigger reward.
This app is the beginning of a revolution in monetizing social media. This app is allowing users to move assets and share funds through Facebook, a social media platform. This app will soon promote itself, benefiting not just the Citi ThankYou Program, but its users and potential users as well. The more people use the Point Sharing App, the more people will post on Facebook about it, making the App and its use go viral across the platform.
A rewards program that rewards itself, an incentive social media innovation.
For more information on the Citi ThankYou Points Sharing App check out the pymnts.com article.
The author:
Rachel Merkin is a recent college graduate, beginning a career in marketing and public relations. She has been exploring the worlds of social media and B2B gift cards since 2006. When she is not blogging, tweeting, or finding ways to leverage Facebook as a marketing tool, she spends as much time IN or ON the ocean as possible, beaching and boating.
Tags: customer loyalty, E-Commerce, incentive program, loyalty programs, Marketing, rewards points, social media
Posted in Fundraising, Gift Card Technology, Incentives & Engagement, Loyalty | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
We’ve been hearing a lot about how gift cards have become the most coveted gift this holiday season, as well as their rise to the number 1 spot for workplace incentives, but; do gift cards have a strong hold on the most redeemed item in loyalty programs? Really…we want to know!
A recent study released in the United States, called “Born This Way: The US Millennial Loyalty Survey”, concluded that Gen Y, AKA “Millennial” consumers (those born between the mid-1970s and the mid-1990s) “will change the way companies and brands build sustainable customer loyalty”.
HOW?
- Over ¾ of US Gen Y-ers are more likely to select a brand offering a loyalty or reward program over one that does not offer such a program
- They rate loyalty rewards as their top incentive as exchange for sharing personal information with marketers
- No surprise; social media is on the rise, with nearly ½ of US Gen Y-ers willing to promote brands via social media in exchange for rewards
- Using a mobile device as a substitute for a plastic loyalty card is the top requested mobile payment application
Generation Y is clearly more “willing to participate in loyalty and reward programs than their parents, but they expect reward programs to be free, easy and fast,” says Rick Ferguson, VP if Knowledge Development for Aimia . “This generation also relies heavily on outside information to make purchase decisions—information that is often out of the realm of control for marketers”.
So how will the closed-loop segment of the pre-paid gift card industry capitalize on these Gen-Y/Millennial loyalty & reward tendencies?
I wish I could give you the full report, but you can download the full US research report here.
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Tags: Aimia, brand loyalty, brand recognition, gift card rewards, loyalty incentives, loyalty programs, loyalty programs and gift cards, loyalty rewards
Posted in General, Incentives & Engagement, Loyalty | No Comments »
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Schools are now incentivizing students for higher test scores, college admittance, after school study programs, and even good attendance. But some parents are now wondering what incentives take it too far.
Some schools have fun, experiential incentives, such as a teacher dunk-tank, or a friday afternoon carnival, to acknowledge students’ hard work, and incent them to continue the good behavior. Other schools are using cash incentives or expensive material incentives (such as a laptop, or iPad) to reinforce good behavior. Some parents feel that these lavish incentive gifts are going too far. Do you think kids can handle the same level of incentives offered to their parents? What happened to offering kids a gift card to their favorite lunch spot, or a class breakfast for good behavior. Is this the way we want to teach our kids to learn, or is it okay as long as it raises test scores and ensures entrance to college?
Can we incent our kids like adults, or is it teaching them the wrong lessons? Should we stick to small denominations of gift cards, or are the bigger better rewards really the right way? Let us know what you think by leaving us a comment.
To find out more about parental concerns regarding student rewards click here.
Tags: incentive program, loyalty programs, rewards
Posted in General, Incentives & Engagement | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
Loyalty programs are an important channel for GCP to sell our gift cards into, so we thought our loyalty companies (clients) as well as our retailer audience would find this article interesting and educational. It outlines an interesting argument for integrating a holistic approach to the business, which includes loyalty, resulting in a cohesive customer experience.
As a consumer, I have received offers that exclude me because I am already a loyalty member…a classic show of “the disconnect that customers feel (that) is the result of the siloed approach to loyalty programs…”
Read on @ Retail Customer Experience: Beyond a loyalty program: Using loyalty data to create a unified strategy
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Tags: customer experience, loyalty marketing, loyalty programs, loyalty rewards, Marketing, retailer loyalty
Posted in General, Loyalty, Retailer & Merchant Topics | No Comments »
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
In last quarter’s Industry Trend Report, GiftCard Partners published an article: Are you an online retailer …or Not?, where we investigated which of the Top 50 Retailers are accepting gift cards as payment online. We discussed the potential missed opportunities for retailers who are not taking full advantage of the online channel and getting in touch with their gift card e-retail side, especially as mobile technology gains importance in consumers’ buying choices. On September 29th, Loyalty 360 will be holding a webinar on just this topic. Expanding Your Program’s Reach in the Complex World of E-Commerce; they will examine the role of traditional
loyalty programs in the rapidly expanding world of online commerce and the industry players that are shaping loyalty in online commerce. Click here for the webinar overview and to register.
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Tags: B2B gift cards, consumer loyalty rewards, ecommerce, gift cards as rewards, loyalty 360, loyalty programs, online retailers, retailer loyalty
Posted in General, Gift Card Events, Loyalty, Retailer & Merchant Topics | No Comments »
Monday, August 29th, 2011
Green Stamps were introduced in 1896 as the world’s first customer loyalty program and well … people still like free stuff or want a really great deal. Buy one get one free, frequent flier miles,
Vintage Green Stamps loyalty program
supermarket savings, % cash back, gift cards for spending increments … we save money by spending it. CVS’s ExtraCare Program, (AKA “ExtraBucks”) is the largest retail loyalty program in the world, and it’s the #1 pick for “doing it right”, says Brooks Bell a world renowned retail marketer.
Get the full scoop on the deals to be had here.
Really, after reading this story, I will attach the CVS/pharmacy loyalty card (I rarely think to use) to my key-chain; not because CVS is our client…but because this loyalty program really rocks!
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Tags: CVS ExtraCare program, CVS gift cards, ExtraCare loyalty program, gift cards for loyalty points, loyalty programs
Posted in General, Loyalty | No Comments »
Monday, July 25th, 2011
We are getting such great feedback; We will now draw 2 winners! Each will win a $50.00 gift card of your choice!
Do you use gift cards for health and wellness incentives, employee rewards, sales incentives, fundraising, loyalty programs, consumer promotions or safety rewards? If so, we’d love to hear how you are using your gift cards. We recently offered this survey to our eNewsletter subscribers and we had a huge turn-out of responses! We hope you’ll participate in part 2 of this survey… You’ll be presented a maximum of 5 required questions. Should you complete the survey and submit your gift card usage success story, you’ll be entered into our drawing for a chance to win 1 of 2 $50.00 gift cards.
The drawing winners can select from The Children’s Place, Brinker (1 card for 4 great restaurants: Chili’s, The Macaroni Grill, On The Border and Maggiano’s Little Italy), Charming Shoppes (1 card for 3 great fashion retailers: Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant and Catherine’s) and CVS/pharmacy cards. GiftCard Partners will post the gift card usage results on our website.
Click here to take our survey and submit your gift card success story.
Peruse our Blog…like what you see? Subscribe to our Blog RSS feed and eNewletter and you’ll receive timely information about the B2B gift card industry. Our research, editorials and aggregated news stories are compiled into eNews to keep you informed on innovative gift card programs, legal and legislative issues and cutting edge gift card technologies.
Tags: B2B gift cards, bulk gift cards, consumer promotion, corporate gift cards, Fundraising, gift card survey, gift card usage, health and wellness incentives, incentives, loyalty programs, s employee rewards, safety rewards, sales incentives, sales recognition, win a gift card
Posted in General, Gift Card Trends, Health & Wellness, Incentives & Engagement, Loyalty | No Comments »
Monday, April 11th, 2011
GCP’s Vice President of Sales, Diane Freeland, is back from Loyalty 360’s annual Loyalty Expo & shares the top discussions that caught her attention.
Social media and customer care: Social media has altered the role of customer service in an organization, from primarily a support function to an extension of marketing. Brands can listen to what customers are saying, they can be proactive and more widely solicit product or service feedback, offer incentives like gift cards or points for sharing product information. Many of GCP’s clients are taking social media seriously, 1-800-Flowers was one of the first retailers to use Facebook’s platform.
For more details on social media & customer care, check out: How to Integrate Customer Service Into Social Media Marketing. It also includes 12 Ways Social Media Enhances Customer Service and 5 Ways to Measure Social Media Customer Service.
What’s next for loyalty programs? Are traditional points based loyalty programs dead? The consensus was NO. However, significantly different redemption options need to be brought into the mix with gift cards, merchandise, and travel rewards (e.g intrinsic rewards like virtual game currency). We heard some interesting discussion around personalizing loyalty rewards for individual participants. Traditional loyalty programs offer everyone the same reward options; when rewards are personalized it starts a dialogue and treats the customer to rewards they’ve selected versus what is offered across the program. What if customers can select or “favorite” categories of rewards like gift cards for children’s clothes, brands of merchandise like “Apple”, and travel customized to “Inns on the east coast”? The learnings from programs like this could go a long way for the development of loyalty programs that listen!
Mobile Segmentation Marketing: Another interesting way to listen and respond to loyal customers; shaping customer personas based on their mobile usage. This allows thoughtful marketers to send the right kinds of messages to the right users and reward for loyalty via the right technology. The goal is to better increase the value of customer relationships based on how customers use their mobile phones, like m-certs (mobile gift cards). Carlson Marketing gave some great examples of how they are engaging in this strategy for the Hallmark Crown Rewards loyalty program; “Interactions turned into transactions”.
For more insights to mobile technology and gift cards, read GCP’s article: Why Mobile & Virtual Gift Cards are Becoming a Way of Life
GCP will be launching our new website in the coming week, keep a look out: www.giftcardpartners.com
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/GiftCardPartner
Tags: 1-800-flowers, facebook, GCP, Gift Card Technology, Loyalty, Loyalty Expo, loyalty programs, m-certs, mobile gift cards, mobile marketing, Mobile Segmentation, personalized loyalty programs, social media, social media and customer service
Posted in General, Gift Card Technology, Loyalty, Retailer & Merchant Topics | No Comments »
