Promotional Currency

The promotional currency approach allows you to leverage that other embedded consumer loyalty code: shopping. When customers are ready to spend their program savings and cash in their figurative certificates of deposit, their expectations change dramatically: They cease to think of the program as a bank and equate the loyalty experience with a shopping trip—and they expect to delight in all the fun, choices and excitement that this metaphor implies. At this point, loyalty marketers must step out of the role of banker and into the role of dream merchant.

COLLOQUY contributing editor Caroline Papadatos is Chief Knowledge Officer of Alliance Data Loyalty Services.

How are Rewards Viewed?

Recognize good behavior: Promotional currencies have higher perceived value than cold cash. While we often spend our cash on what we need, like food and shelter, we almost always spend points and miles on what we want, like vacations and family gifts. This elevated emotional value explains why cash-back and discount-based loyalty programs have a much lower historical success rate. Discounts and rebates certainly represent value to consumers—at the outset. But cash-based rewards quickly become viewed as entitlements, and whatever competitive differentiation they provide evaporates entirely when your competitor meets or beats your easily copied offer.

COLLOQUY contributing editor Caroline Papadatos is Chief Knowledge Officer of Alliance Data Loyalty Services.

Taking Rewards Points to the Bank.

Applaud the work: Would it bother you more to lose $50 that dropped out of the sky or your $50 paycheck? Customers value loyalty rewards precisely because such rewards, "earned" through hard work, have intrinsic value. In your communications, acknowledge this feeling of ownership by recognizing the savers’ commitment to the goal. Avoid the suggestion that rewards are earned randomly in a game of loyalty lotto. And if you must restructure your program at any point to reduce the value of those hard-earned savings accounts, do so with great sensitivity so you don’t lose their trust. Your customers should view loyalty rewards as a sure thing—something they can bank on.

COLLOQUY contributing editor Caroline Papadatos is Chief Knowledge Officer of Alliance Data Loyalty Services.

Keystone and the 250,000 point give away!

Keystone recently ran a 250,000 point sweepstakes for their customer. In order to qualify for the sweeps, their customers had to purchase 10 Keystone remanufactured wheels during the months of February and March. If they purchased 10 or more wheels they were entered into the drawing for the 250,000 points. The winner of the sweepstakes, Peter’s Body Shop located in St. Cloud, MN was selected earlier this month.

What does the person who redeemed the four millionth code have to say...

Not only do you save time and materials by the use of top quality products but now you can also get rewarded for using them.

Thank you Aftermarket Rewards and sponsors for a great program.

JOHN YASENCHAK- MGR.
CANTERBURY COLLISION
SHAKOPEE, MN.

Aftermarket Rewards succeeds due to High Earn Velocity

Manage earn velocity: Once savers set a reward goal, they’ll track the speed with which they reach it. If they perceive that reaching the reward takes more time or effort than it’s worth, they’ll disengage. Managing your program’s earn velocity— the perceived "time to reward"—therefore becomes critical to customer engagement. In your communications, highlight account balances or progress to the next redemption level. Implement and promote real-time balances on the program website. Offer bonus options to fuel earn velocity and enhance the anticipation factor.

Exert taken from www.colloquy.com
Caroline Papadatos is Chief Knowledge Officer of Alliance Data Loyalty Services

Click to Claim with Keystone

A very cool new process has been launched for AMR. A few weeks ago, Keystone Automotive customer started earning points for online orders via Keystone's website and will also be able to earn points for the products in these orders as well!

For more information, read Keystone's recent press release:

http://www.aftermarketnews.com/default.aspx?type=art&id=82423&sid=281564&iid=5039&stid=0

Highly targeted campaigns make a loyalty program work

COLLOQUY Director Kelly Hlavinka addressed a major question posed by the census results: Does the participation data mean the loyalty empire has reached a saturation point? "Loyalty memberships are flying dangerously high. Fat membership roles may look good in a press release, but active loyalty program members are the only members who count," said Hlavinka. "Marketers must adopt highly targeted enrollment strategies and allocate resources where they accomplish the most good. That means enroll the right customers, drive active participation programs, employ reward bonuses selectively and use loyalty data throughout the organization to increase customer insight."

4 Millionth Code is Redeemed!

The 4 millionth code was redeemed on May 10, 2007. This is another big milestone for the Aftermarket Rewards program and our sponsors. The pace at which the end user is redeeming the yellow labels, continues to quicken. It took the Aftermarket Rewards program 11 months to go from 2 million to 3 million codes and five months to achieve 4 million codes. The deeper result is that the end user is continuing to call out our sponsors brands instead of the competitors brand.

www.aftermarketrewards.com
952-844-4789
Ryan Utecht

Aftermarket Rewards is fast approaching 4 million codes

Who would have thougth a little over two years ago that we'd be looking at 4 million codes being deposited. That is exactly what is about to happen. In two and a half short years, Aftermarket Rewards has attracted 8 automotive aftermarket manufacturers and has deposited 3,937,564 codes. This large amount of volume is giving our manufacturers like 3M, DuPont and Bardahl, great insight into the end users buying habits and patterns. And because end users are now calling out the manufacturers brands by name, the manufacturer can better influence the end users buying habits. The end users continue to stay engaged with Aftermarket Rewards because of the high velocity in which the points they earn add up quickly. This enables the end user to redeem the points for great rewards like i-pods, grills and gold clubs.

There is no current program available that allows sponsor to market to the end user as cost effectively as Aftermarket Rewards. For more information, refer to our website. www.aftermarketrewards.com