Digital Music Promotions Appreciated by 5 Consumer Audiences

Digital music promotions are becoming more and more popular for marketers. Whether you have a small business or work for a large corporation, digital music promotions are an effective, low-cost way to tap into different target markets. Thanks to iPods and mp3 players, fast broadband and smart phones, everyone is listening to digital music. CD sales are dropping, and not just because of the economy. Thanks to major players like Apple's iTunes Store and Amazon.com's MP3 store, digital music promotions are becoming easier to deploy.

Of course, successful digital music promotions are more than just sending someone a $5 iTunes card for making a purchase. The smart marketers are tying their digital music promotions into a marketing campaign centered around a particular idea or event. One hotel chain recently gave free Classic Rock songs to their frequent travelers from a specially-designed website as part of their digital music promotions. Stay more nights, get more songs.

So here are five target markets you can gear your digital music promotions campaign to.

• Generation Y: I realize this is a rather large group. The largest of any group, in fact. At last count, Generation Y outnumbered Baby Boomers 82 million to 78 million. And it's Gen Y that's driving the digital music promotions. They're the biggest users of smart phones, SMS technology, social networks, and of course, digital music. Any time you want to reach this age group with a marketing campaign, digital music promotions will be a safe bet.



• Runners and fitness enthusiasts: Nike hit on a particularly smart idea a few years ago, teaming up with Apple, and creating the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit. It's a chip that will not only give runners their time, distance, pace, and calories burned, it will even pull up the music that matches your pace and inspires you to keep moving. It’s great for cyclists too. If you have an fitness-related business, a digital music promotions campaign that offers motivating and up-tempo music can really get your campaign off the starting blocks.



• Road Warriors: I've spent countless hours on planes and in cars, and I can only listen to podcasts for so long. But I would love to be rewarded for doing what I'm already doing, and listen to some of my favorite music. While we're not out there for the rewards, they still make a nice incentive. In fact, some Road Warriors will make a game out of it, and try to find the most profitable rewards for the fewest miles traveled. So if you can create a digital music promotions that's based on miles traveled, nights stayed, or dollars spent, you'll win the Road Warriors over.



• Stay At Home Parents: Tie your digital music promotions campaign into a product or service that a SAHM or SAHD is going to take advantage of. Parents are just like Road Warriors: they're already doing their thing, regardless of the incentives. But if they can get a little something extra for buying a product from you, instead of your competitors, they're more likely to take advantage of it.



• Entrepreneurs: Whether it is due to the economy, or the fact that more people have a burning desire to start their own business, we're seeing more entrepreneurs and in the business world these days. They are working in coffee shops, meeting at restaurants, and trying to keep costs as low as possible. When you start looking at their buying patterns, you see coffee shops being a big part of an entrepreneur's budget. The smart coffee shop owner is going to attract the entrepreneur crowd with a digital music promotions campaign. Instead of giving away a free cup of coffee, try giving away free downloads of the music you're playing in the store. And if you have musicians play on the weekends, be sure to include any of their music in your campaign.

- Julie Ann Ross

Customer Loyalty Programs Including Digital Promotions Increase Long-Term Profitability

Customer loyalty programs including digital promotions can function as the promotional
linchpin that drives your company's long-term profitability. They are an essential tool for
improving customer retention. By offering your customers digital incentives, such as
music downloads, skins, and an assortment of mobile promotions, you can dramatically
increase the lifespan of each customer. Not only does this create an enormous level of goodwill,
but customer loyalty programs also encourage customers to respond to your ongoing
marketing campaigns.

In 2001, noted authority on customer loyalty programs, Fred Reichheld, released his
seminal book, "Loyalty Rules." Within its pages, Reichheld explained the influence
customer retention rates have on the overall value of your customer base. A 5%
retention rate can translate into a 75% improvement in the value of your customer
inventory.

Below, we'll explain how customer loyalty programs can produce these results for
your company. We'll also describe the difference between these programs and customer
rewards programs - each has a vital role to fulfill. You'll also discover how to
leverage music download promotions, skins promotions, and mobile promotions to
increase the loyalty your customers feel toward your company.

How Customer Loyalty Programs Generate Stunning Results

Your customers want to feel valued. They want to know that your company perceives
them as a critical factor in your success. Too often, companies treat their
customers as disposable commodities. This has produced a legion of consumers who
shop primarily based on price, all but eschewing brand loyalty. Customer loyalty
programs help eliminate price as the deciding factor and instead, transform your
customers into fans. By offering them digital incentives, you can cultivate their
loyalty while creating a more memorable brand experience.

That sharply increases the lifetime value of your customer inventory. It not only
inspires them to return, but it also encourages them to tell others about your
company, generating a new wave of customers.

The Difference Between Customer Rewards And Customer Loyalty Programs

A lot of companies make the mistake of thinking customer rewards and customer
loyalty programs are identical. They're not. Each has a distinct promotional role to
play. Customer rewards are a powerful lever that you can use to trigger a response
and gather customer data. By collecting information about your customers, you can
launch a sequence of marketing initiatives that build brand awareness and gradually
influence their purchasing behavior. In doing so, you'll be able to better identify
which customer segments are the most profitable for your company.

Customer loyalty programs fulfill a different function. They improve your customer
retention rate, which Reichheld showed to have a dramatic effect on long-term
profitability. By giving your customers a variety of digital currency incentives,
you'll encourage them to return to buy your products.

Music Download Promotions Can Spearhead Customer Loyalty Programs

Music download promotions and mobile promotions are cost-effective platforms from
which to launch your customer loyalty programs. Because they can be delivered
digitally to consumers' phones, PDAs, and other mobile devices, their effect is
often instantaneous. They trigger an immediate response from your customer base.

Music transcends gender, culture, and age to reach a broad audience. Your customers,
regardless of their backgrounds and musical tastes, will gravitate toward the
artists they enjoy. You can target certain segments by genre or provide your entire
customer base with a catalog of millions of songs from which they can choose.

Mobile promotions, such as instant win games and digital coupons, can also trigger
an immediate response. Your customers can enjoy playing instant win games the moment
they receive your promotions. Then, they can receive instant notification regarding
whether they have won a prize. Mobile coupons can be redeemed just as quickly.

When leveraged to spearhead customer loyalty programs, music download promotions and
mobile promotions can generate a new wave of sales while strengthening your brand
loyalty.

Customer Loyalty Programs And Skins Promotions Complement Each Other

Skins promotions are a unique type of incentive because they are delivered
digitally, yet physically adorn consumers' phones, PDAs, and laptops. They are a
perfect complement to your customer loyalty programs for two reasons. First, the
skins promote your brand not only to your customers, but to every person who
observes your customers' mobile devices. Second, skins promotions serve as a
perpetual reminder to your customers about why they're loyal to your company. The
skins generate enormous goodwill.

Customer loyalty programs remain one of the most potent promotional levers for
increasing your company's long-term profitability. They allow you to lengthen the
overall life cycle of your customer inventory. If you are not currently taking
advantage of customer loyalty programs, now is the time to reconsider.

--Cynthia Walker, Promotional Currency