To keep people coming back for more, there is nothing more powerful than saying “thank you”. Here are 4 new ways to reward your loyal customers for visiting your stores, purchasing your products, engaging with your content or creating content for you.

Reward User-Generated Content

What could be more genuine than the marketing your fans create for you?

More than 8 in 10 people say user-generated content from people they don’t know serves as an indicator of brand quality and influences their purchase decision. Surprisingly, 51% say opinions from strangers are more important than opinions from friends and family.

Surely, there is a lot to be gained from loosening the reigns around your brand and creating a space for the people to speak for you.

Ratings and Reviews

Including a ratings and reviews section on your website or Facebook page conveys a willingness to be transparent that assures your audience of the quality of your offering. Set up ways to respond publicly to ratings and reviews to further indicate your responsiveness and caring.

Photos and Videos

Who doesn’t want to be e-famous? Set up a section on your website, promotional microsite, or Facebook page to highlight photo and video submissions from customers. Compose tweets or status updates to call out new entries to your social media audiences. Take inspiration from Oreo’s Facebook profile picture, that the company uses to feature a different Oreo fan every week.

Tweets and Comments

Why not reward your fans for clever tweets and comments around your branded properties? Create lists like “10 Best Responses to #twitterheist Campaign” to highlight text-based fan contributions and compile them into blog posts or company newsletters.

Most of all, keep it genuine. Show people you want to listen, you want to respond, you want to put them in the spotlight to thank them for being a part of your brand.

To keep people coming back for more, there is nothing more powerful than saying “thank you”. Here are four new ways to reward your loyal customers for visiting your stores, purchasing your products, engaging with your content or creating content for you.

2. Reward Gaming

As “gamification” becomes the hottest marketing buzzword, companies are increasingly gravitating toward games as the format of choice for branded experiences. The benefit of a game versus a static marketing piece is plain to see – a more engaging experience that necessitates repeat visits, creating a strong community of regulars around your marketing.

“[Traditional marketing] is failing because people today are seeking more reward and more engagement from experiences than ever before,” argues Gabe Zichermann, author of Game-Based Marketing. To this end, developing gaming mechanics that stimulate initial plays and repeat visits is key.

Points:

The most commonly used form of game mechanics, points allow you to measure achievements in a linear and limitless way. This creates an environment of competitiveness in the form of scoreboards, or, to use the gaming term…

Leaderboards:

Leaderboards encourage users to become power players to the end of seeing their name reach top rankings. To maximize competitiveness, create a universal leaderboard and one that compares a user’s points with those of their friends.

Levels:

Levels make a game more “sticky” by giving users an accomplishment to work toward, similar to…

Badges:

Like levels, badges provide an incentive to keep users playing in order to unlock symbols of virtual accomplishments. Badges also become part of the user’s identity, as they can be featured on a gamer’s page within a type of “digital trophy case”.

Prizing:

Of course, none of these mechanics should exist in a vacuum. Gaming initiatives work most effectively when players can exchange their digital achievements for real world prizes. This can range from company merchandise, to company products, to larger prizes that do not necessarily utilize your product but speak to your brand – like an exotic vacation for a company that makes travel backpacks.

Social:

The final step to ensuring your game creates maximized impact is to integrate a social layer in the rewarding dynamic. Compensate users for sharing interactions with your game to their audiences on Facebook and Twitter. There are mechanisms for prompting users to post such updates, even going so far as suggesting the content of the update to enhance fluidity between playing and posting. At the very least, posts that get rewarded with points should include @-mentions (or tags, in the case of Facebook) of your company. This maximizes exposure of your company to your user’s audiences, who can click-through on their friends post to your company’s page, and gives you a way to tabulate company mentions resulting from game play. For increased impact, ask users to recognize the promotion name in the form of a hashtag (Twitter) or event link (Facebook).

Other Posts in This Series
Reward In-Store Interactions
Reward Social Participation
Reward User Generated Content

Augmented Reality (AR) as a technology has existed for more than 15 years, with tailored applications in industrial automation, theme parks, sports television, military displays, and online marketing (AIB, 2009). Forrester research defined AR as; The concept of AR simply put is the overlay of virtual or artificial information either in the form of visuals, graphics, or text onto a medium, which is then projected over an actual image stream. This additional information can then be augmented to the user either by using a wearable display setup or through a fixed location setup.

The next stage of internet engagement is going to be its connection with physical space. AR will be an important tool in this evolution. Based on a Total Immersions definition, there are 3 types of AR; Web-based AR, Kiosk-based AR and mobile AR. Web-based AR uses PC and webcam with a marker, image or through motion capture. It is the most common type of AR since it runs on Flash and does not require a plug-in or any kind of download. It is also the most economical option and can be easily integrated with social platforms. However, users need to have a webcam in order to use it.

Kiosk based AR is capable of running more powerful AR applications using 3D or facial tracking. It can leverage multiple platforms and can reach broader users through out-of-home or point-of-purchase marketing. Also, the user does not need a marker or a webcam for using it. However, it is relatively more expensive. Mobile AR uses the viewfinder to show the digital information in user’s surroundings. Mobile AR can leverage location and, with smartphone adoption rising, its potential reach is increasing. However, mobile is a fragmented environment, since some smartphones run on different platforms, such as iOS and Android, and the battery life of a smartphone can be an obstacle. Additionally, hype around this type of AR is hard to control. (Adage, 2011)

According to Gartner Inc, AR is one of the top 10 strategic IT technologies and is expected to be a $1.5 Bn industry by 2015 . However, viability of reaching this number is much debated. According to some experts this number will be reachable since AR can be applicable to many industries and has various use cases. On the other hand, some experts argue that this number is not realistic since AR will take time to reach mainstream adaption.

Read up on a recent campaign we delivered with partner Maritz for Embassy Suites. It highlights the power of games in existing loyalty programs. It asks the question: “Why should I reward customers that are already loyal to my brand?”
http://www.maritz.com/News-Events-and-Insights/Social-Community/Man-vs-Brand/Brand-Engagement/Suites-Surprises-and-DelightsOh-My.aspx

Article Highlights:

• “The question usually surfaces after recommending a surprise & delight strategy that consists of a brand giving something of value to a customer just for being one of their best. A great example of the impact such a strategy can have is with a recent promotion we co-created with the Embassy Suites brand marketing team.”

• “One test group was linked to an online game experience where they were educated on the brands values and in the process they played their way towards their own selection of gifts. The interactive game was designed in collaboration with Maritz’ partner, Brandmovers.”

• “And the results speak for themselves. The email open rate for surprise and delight segments had a 53 percent average and the guests that received this unique treatment increased their stays by 10 percent over the control group. They also spent nine percent more during the promotion period. Remember, there was no requirement to book a room, but it occurred at a higher rate and with guests that were already loyal to the brand. Overall, the promotion generated a 246 percent ROI and we, ourselves, were “surprised and delighted” as these loyal guests responded by bringing a greater portion of their wallet share to the brand.”

Computers and technology are essential elements of modern day living. We have become so dependent one finds it hard to imagine life without it. Consider Generation Y , born into the technical revolution era, and never experiencing life without digital interactivity.
Here are a few facts about Gen Y
Aged 12 –31

Approximately 80 Million, that equates to nearly 25% of the US population, twice the size of Generation X.

Just about all of them own a computer, cell phone and ipod. In fact undergraduate students at Georgia Tech have been mandated since 1997 to own a computer. Technology is no longer an option, but a prerequisite. The challenge facing many marketers is that they communicate with customers as if they are computers.

Financial institutions are notorious for relying on statistical modeling and consumer profiling. While these methodologies appear to be rational (at least from an accountants perspective),they offered little assistance to the recent global financial meltdown which was totally out of control. This frenzy was rocket fuelled with technology, trades and swaps changing hands in nano-seconds without the first consideration for common sense and judgment.

If companies treat their customers like computers, here’s what type of reaction you can expect happens when “Computer say No”

Frankly you run the risk of losing them forever. While I am a great advocate for change and advancement, I also realize that technology in and of itself cannot answer the marketer’s strategy dilemma. So the next time you invest in technology make sure your staff understand it’s just a tool, no matter how smart and efficient it can operate, people are your greatest asset, unlike a computer they have passion and care, traits technology has not yet discovered. When combined effectively you can now begin to build a “Killer App”

What does engagement mean to you? Does it mean an agreement to marry, a commitment to attend, a job that lasts for a short time, or a hostile encounter involving military force?

Brand managers and marketers are desperate to build meaningful relationships that last. Marketers from the previous 3-4 decades deployed numerous tactics in order to achieve these objectives, TV, radio, and print media were the channels of choice. Messages and claims of a brands performance were rarely challenged or questioned because the media was deemed trustworthy. On the contrary modern consumers are now equipped with search tools that enable equip them to examine and validate if these claims are really true. One consumer even made a movie , check it out;

Hardly anyone would engage someone they knew nothing about, or even worse a partner that could harm them. So why do many marketers expect a relationship without going through the dating phase. Does your brand have an open and honest dialog with its customers, if not you run the risk of an expensive divorce. No relationship is perfect, we often drive our kids to become straight A students, I challenge you to find a straight A adult. Although I have met many oustanding individuals, not one of them is a straight A in everything. The same is true marketing, consumers are’nt stupid, granted they will eat things that are’nt always the healthiest choice, just don’t try to dupe them. Healthy relationships are built on truth, even if we don’t like certain elements of a relationship we continue to engage in it, because when we understand we can begin the journey of trust.
Here is a simple test on how well you pay attention to detail;

If you are relatively smart you got 3, for those who pay attention and really understand, the answer is at the end of this message.

In order for the post-modern bionic consumer to make any form of mid-long term commitment they need to be understood. To truly understand, one firstly needs to build a relationship of trust. Have you ever noticed that when you share sensitive or confidential information with a friend they normally reciprocate. Well the same principles apply in modern marketing. Its no longer a one way broadcast message all about the brand. One company that does an excellent job of identifying its customers as unique individuals is Weight Watchers. As opposed to mass marketing, Weight Watchers focus is on one-one marketing but on a mass basis. This is a fundamental shift from the traditional methods most marketers adopt. The IncrEdible Rewards program provides loyal Weight Watchers consumers with an easy way to reap the rewards of purchasing Weight Watchers products for a healthy lifestyle. It rewards its loyal customers with gifts as individual as they are.

Over 1 million gifts can be chosen at www.wwincrediblerewards.com real time and on-demand. Now that’s Engagement!

Here is the answer , 6 in total, observing your customers is critical if you want engagement.