Most of us are familiar with customer loyalty reward programs and have been taking advantage of them for years. Those that fly on a regular basis may receive bonuses from accumulating miles with the same airline. Others get perks like 5 percent cash back every time they use their credit card. In-store coupons received at check-out and punch cards that offer 10 percent off once the card is filled keep us coming back for more. Even referring friends to a business in return for perks can make us more loyal to a particular merchant.
With all the options for loyalty reward programs that are already widely available to merchants and consumers, it's hard to believe that we should need more. But what if it were possible to combine several loyalty options into one--while saving money, increasing accessibility for consumers, increasing advertising opportunities, reducing advertising costs, tracking results, and amplifying your customer base? And what if it could all be done for free?
Attracting and retaining consumers is key to running a successful business and now it can be done for free, or for very little cost, using one of the many mobile loyalty platforms now available. Foursquare and TabbedOut are two of the available mobile loyalty applications that require nothing more than a relatively quick and easy implementation process. Another interesting mobile loyalty platform to look at is Chatterfly.
Foursquare Mobile Loyalty
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oursquare, a relatively new mobile loyalty program created in 2009, is popping up everywhere, and the buzz on the street says it's gaining more popularity by the day. Foursquare is already over ten million users strong with 50 percent of users coming from outside the U.S. It was expected to have over 750 million check-ins by June, 2011. The basis of the Foursquare mobile loyalty program relies on two parts: the consumer's ability to input information into the program and the merchants ability to offer rewards to not only new customers, but to those who continually use their services.
After downloading the Foursquare mobile loyalty app to a mobile phone, consumers then enter information about where they are. This is called a “check-in.” Once checked-in at a certain venue, they can share this information with their friends via Facebook and Twitter. They also have the option to redeem specials, write reviews and read other reviews, invite friends, explore other venues in the area, create lists, and even follow other people's lists (an example of a list is “Top Ten Restaurants in the Area”). Furthermore, consumers are offered the option to recommend certain venues and observe trends.
On the merchants side, once registered with Foursquare, they have the capability to use the mobile loyalty program as a platform to engage consumers in a variety of different ways. If the goal is to target repeat customers, the venue may add a “Loyalty Special” for those who check-in with their mobile phone more than five times. Another option is to offer “Newbie Specials” for first time check-ins if the objective is to create new business. Another innovative way to get the most from Foursquare is to offer “Last Minute Specials” on a day that business is slow. Once familiar with the Foursquare mobile loyalty platform, merchants will discover that it is so much more than just simply another customer loyalty reward program.
According to Sarah O'Fee, Director of Marketing for Ehrhardt's Waterfront Resort in Hawley, PA, taking the step to utilize the mobile loyalty program Foursquare is a no-brainer. “The question of should you be on Foursquare, should probably be, why not be on Foursquare? There is no cost to join and offering specials is always attractive to your customers. I find that when I am new to an area, I use Foursquare to look for recommendations and specials. I’m hoping that’s what our customers are doing, and that’s why we’re on Foursquare.”
O'Fee goes on to say, “Marketing in the social media age has become an ever changing challenge but a fun one. Trying to figure out new trends and platforms to interact with customers can be experimental at times. Foursquare is one way we are looking to expand our relationship with our customers by rewarding their loyalty to our brand. Our special states that when you check-in with five friends you get a free appetizer, all people must be present to show their phones and there is a limit to one per table. Foursquare specials have proven to be an effective tool in larger cities with more frequent check-ins and more people. We are trying to see if it can be effective here to garner people’s attention and gain their repeat business.”
Mobile Loyalty with TabbedOut
Comparatively, another option for a mobile loyalty reward program is TabbedOut (integrated with FuturePOS), which can also be used in conjunction with Foursquare. The TabbedOut application is available for the iPhone and Android. The primary concept of TabbedOut is this: consumers are given the ability to open, view and pay their tab from their mobile phone, thus allowing them to leave when they are ready without having to wait for an employee to tab them out.
Although one might argue that TabbedOut does not seem to be a mobile loyalty program, in all ways, it is. “Mobile payment sets the foundation for and is transforming customer loyalty, because to drive repeat business effectively it's essential that a merchant knows what the consumer wants and prefers,” says Rick Orr, CEO and Co-Founder of TabbedOut. “Our integrations with leading POS providers, like Future POS, allow merchants to target their most valuable customers and deliver relevant offers and rewards. We do this via our Merchant CRM platform which enables mobile messaging, offers, social media as well as integration with a merchant's existing loyalty program."
One example of this is “consumption-based” targeting. Let's say a pizzeria is having a sale on sausage pizza. Consumption-based targeting enables the management to message all consumers who came in and ordered sausage on their pizza in the past. Another option is for merchants to target everyone who ate at a pizza joint and paid via TabbedOut within a geographically relevant area. This tool is especially useful for new venues, enabling them to quickly get the word out and at the same time, directly target the appropriate audience.
Like Foursquare, TabbedOut also allows consumers to share where they are and where they've been with friends using Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, without leaving the application. Another similarity is that customers can post a review of their experience and let friends know they are going somewhere else using the “check-out” messaging feature.
See this video about TabbedOut:
Chatterfly Mobile Loyalty Rewards
Chatterfly is another up and coming mobile loyalty reward program with a vision statement that reads “To create the next generation Online Rewards 
Platform for local businesses and brands by fusing elements of the real world and the endless possibilities of the Internet.” Similar in use to the aforementioned mobile loyalty applications, Chatterfly offers exclusive rewards to its users. But instead of just checking-in to earn rewards, users can earn points and rewards by scanning QR codes using their smartphone, sharing an experience at a venue via Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Google+, making a purchase, and even participating in a scavenger hunt.
Although the Chatterfly mobile loyalty platform is not yet everywhere, it is rapidly growing and currently available for the iPhone and Android, with hopes to soon be available for Blackberry and Palm versions.
There are so many other platforms available for mobile loyalty; too many to list. Mobile loyalty reward cards are one example, and have been deployed by venues such as Starbucks. These are simply the old-school plastic cards converted into smartphone data. They work by displaying a bar code on the mobile screen that is then scanned by the merchant. Sending text messages to mobile phones is also popular for some venues, especially if simplicity is the primary factor. Texts can alerts the consumer immediately and directly. Email could be considered a mobile loyalty program as well (although it's a bit of stretch), since people frequently retrieve their mail via their mobile phone.
Above all, each mobile loyalty reward platform discussed provides both the merchant and the consumer a unique experience and an opportunity to feel linked in. To have the power to reach consumers at anytime and any place is something that shouldn't be disregarded when looking for customer retention solutions. The prevalence of mobile loyalty is only increasing in strength, which means that now is the time to jump on the bandwagon and prove to your customers that you understand their needs and appreciate their business.
Related articles:
Mobile Gift Cards Benefit Merchants & Customers at Point of Sale
Mobilize Your Storefront With QRaffiticodes.com
See these video links from Barcode.com:
1. Create a QR Code for business cards
2. QR Code for Signs and Flyers
3. Create a UPC Bar code
4. Make sheets of bar code labels
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