According to Forrester Research, we’ve entered “the age of the customer” — an era defined by customers and not companies driving business decisions.

“For this reason,” writes Mike Dickey for WIRED, “it is more important than ever for companies to get to know their customers on a deeper level.”

To get to that deeper level, obtaining and leveraging data is vital.

“Don’t always assume you know what your customer wants or needs,” Dickey continues. “Embrace your customers for what they do, rather than what you think they’re doing. Stay objective and allow the data to provide insight.

Today, we’re bearing witness to the enormous marketing power of insights and how they can be used in business for brands and locations to get to know their customers more intimately.

Without question, of course, some businesses are doing better than others in this increasingly important practice. And it’s easy to spot those ahead of the pack.

In the realm of restaurants, for example, the latest research into the space reveals that the businesses that expertly harness customer data are best positioned to drive customer loyalty to heights the competition can only dream of.

Illustrating this argument is the newest report from inMarket, a trusted company that uses machine learning to analyze billions of data points per month to “paint a picture of consumer behavior.” The 7-year-old bootstrapped company has just released its Spring 2017 Loyalty Report for Restaurants as part of its inMarket inSights program.

The findings have been used to rank full-service restaurants (FSRs) and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) based on customer loyalty as determined by repeat mobile device visitation.

Each business is assigned a Loyalty Score, which is determined by total visits divided by unique device visitation, inMarket says (For example, a restaurant with 1,000,000 visits from 500,000 devices would have a Loyalty Score of 2).

“The average Loyalty Score for all FSRs in Spring 2017 was 1.4, while the average for QSRs was 1.55,” the official report announcement reads.

According to inMarket location data, Cincinnati-based Skyline Chili has the most loyal patrons in the U.S. in 2017 — attracting repeat customers 27 percent more frequently than average.

What does it all mean? Time and again, customer loyalty leads to growth. Three out of the top five QSRs for customer loyalty are expanding in 2017, the report confirms.

Not surprisingly, the importance of customer loyalty is by no means limited to the restaurant vertical. This latest report from inMarket is the second report in a series covering loyalty at various brick and mortar verticals. The first report, covering retail, similarly identified what inMarket calls a “clear correlation between low customer loyalty and store closures so far in 2017.”

“In our retail rankings, 80% of the bottom 10 businesses for customer loyalty were either closing stores, laying off employees or freezing growth,” the report reads. “That trend seems to extend to full service restaurants as well — with Joe’s Crab Shack having filed for bankruptcy in June 2017 after performing at 19% below the loyalty average this year. ”

Want to know more? The complete inMarket report with rankings and analysis can be downloaded here.

The post Insights Unlock Competition-Crushing Customer Loyalty, Says New inMarket Report appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Report Announcement: Research conducted by CodeBroker, a developer of mobile marketing solutions for retailers, reveals potential game-changing results for retailers who want to maximize the return on their loyalty program investment. The CodeBroker 2017 Shopper Loyalty Survey is now available for download.

Based on a survey of 1,207 U.S. consumers across all age groups and income levels, the report’s main conclusion finds the vast majority of U.S. shoppers prefer that retailers take their rewards programs digital; they want the option of managing their loyalty programs on mobile phones, citing higher usage if they can avoid logging into a website or even downloading an app.

Shoppers want to access all aspects of loyalty including their cards, rewards, point balances, offers, and how to earn, from their phones.

Problems of Traditional Retail Loyalty Cards and Programs

CodeBroker research found the biggest consumer complaint with today’s loyalty programs is simply carrying the card itself; 43% say physical cards are the biggest obstacle to claiming rewards, while 17% cite that looking up a missing card is most annoying. In addition, 15% say linking a card online is the biggest hassle of loyalty programs.

CodeBroker discovered that 70% of shoppers surveyed said they belonged to between one and five non-grocery loyalty programs. In addition, 16% do not belong to a loyalty program of any kind. The report found other issues with loyalty programs:

• 24% use the rewards they earn
• 43% say rewards expire before they can be redeemed
• 38% say they never knew if they had rewards available
• 28% say they forget to bring paper rewards certificates to redeem
• 65% attempt to redeem a reward at POS and find it expired

Other areas of frustration came from 56% of shoppers who say they changed or abandoned a purchase when they realized their points had expired.

What Do Shoppers Want?

• 70% of shoppers say they would use a mobile version of their loyalty cards if they didn’t have to sign into a website or download an app.
• 71% say they would be more likely to use their loyalty cards if they could access these cards and rewards from their mobile phone.

Key Takeaways
Given the ubiquity of cellphones, consumers want to make their phones the hub of all transactions including the ability to exploit rewards, digital coupons, discounts and other shopping incentives. Converting loyalty programs to a digital, mobile platform will resolve many of these issues and improve the customer experience. Shoppers want easy access to their card, status, and rewards — they want to eliminate the clunky plastic cards from key fobs and wallets.

For additional survey results and information including consumers’ preferred delivery channels, download the full CodeBroker 2017 Shopper Loyalty Survey.

The post New CodeBroker Research Reveals Pitfalls of Retail Loyalty Programs appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The guide offers insights and tips on loyalty programs for both marketers and brands.

“Engagement and loyalty are what all brands desire from their customers. In today’s economy, customers are continuously evaluating which brands are worthy of their scarce dollars and attention. That’s why a smart loyalty strategy is crucial for any brand looking to engage, retain and nurture their customers,” said Barry Kirk, vice president of customer loyalty strategy at Maritz Motivation Solutions. “But loyalty can be hard to define, difficult to earn and easy to lose, which is why we created this guide.”

According to Maritz, 84 percent of customers report being members of points-based loyalty programs and 45 percent of consumers cite the opportunity to “earn rewards” as a primary driver for purchasing from a brand.

“Maritz’ guide covers all the essentials for marketers including an explanation of customer loyalty; the four different loyalty frameworks; design criteria for loyalty programs; how to measure program success; important financial considerations; and how to select the right loyalty partner,” according to a company news release.

“Determining whether a loyalty program should be part of your marketing strategy largely depends on what challenges you are trying to address and what resources you have to devote to a program,” Kirk said. “While a loyalty initiative can address a wide range of business challenges, it is not a panacea. A loyalty program will not effectively address issues relating to product quality, customer service, pricing or market shifts.”

Want more details? Click here.

The post Maritz Motivation Solutions Releases Guide to Customer Loyalty appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

According to North American Bancard, loyalty programs build consumer loyalty—even if they offer a savings of no more than 10%. The great thing about loyalty programs, is that they are a marketing tactic that businesses of any size can implement. This could be points programs that adds up to a specified dollar or percentage savings after a set amount of points is earned, additional savings on specific items, or even programs that provide a prize after a designated amount of points is earned.

The benefits of loyalty and rewards programs are many. If they are something you have been considering, the increase in repeat business is well worth the time it takes to get things up and running. Just ensure that you select a merchant account provider that has the technology required to make implementation a breeze.

The post Customer Loyalty Programs Equal More Sales appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

“Perka is a strong addition to the offerings we have for our merchants today and we welcome them to the First Data product family,” explains Guy Chiarello, President of First Data

If you’re not familiar, Perka is a mobile marketing and consumer loyalty platform that helps small to medium-sized merchants engage their customers with location-based smartphone apps.

Perka became a First Data subsidiary on Oct. 4, we’re told, and continues to operate autonomously as an  entrepreneurial company led by its current management and product development team.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The loyalty industry is rapidly moving from being proprietary and closed to open and interconnected. This shift opens up tremendous opportunities for small and mid-sized businesses to run virtually the same mobile marketing programs as major brands,” says Alan Chung, chief executive officer of Perka. “We’re excited to join forces with First Data to revolutionize the loyalty space and level the playing ground for smaller merchants with the Perka platform.”

The post First Data Confirms Acquisition of Perka appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

With global ecommerce sales on track to surpass $1.25 trillion in 2013, online retailers require a growing degree of sophisticated techniques to properly market to and retain valuable customers.

By partnering with Triggered Messaging and Windsor Circle, Lyris Real-Time Retargeting and Lyris Retention Automation are designed to track, engage, and convert web shoppers into loyal customers.

We’re told these solutions are immediately available for users of Lyris’ digital marketing applications.
The Lyris Real-Time Retargeting solution provides digital marketers with access to detailed web browsing and shopping cart abandonment data to help surface new segments and automate remarketing efforts.

The Lyris Retention Automation solution, on the other hand, is focused on loyalty and empowers retailers with eCommerce transaction insights to effectively analyze purchase behaviors, automate retention campaigns, and build profitable segments.

“Our aim is to provide better segmentation and remarketing capabilities, instantly, to retailers through powerful automation of web browser and eCommerce data analysis,” says Alex Lustberg, Lyris CMO.  “Our relationships with Windsor Circle and Triggered Messaging demonstrate our commitment to powering data-driven campaigns that increase revenue conversions at every stage of the customer journey.”

The post Lyris Debuts New Solutions for Digital Marketers appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

To close the deal, Velti will cough up $25 million – $20 million of which comes in cash. According to published reports, the company may ultimately pay up to an additional $34 million by 2013. That figure, however, will largely depend on the performance of MIG, which has set up shop in the UK, U.S., Netherlands, Belgium and Australia.

Without question, the acquisition expands Velti’s lead as the world’s largest mobile marketing company in terms of revenue, customers, consumer reach and technology holdings.

A leading mobile marketing and advertising technology provider for brands, advertising agencies, mobile operators and media, Velti is understandably excited about bring MIG into the fold.

Current management will continue to operate MIG.

“The acquisition of MIG combined with the resources of Velti, creates a strong resource for brands, mobile operators and media companies around the world,” says Alex Moukas, CEO of Velti. “This acquisition also solidifies our leadership in mobile marketing, a $16 billion category that many predict will almost double to $30 billion in the next few years. We believe we are very well positioned to take a healthy share of this market and bring unique scale and depth to our partners around the world.”

MIG offers mobile marketing, mobile commerce and mobile billing services in 44 countries around the world.

The post Velti’s Mobile Marketing and Advertising Empire Grows With Acquisition of Mobile Interactive Group appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The company’s platform — which provides a single solution for advertising strategies including word of mouth, social media, mobile, and customer loyalty rewards — has produced a 325% average click-through rate along with 21% intent to purchase in over 350 campaigns since its debut, the company said in a press release this morning.

Through social media savvy and use of emerging technologies, Blue Calypso enables and motivates “friend-to-friend delivery” of advertising campaigns, creating deep brand engagement that drives return spending, new customer acquisition and increased sales.  The company’s platform enables advertisers to launch display campaigns on “Calyp,” Blue Calypso’s consumer brand loyalty program, available free online and as an app for iPhone and Android.  Their customers use Calyp to “endorse” and distribute their campaigns virally, friend-to-friend, over personal texts and social media posts.  “Endorsers” participate for cash rewards from Blue Calypso—with earnings based on the campaign’s distribution success—and are paid by credit loaded onto their Blue Calypso Visa Prepaid Debit Card.

Their proprietary ad-rendering and delivery engine gives advertisers the ability to serve multiple creative display ads within the same campaign, targeting such specific conditions as geo-location, day of week, time of day, and even weather conditions.  Their technology identifies the recipient’s circumstance upon click through and delivers the right message partnered with the right creative increasing campaign response rates.  Advertisers can implement multiple calls to action that go beyond links, including point of sale, geo-location-specific offers, and metered mobile coupon redemption’s.

With such an interesting take on multi-channel marketing and such advanced targeting capabilities, it’s no wonder the company has signed some pretty big-name clients, including Warner Music Group, Ben E. Keith Company, Live Nation, 21 Day Body Makeover, Ghostbar, Stunner of the Month, People Jar, AEG Live, Grubbie Style and many others.  “Blue Calypso’s value proposition is that it lives within the users world of engagements,” Blue Calypso customer James R. Hallam, Vice President Marketing Ben E. Keith Company – Beverage Division.  “The end result is very much like the ‘heard affect.’  Blue Calypso is the first company that I have seen that really understands that it is the “B” to “C” AND “C” to “C” where the messaging needs to be, and most importantly, “discovered”. Let’s face it, this is “Pop Culture” 101 and this product delivers on all sides. Everyone wins!”

The post Blue Calypso Averages 325% CTR And 21% Intent To Purchase Since Launching In March appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The comScore study evaluated the change in brand loyalty within a number of consumer goods categories, including health & beauty aids, OTC medications, apparel, food, household products and housewares. As the economic downturn has continued, the percentage of shoppers who typically buy the brands they want most has steadily declined across the categories examined.  In March 2010, for example, less than 50 percent of shoppers reported purchasing the brand they want most.

For most categories, the drop in likelihood to shop for the brand wanted most is not restricted to buying other brands on sale.  Rather, a sizeable percentage of the change in shopping approach is being driven by a decision to convert to less expensive brands to save money.

“A decline in loyalty to consumer goods brands is typically one of the byproducts of a recession as consumers give greater consideration to price,” said Mr. Fulgoni, comScore’s chairman. “Research we’ve conducted at comScore ARS has quantified the impact of the ‘trading down’ effect within a number of different product categories, highlighting consumers’ increasing willingness to switch brands in the face of pocketbook constraints.”

Though the decline in brand loyalty is undoubtedly effected by cost-savings from a consumer perspective, it also has to do with the brands themselves.  Adopting new methods to engage customers and keep a brand relevant should be a top priority for businesses — especially those engaged in consumer goods — and the time couldn’t be better.

Utilizing mobile concepts to engage an audience on new levels and insert a brand image in contextually relevant and highly targeted content can do wonders for a brand that’s quickly seeing a loss in customer loyalty.

Social media, and especially location-based social media marketing is another tool that’s highly under-utilized by brands still.  The ecosystem slowly growing around services like Foursquare, Gowalla and others is creating a truly unique opportunity for brands to engage their audience on completely new levels and through concepts that consumers enjoy the most.

Though the use of direct branding through traditional channels was once sufficient in maintaining brand and customer loyalty, the landscape is perpetually shifting.  As comScore’s survey results suggest, consumers are shifting the way they see their favorite brands, and loyalty is decreasing by a sizable rate.  Utilizing in-direct branding through mobile and social media marketing can be a savior for brands if used properly, it’ll just involve thinking outside the box.

The post Brand Loyalty Is Sinking, Can Mobile And The Likes Of Foursquare Be A Savior? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Ace Hardware is reflecting on the great response generated by the company’s holiday season mobile marketing efforts to increase store traffic, build brand awareness, and foster consumer loyalty. It now appears all three goals were accomplished.

Ace worked with Microsoft Mobile Advertising to polish the campaign and its strategy which took the hardware retailer deep into mobile territory for the first time.

According to Charles Johnson, GM of Microsoft Mobile Advertising: “Ace Hardware is an innovator who is taking a leadership position in the mobile space.” And that leadership alluded to has paid off for Ace Hardware.

What did the marketing endeavors achieve? 60% increase in “brand awareness,” 14% percent increase in “purchase intent” when compared to the typical mobile audience, and a 7% boost in the number of Ace Hardware customers now intending to return to the store for future shopping purposes in the coming days, weeks, or months.

“We are extremely pleased with the results of this campaign,” says Johnson, “and look forward to partnering with Ace Hardware on future mobile advertising programs.”

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