Customer Insight Group Loyalty Blog

Loyalty programs are garnering more and more buzz these days as brands seek to connect with customers and cement their long-term adoration. Here’s a look at how a few brands are leveraging that loyalty experience going forward into 2013.

Saks Fifth Avenue Refreshes SaksFirst

Saks starts out 2013 by making several important enhancements to its SaksFirst loyalty program, broadening its reach and offering more benefits than ever before, including:

• All Saks cardholders will be granted automatic, free membership in SaksFirst, with no minimum spending requirement.
• All Saks cardholders will earn points toward a SaksFirst Gift Card with their very first purchase.
• SaksFirst will be expanded to include purchases made at the Company’s Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH outlet stores.
• All Saks cardholders will now receive free shipping from Saks stores, saks.com and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH stores.
• Saks cardholders will be granted access to even more special events and private benefits.

SaksFirst has long rewarded its best customers with more points and higher value gift cards than other retailers. Now, by enhancing its offerings and expanding its reach to a much broader base of customers, SaksFirst has clearly become one of the most rewarding loyalty programs in the entire world of luxury retail. To celebrate and kick off the launch of the enhanced SaksFirst program, Saks Fifth Avenue’s New York City flagship store will offer “5 Days of Firsts,” January 28 through February 1. Each day, customers will be treated to a series of special in-store experiences and offerings, including free gift cards, same-day delivery and bonus points.

The new program boasts a new look featuring a refreshed logo and artwork from renowned fashion illustrator Mats Gustafson, and the tagline “Love at First Swipe.” Expect to see the new campaign in catalogs, newspapers and magazines.

Overstock.com Adds New Rewards Options

Overstock.com is launching Club O Dining Rewards, a new free rewards enhancement for the members of its Club O Rewards loyalty program. Members can now automatically receive reward dollars in their Club O account equal to 5 percent of their total dining bill when they visit participating Club O Dining Rewards restaurants and pay their bill using any credit or debit card they have registered with their Dining Rewards account. These Club O Dollars can be used toward already discounted products on the Overstock.com website such as furniture, rugs, bedding, electronics, jewelry, and others. To add Dining Rewards to their Club O account, members can log on to www.overstock.com/clubodining and click on Get Started in the quick 3-step enrollment. Dining options vary from high-end dining establishments to fast food restaurants, bars, clubs and home delivery.

Marriott Ranks Tops, Keeps Eye on Program Refinement

Marriott Rewards has once again taken the top spot in Business Traveler magazine’s annual “Best In Business Travel” Awards. The awards are determined by readers, who vote for their favorite products and services in 64 categories spanning the business travel industry. Ed French, senior vice president Marriott Rewards told Business Traveler magazine that the award “validates the changes over the past several years that we’ve made to the program to improve the travel experience for our members, such as Cash + Points and Elite Rollover Nights.” He added, “In the coming year, our members can look forward to even more changes to recognize and reward their loyalty to Marriott, including lower thresholds for lifetime elite status.”

Marriott Rewards has no blackout dates* and members can earn and redeem points at more than 3,600 Marriott International hotels around the world.  In addition to hotels and frequent flyer miles, members can also redeem points for merchandise, cruises, car rentals and more.

How will you refine your loyalty program this year? Add new rewards, broaden your base or redefine its structure? The answer is unique for every brand. Let the experts at Customer Insight Group help you find what the right answer is for you.

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WorldVentures, the world’s largest direct seller of vacation and entertainment club memberships, has introduced the DreamTrips Reward Program, providing loyal members a way to experience the joy of a vacation, faster.

New members in the United States joining now through April 30 will be rewarded back the money they spend on membership fees in 2013 in the form of DreamTrips Points redeemable toward the cost of one-of-a-kind, curated group vacation experiences called “Reward DreamTrips.” Upon enrollment, new members will receive up to 200 DreamTrips Points available for immediate use, plus their DreamTrips Points accumulate each month and are ready for use after one year.

The DreamTrips vacation club offers various levels of memberships depending upon budget and consumer preferences. At all levels, members enjoy a calendar of one-of-a-kind, curated group vacation experiences; take advantage of exclusive pricing at some of the most desirable locations and resorts in the world; and have access to daily entertainment experiences around the globe.

Source: WorldVentures

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American Cruise Lines, operator of the newest riverboats and small cruise ships in the United States, has announced the introduction of a renewed loyalty program, featuring new premium benefits for members. The Eagle Society is the line’s way of recognizing and rewarding returning guests by providing a more personalized and enhanced cruise experience.

The Eagle Society now features an expanded list of special benefits, including:

• Complimentary cruise – Upon completion of 10 cruises with American Cruise Lines, Eagle Society members are rewarded with a complimentary cruise.
• Complimentary shore excursions – After an Eagle Society member has cruised three times, shore excursion fees are waived on all cruises booked thereafter.
• Special Eagle Society gifts – Member gifts range from customized officers jackets to champagne, and are always a guest favorite.
• Membership identification – Customized luggage tags indicate Eagle Society belongings and special nametags indicate the number of cruises taken by each member.
• Invitations to exclusive Eagle Society cruises – Each year, several dates are chosen for exclusive Eagle Society member cruises. These unique sailings are hosted by company executives and include special tours, receptions and entertainment.
• Hometown VIP access – When a ship is in a port near a member’s hometown, American Cruise Lines extends a VIP invitation to come aboard for lunch or dinner.
• Non-guest visitation and dining– When in port, members may invite friends or family aboard for a tour of the ship or to join them for meals.
• Eagle Society-only savings and promotions – Members are privy to various special offers.

Source: American Cruise Lines

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Could the customer experience at Disney’s parks be any more magical?  Disney is certainly trying with a collection of new services dubbed MyMagic+.  Costing an estimated $1 billion the services revolve around RFID wristbands Disney is referring to as MagicBands.  These rubber bracelets will be encoded with credit card information allowing users to make purchases with a simple tap of the wrist.

Although these wristbands are being pushed as a convenient way for a family to quickly pay for entry to the park, buy lunch, and have access to their hotels facilities they are far more.  MagicBands will make it possible for Disney to further customize the experience.  Allowing for people to be specifically acknowledged by characters at the park, and receive special offers based upon their previous activities.

For Disney, the MagicBands allow for a deeper level of data collection.  Disney will be able to not only track the movements of users, but also the users spending.  From this they will be able to identify trends and habits of their guests with the hopes of customizing the marketing communications.

Although, the system is intended to create a more magical experience, it will not be forced upon guests.  Users must register for the cloud based service, and then choose which features they would like to opt in or out of.  Disney hopes that the ability to customize the privacy options will put parents minds at ease.

The possibilities to utilize this technology are endless.  The question remains as to how far Disney will go to integrate the technology with the customer experience.  What effect will this have on loyalty?  Disney is betting that these services will make the parks less daunting and therefore more enjoyable.  Happier customers will return to the park more often and spend more while they’re there.

Disney recognizes that loyalty can help them drive more value from their existing infrastructure.  Are there opportunities within your company to cultivate loyalty? Let the experts at Customer Insight Group help you with your loyalty initiatives.

Read the entire article here.

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The consumer’s purchasing options today are dizzying.

In most retail areas, shoppers can find the same product at several stores.  And if they don’t want to leave the comfort of their home there are catalogs, TV shopping channels and the internet. But what makes many of them repeatedly choose one business over the others? LOYALTY Here are the top tips to help you understand what customers want.

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Ace Hardware has announced the launch of Instant Savings, a program exclusively for Ace Rewards members that allows them to receive valuable discounts instantly, right at the register.

No longer will Ace Rewards members have to redeem rebates through the mail and wait the four to six weeks it typically takes for those to be processed. Ace’s most valuable customers can now receive Instant Savings on their purchases right at checkout.

Customers can find the featured Instant Savings offers by looking for the Instant Savings logo on products advertised in Ace’s circulars and throughout the store at their local neighborhood Ace Hardware.

To receive Instant Savings offers, customers must simply present their Ace Rewards card at checkout or ask the cashier to lookup their Ace Rewards number by providing their phone number or last name and five-digit zip code.

Instant Savings is just one of the benefits of being an Ace Rewards member. The program is free and will continue to provide exclusive member benefits such as 10 points for every $1 spent, a $5 Reward for every 2,500 points earned, money-saving coupons and sale reminders, along with helpful tips and content.

To sign-up as an Ace Rewards member and take advantage of Instant Savings today, visit http://bit.ly/AceRewards or stop by your local participating Ace Hardware store. Sign up is free and easy.

Source: Ace Hardware

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The sheer number of choices we face is leading to consumer bewilderment and, sometimes, utter indifference.

Advertising is no longer sufficient to reach consumers.  Essentially, consumers feel they’re drowning in information that fails to meet their needs and desires and hold little to no trust in companies.

Retailers can break through consumer resistance by delivering precise and relevant messages geared toward specific individuals while empowering customers and providing reciprocity of some kind for their time and attention.  In addition, with more and more channels for consumer-generated content, companies must engage their customers both online and offline through social media strategies.

Respondents who are “actively engaged in the use of social media tend to be more positive about companies in general” and are twice as likely to think that companies are ” genuinely interested in them.”

Does your company’s strategy pass the relevancy test?  Do you need help engaging your customers? Connect with Customer Insight Group and check out our FREE white paper!

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At its core, loyalty programs will forever be about treating your best customers better. While this remains as true today as it did 20 years ago, what has changed is the way that we court those customers, engage them, and track their behavior and spending. Social media and new technology provides us countless ways to make that valuable customer connection and therein lies where we think loyalty marketers’ focus will remain for the coming year.

Rewards for More

It used to be that loyalty programs were all about giving positive reinforcement for purchasing behavior. You spend X amount, then you’re duly rewarded with some kind of benefit or monetary kick back. Now it seems that there are far more things worthy of your rewards than just purchase behavior alone.  How about for referring friends, or sharing an experience on Facebook or posting a photo? Now is the time to look at what you want those best customers to do for you beyond just giving up a share of their wallet, then design rewards that reinforce that behavior.

The Playing Field Becomes Leveled

Social media has become the great equalizer. Now a small retail store can use Facebook to build a loyal customer following and use easy online transaction processing technologies to make it easy to shop. Now they are on just as level of a playing field as their big department store counterparts. Alternately, now that big department store can dive down into all the data they have on a customer and know when to follow up after a purchase with the right kind of information in a way that feels more like a small boutique. Those territories that were once clear-cut are now blurring.

Tell It To Their Financial Hearts

The bottom line with consumers within today’s dicey economy is they want to feel that they have some modicum of control. Fiscal cliffs be damned, we all still want to feel like we can do something to make our situation better and that at the end of the day we scored a better deal than the guy next door. When loyalty marketers tap into that mindset, they have the makings for a compelling reason for customers to become and stay engaged for the long haul.

Get With The Technology

If your loyalty program is stuck at your decades-old point of sale system and not reaching other customer touchpoints, like mobile or social media, then you need to have a heart-to-heart with your IT people. No longer is coming up to speed with technology a luxury, it’s a necessity as customers demand and expect the latest and greatest from the brands they love.

Rush to Be Where Your Customers Are

This year, we will see loyalty programs go outside their box, literally. The loyalty experience is not just about the point of sale. It’s also about being where your customer is, and tah-dah you just so happen to be there too. Whether that is on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or blogs, the idea is to have a brand presence that shows your customers that you “get them” because you are like them and you hang where they hang.

The Loyalty Economy Changes Up

Without much differentiation between programs, consumers are looking for an across-the-board redemption process that treats rewards like cash. This open-loyalty approach allows people to share and pool reward points, and then universally redeems them. Younger tech-savvy consumers that find it easy to shift points into a working currency are embracing this new technology.

One thing is for certain in 2013, loyalty marketing will play an even greater role in the success of a brand’s overall marketing strategy going forward.

Need some advice about how to take the next step with your loyalty initiatives? Ask the experts at Customer Insight Group.

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The customer-centric theory may, at first blush, seem a backwards approach to profitability. The focus is not on the customer’s wallet, but the customer himself. Customer-centricity entails a company understanding individual customer needs and improving the customer experience thereby creating sustainable and profitable customer relationships impermeable by competitors.

Many companies claim to be customer-centric, but few live up to the standards of creating exceptional customer experiences.  What does it look like to be customer-centric in today’s world? Here are the top five critical components for building a customer-centric orginazation.

Becoming a customer-centric organization is not simple.  It requires significant front-end investment, and months of data collection and planning.  It also fights our natural instincts towards immediate profitability, which makes it an unpopular choice for many companies.  However, a company focusing on the long-term will find significant value to making the culture change.

One company that is seeing the benefits of switching to a customer-centric culture is Best Buy.  From the company’s switch in 2005 to 2006 they saw a 12 percent growth in revenue and returned $922 million to shareholders through stock repurchases and dividends, “nearly a three-fold increase over fiscal 2005,” according to Best Buy’s 2006 Annual Report.

Many businesses do not fit this mold.  “Globally, 75 percent of commercial businesses believe they are losing money through missed business opportunities because they are unable to quickly and effectively profile customer and prospect data,” according to a survey from QAS, a division of Experian Marketing Services Business.

Is your company customer-centric? Let Customer Insight Group help you create a customer-centric culture.  Check out our free white paper on customer-centricity.

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Success with CRM initiatives remains elusive for many. A 2010 study conducted by Asuret discovered a 47% failure rate of CRM systems. Compare your CRM approach with this list of the five best practices to uncover weak points and opportunities to improve the odds of your CRM success.

Is your company in need of a CRM makeover?  Check out Customer Insight Group’s free white paper on improving your odds of CRM success.

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