Major U.S. retail companies are using E-Club freebies, coupons, discounts, and special members-only deals to build their online marketing audience, and strengthen customer loyalty. In exchange for access to ongoing e-mail communication, retail E-Club members receive merchandise and discounts, and retailers use that e-mail access for ongoing marketing communications. Find a comprehensive list of U.S. retail… Read More
The consumer voice has never been stronger. The age of the socially connected consumer is here. A recent consumer survey ranked consumer content as the #1 aid to a buying decision, cited by 91% of respondents (JC Williams Group, 2006). Retailers need to take notice and change to meet the demands of the smarter consumer.… Read More
“Customer Loyalty” is certainly the buzz these days in retail. Loyalty programs extend to almost every retail vertical market with few exceptions. So if loyalty programs are so ubiquitous, why aren’t they more successful? A long-term customer loyalty strategy must be implemented and regularly monitored for effectiveness. When developing a customer loyalty strategy certain considerations deserve attention. See the… Read More
About 5 years ago retailers were striving to achieve an “integrated multi-channel strategy” and offer customers a “seamless experienced” – now the majority have achieved it. It has been proven that retailers who offer a truly integrated multi-channel experience secure greater loyalty from their customer base and their cross channel customers on average spend more… Read More
YouTube’s Promoted Videos program hit a major milestone this month, hitting half a billion views. This figure certainly lends more credence to recent conjectures that the video-sharing site might, in fact, be starting to generate significant revenue (if not profits) for Google. The Promoted Videos program launched two years ago, and, according to the YouTube… Read More
Digital promotions benefit your promotional marketing campaign through increased response rates of loyal customers. They make the customer happy, which creates loyalty that leads to future business. Examples of a digital promotion campaign are endless. For example, why not give away a free music download for every $10.00 spent? A customer will often round up… Read More
As more and more competitors entered (especially in less defensible product categories), store shelves became more inundated with more choices than you (the consumer) could even process. Making a brand choice became less straightforward, and as more and more brands put out their messaging, the more confusing the noise became. To make matters even more… Read More
Through smartphones that signal someone’s location, stores and brands like Starbucks, Tasti-D-Lite, Macy’s and Pepsi are getting live information about when and where people are shopping. Some companies are turning Foursquare into a virtual loyalty-card program, while others are creating their own location applications, offering customers discounts or other rewards for shopping. “It gives us immediate feedback… Read More
For both retailers and marketers, it’s an exciting time for customer loyalty programs. Accelerating advances in technology are leading to a rapid expansion of customer data, a trend that will continue to grow and transform how companies and customers interact with each other over the next five years. While many retailers introduce loyalty programs with… Read More
More and more smartphone-carrying customers are checking in on social, location-aware services such as Foursquare, Yelp, Gowalla and now Facebook Places. While these services are primarily consumer-focused, room exists for the business owner to step in and engage customers. While you don’t have to use every location-based application out there, it’s important to know what each one offers business… Read More