Using a Consumer Loyalty Program to Boost Sales

A consumer loyalty program can go a long way in helping you find and retain new customers, as well as keep existing ones. A consumer loyalty program tells your customers you value their business, and you want them to keep coming back.

Take the simple coffee card, for example. That's one of the easiest, most common type of consumer loyalty program you'll ever see. It's simple: buy 9 or 10 cups of coffee, and your next one is free. We've embraced this idea so warmly that we could float a battleship with all the free coffee we've drunk.

Psychology of a Consumer Loyalty Program

If you want your consumer loyalty program to be successful, it needs to be easy to use. If your customers buy a product X number of times, they can get the same product they're already buying.

A frequent buyer card is the best example of a consumer loyalty program, because it rewards customers for doing something they would normally do anyway. But it has the added effect of getting them to do it more frequently.

You can do this with music download cards or free ringtones. Give away one card or ringtone with every 10 items your customers buy, every 10 times they use your service, or every 10 friends they refer. Any kind of digital incentive can be marketed with a consumer loyalty program.

The thing we really like about a consumer loyalty program like music downloads is that they're hard for the customer to abandon. They'll think they can't give up my loyalty card once they've started it. They get the card for the first stamp out of habit. "I could quit any time. Maybe I'll try a different program and see if I can find a better one," they promise themselves. But they go back, because they don't have time, or because it's a habit.

Once they cross that threshold of three or four purchases on their card, they figure they might as well keep going. That other program will still be there. "I'll check it out next week, after I get this song. Once I hit seven or eight, I can see the finish line. It's just up ahead. A couple more purchases, and WIN! I get a free song!"

And anyone who knows anything about customer loyalty management uses this kind of marketing, and will try to give away a digital incentive, or even a few, to the really loyal customers. "Go nuts," they tell us. Because they know they've more than made up for the cost of the extra freebies by bringing them back 10 other times over the last few weeks. In fact, by offering a consumer loyalty program, they've probably brought the customer back a few more times each month than they might have otherwise visited. A real customer loyalty management pro will also know how to keep track of the average number of visits of their customers, and can track how effectively their promotions are increasing sales.

The Downside of the Consumer Loyalty Program

There isn't one.

Okay, there are a few, but it usually happens if the consumer loyalty program is not run properly. If you don't promote it to your customers. Or if your offer is too difficult — buy 100 songs in 30 days. Or the reward is not motivation enough — buy 100 songs in 30 days and get one free ringtone.

By making the reward seem worthless or cheap, or the purchases too difficult to reach, you can actually hurt the effectiveness of your consumer loyalty program.

You can find almost any kind of consumer loyalty program if you look hard enough. Look online, check out a few consumer loyalty program, case studies and digital incentive programs. And visit a local coffee shop and check out their program. Once you get your first cup, you'll be hooked.

--Julie Ann Ross

Music Download Cards Promotion of Candlewood Suites

Music download cards are a great digital promotion to reach both Generation Y as well as Generation X and Baby Boomers. While many people think that only Generation Y uses digital media, there are plenty of Gen Xers and Boomers who love their MP3 players too. And they're buying music like crazy.

Hotel Stays = Music Download Cards

Holiday Inn brand, Candlewood Suites, used that knowledge to reach their own customer base by offering music download cards to their Holiday Inn Priority Club members. The typical Priority Club member tends to be people in their 30s and older, frequent business travelers, and probably still listening to the music they heard in high school and college.

They created an entire campaign of music download cards around Classic Rock songs — music of the Boomers and older Gen Xers — that would appeal to many business travelers: stay at Candlewood Suites Hotel, and for each night you stay (because business travelers stay more than one night), you'll earn Priority Club points, be entered for a chance to win a $1,000 Ticketmaster gift card, and get five free music downloads. One night, one card; two nights equals two music download cards.

Users could choose from the hit list on the custom landing page, or find their favorites on the entire catalogue. All they did is punch in the numbers on their music download cards, download their favorite songs to their MP3 players, and they were all set. Now, business travelers could be reminded of their youth, while making grown-up salaries.

Book Online More = Music Download Cards

They even sweetened the deal: book your stay online, get another card. This meant that if you were a frequent traveler, you got as many music download cards you could shake a mouse at.

The upshot of this is that by having guests book their suites online, they can reduce call center costs. And reducing call center salaries for the cost of giving away some music download cards means Candlewood Suites saw an immediate ROI, before the final sales figures were ever calculated.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Music Download Cards

If a company chooses, music download cards can also be tracked to individual users. Since each card is given a specific number, the analytics can show when a particular person uses one of their music download cards. They can also pinpoint how frequently a person stays, visits the corporate website, and whether the program increased their number of stays. Future promotions can target only those guests who stay a certain number of nights, or use specific features of the website.

User Interaction Improves Response

Finally, users were encouraged to vote for their favorite classic rock hit. The Beatles won with 3,096 votes, Led Zeppelin came in second with 1,595 votes, and Queen was last with 432 votes (despite the awesomeness of "Bohemian Rhapsody"). All told, the top 10 bands earned 9,755 votes. Or to put it another way, at least 9,755 people participated in the program.

How to Use the Data

Let's consider some possible future uses of this data. Claire spends six nights in Candlewood Suites over the summer, and she downloads a few Journey songs (among others). Next summer when Journey is back out on tour (yes, they still tour), Candlewood Suites can send Claire some notification emails when Journey is going to be in cities with a Candlewood Suites in them.

Carl spends six nights in Candlewood Suites and downloads songs by the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Eagles. When the Stones release their next album (no, they're not dead yet), they can offer it as a digital promotion gift to Carl if he stays for three nights at a Candlewood Suites next Spring.

While we're not sure of the final results, we do know that Candlewood Suites saw some great success with their music download cards program. With some careful planning and market research into your customer base, companies can increase (and easily measure) the ROI of a digital promotions campaign.

--Julie Ann Ross

Why Digital Promotions Are Better for Trade Shows

Digital promotions are replacing — or should be — the traditional trade show tchotchkes and giveaways we've been subjected to over the years. Maybe it's because I'm in the digital promotions business, or because I've got enough cheap plastic pens to last two lifetimes, but I really think these digital promotion campaigns are going to be the wave of the trade show future.

For one thing, the effectiveness of digital promotions, like music downloads, ringtones, or even online gift cards, are easy to prove. Basically, I can track whenever someone downloads a song or ringtone using one of my promotions. In fact, I can tell you exactly who downloaded it and when. If it's someone important, I can know to the second when they accessed their digital promotion, and make the appropriate followup.

Digital Promotions are Targeted

For another thing, I can target my digital promotions. Rather than buying 5000 flashlights and handing them out to anyone who walks past my booth, I can purchase the list of show attendees and send them an invitation to stop by the booth where they'll receive a free music download card. I can pick and choose who will receive my invitation, and then keep track of who stopped by.

Or I can come at this from the other end and email a special download to everyone who stopped by my booth. This way, I can send my giveaways only to potential customers, rather than giving one out to everyone who stopped by looking for a freebie.

Digital Promotions are Green

Believe it or not, you're helping the environment by giving away digital promotions items. Rather than creating one more plastic widget (pollution), which needs to be shipped (oil and gas), and will sit forgotten until it dries up and you pitch it (landfill), a digital promotions campaign doesn't need any sort of offline promotion if you don't want it. You can promote your digital freebies by email, Twitter, and Facebook if you want. Or you can use offline promotional methods using some of the different green technology out there.

They also don't require a lot of distribution efforts. I can give out my digital promotions by giving away a stack of cards to people who visit my booth, or just by emailing everyone on my list. There are benefits to both. If I hand them out, I can talk to the people I'm giving them to. This lets me make a sales contact, and tell the person about my product or service. But emailing them is free, and a big time saver. Rather than giving the same message over and over to a handful of people, I can reach dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of customers. And best of all, by using variable data, I can keep track of who received it, took advantage of it, and then converted into a paying customer. Handing out 5,000 flashlights won't let me do it with the same accuracy and ease as digital promotions do.

Digital Promotions are Immediate and Efficient

Like I said in a previous postdigital promotions provide your customers instant gratification. People can redeem their giveaway immediately or at their convenience. They're also easy to redeem. They don't take up space in the customer's luggage, they're not forgotten or given away to their kids, where your customer never sees them again. If it's a song, they'll hear it on their MP3 player, and remember where they got it. If it's a ringtone, they'll think of you whenever their phone rings. Not like a stress ball, Frisbee, or funny hat, which I've seen at previous trade shows.

--Julie Ann Ross

Why Digital Promotions Are Better for Trade Shows

Digital promotions are replacing — or should be — the traditional trade show tchotchkes and giveaways we've been subjected to over the years. Maybe it's because I'm in the digital promotions business, or because I've got enough cheap plastic pens to last two lifetimes, but I really think these digital promotion campaigns are going to be the wave of the trade show future.

For one thing, the effectiveness of digital promotions, like music downloads, ringtones, or even online gift cards, are easy to prove. Basically, I can track whenever someone downloads a song or ringtone using one of my promotions. In fact, I can tell you exactly who downloaded it and when. If it's someone important, I can know to the second when they accessed their digital promotion, and make the appropriate followup.

Digital Promotions are Targeted

For another thing, I can target my digital promotions. Rather than buying 5000 flashlights and handing them out to anyone who walks past my booth, I can purchase the list of show attendees and send them an invitation to stop by the booth where they'll receive a free music download card. I can pick and choose who will receive my invitation, and then keep track of who stopped by.

Or I can come at this from the other end and email a special download to everyone who stopped by my booth. This way, I can send my giveaways only to potential customers, rather than giving one out to everyone who stopped by looking for a freebie.

Digital Promotions are Green

Believe it or not, you're helping the environment by giving away digital promotions items. Rather than creating one more plastic widget (pollution), which needs to be shipped (oil and gas), and will sit forgotten until it dries up and you pitch it (landfill), a digital promotions campaign doesn't need any sort of offline promotion if you don't want it. You can promote your digital freebies by email, Twitter, and Facebook if you want. Or you can use offline promotional methods using some of the different green technology out there.

They also don't require a lot of distribution efforts. I can give out my digital promotions by giving away a stack of cards to people who visit my booth, or just by emailing everyone on my list. There are benefits to both. If I hand them out, I can talk to the people I'm giving them to. This lets me make a sales contact, and tell the person about my product or service. But emailing them is free, and a big time saver. Rather than giving the same message over and over to a handful of people, I can reach dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of customers. And best of all, by using variable data, I can keep track of who received it, took advantage of it, and then converted into a paying customer. Handing out 5,000 flashlights won't let me do it with the same accuracy and ease as digital promotions do.

Digital Promotions are Immediate and Efficient

Like I said in a previous postdigital promotions provide your customers instant gratification. People can redeem their giveaway immediately or at their convenience. They're also easy to redeem. They don't take up space in the customer's luggage, they're not forgotten or given away to their kids, where your customer never sees them again. If it's a song, they'll hear it on their MP3 player, and remember where they got it. If it's a ringtone, they'll think of you whenever their phone rings. Not like a stress ball, Frisbee, or funny hat, which I've seen at previous trade shows.

Customer Loyalty Programs Using Promotional Risk Coverage

Your promotion budget can be fixed to increase customer loyalty with digital promotions including promotional risk coverage. It is worth the risk, but you don't have to take it. Promotional risk coverage protects your promotion budget from over redemption and assists you in fixing your advertising and marketing budget. Promotional Currency is THE leading digital promotions firm, merging digital technology, artist licensing and promotional risk coverage to deliver turnkey, fixed-cost solutions for the promotional marketplace. Ask us why you can afford large prize offerings including digital promotions on a budget. Fix your promotion budget with Promotional Currency, THE Digital Promotions Authority. http://www.promotionalcurrency.com

Promotions Using Promotional Risk Coverage to Build Customer Loyalty

Promotions budget solution to increase customer loyalty starts with digital promotions including promotional risk coverage. It is worth the risk, but you don't have to take it. Promotional risk coverage protects your promotion budget from over redemption and assists you in fixing your advertising and marketing budget. Promotional Currency is THE leading digital promotions firm, merging digital technology, artist licensing and promotional risk coverage to deliver turnkey, fixed-cost solutions for the promotional marketplace. Ask us why you can afford large prize offerings including digital promotions on a budget. Fix your promotion budget with Promotional Currency, THE Digital Promotions Authority. http://www.promotionalcurrency.com

Brand Promotions Using Digital Media Reach Generation Y

Digital brand promotions are a great way to reach Generation Y. In fact, some Gen Y marketing experts will tell you digital brand promotions may be the only real way to reach them.


This is important, because Gen Y — born between 1977 and 1994 — are worth $200 billion in spending per year, and they affect another $300 - $400 billion in family spending (i.e. restaurants, clothing, and even cars). But they're ignoring ads on traditional media, choosing instead to consume media online and on their cell phones, the home of digital brand promotions. So they're not actually seeing your TV commercials, hearing your radio spots, or reading your newspaper ads.


This will actually make life easier for the brand promotions manager. As Generation Y consumes more media online, your digital brand promotions can be quickly created, easily tracked, and changed or dropped when you find something is working.


Gone are the days of traditional brand promotions through TV ads and radio campaigns, where you had to wait until the end of the sales quarter to see if your efforts had any effect. Gone are the days of guessing whether it was your billboards or the TV spots that resulted in the most sales. With digital promotions, you can get real-time results and see if people are buying, watching, or downloading whatever product or service you're selling. If they're not, change a few of the creative variables and see if that makes a difference.


Social media sites like Facebook and MySpace are a great way to reach Gen Yers and effective avenues to build a database for your brand promotions campaign. Purchase digital ads that are delivered to people who your target demographic. For example, you could promote an upcoming concert by selecting people between the ages of 18 - 24 in the cities on the tour. Brand managers collect names to build a marketing database, by offering social media users free music downloads or ringtones to people who register for the promotional giveaway.


You can further enhance your concert brand promotions by offering prizes or swag to the fans who promote the concert to their friends, asking them to forward it to their friends. Then, collect everyone's information, and you're also building a future contact list of fans where you can promote future concerts, upcoming albums, and merchandise. Gen Y is responding to digital promotions and prize offerings in a big way.



Text messaging is another great way to reach Generation Y, because they're texting like crazy. A recent report on NielsenWire says the average teenager is texting 3,146 times per month. So your digital brand promotions should include texting. Text promotions reach these consumers in their element.


Whether you're creating an opt-in text club, or including ads as part of a service, like sports scores or news updates, people are more willing to accept brand promotions messages as a part of a service. And the more useful your service is, the more often they'll see your ad. In fact, according to an article in the New York Times, during the 2008 NFL draft, Coors sent text messages about draft pick updates and put Coors branding on each message.


Generation Y is also skipping the TV in order to watch YouTube and Hulu videos instead. If you got the brand promotions budget for it, consider placing ads on Hulu videos, rather than buying a TV commercial. Since Hulu will only show 3 or 4 commercials per 30 minute show, people are more willing to sit through them, rather than getting up or flipping around. Several of our friends have watched shows on Hulu, and actually even taken the time to rate commercials, rather than ignore them.


In short, Generation Y is online, and they're responding to those brands that communicate directly with them. Rather than trying to reach them through traditional promotions, give digital brand promotions a try instead. Communicating with Gen Y through relationship marketing is a surefire way to reach them and get them to respond to you.

--Julie Ross, Rostin Ventures