Who Does Loyalty Well?  - Check out Marketing Pilgrim Post on the CMO Study
To see a quick overview of how social media might play into consumer loyalty and which programs consumers rank as the best loyalty programs check out this post on Marketing Pilgrim.

Who does it well?  See below from the same site.



EEA Expo Participants to 'Write the Book' on Enterprise Engagement
The Enterprise Engagement Alliance Networking Expo, to be held June 3-5, 2010, at the Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, NY, is a first-of-its-kind learning and planning experience.

A group of carefully selected hosted executives and managers (yes, we are included.  We are also presenting – read about our session in the “Meet & Greet” section of this newsletter) in different aspects of engagement will be invited to participate with other attendees in the development of the first ever implementation manual for Enterprise Engagement.

This initiative offers a unique opportunity for business executives and managers to learn from both experts and their peers in facilitated discussion groups. The result of the two-day event will be a manual entitled Enterprise Engagement: A Practical Guide to Maximizing Financial Performance Through People that will be distributed free of charge to all attendees.

All participating individuals and their organizations will receive a credit in the manual for their participation. For more information on the EEA Networking Expo, go to www.eeaexpo.org to learn from both experts and their peers in facilitated discussion groups. The result of the two-day event will be a manual entitled Enterprise Engagement: A Practical Guide to Maximizing Financial Performance Through People that will be distributed free of charge to all attendees.

All participating individuals and their organizations will receive a credit in the manual for their participation. For more information on the EEA Networking Expo, go to www.eeaexpo.org

Design
American Express Launches LoyaltyEdge – Consulting on Loyalty Program Design
Citing their history working on consumer loyalty programs AMEX is branching out into consulting on program design.  This announcement follows quickly on the November 2009 announcement of a new business unit called American Express Business Insights.  While they don’t specifically connect those two units it is only logical that the consulting arm would leverage the data from over 90 million card holders to develop specific program options.  Better data equals better program design.

Fulfillment
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)Study – Loyalty Program ROI – It’s about connecting
A recent study by CMO and InfoPrint entitled: "The Leaders in Loyalty: Feeling the Love from the Loyalty Club" highlights some of the real drivers of customer loyalty and the disconnect between what customers value and what marketers are providing.  The press release on the report can be read here on the Restaurant & Institution News site, the full study is available from the CMO site (membership required, free Exec Summary – full report $199) While not surprising, some highlights include:

•Personalizing interactions and target messages (51 percent)
•Increasing frequency and relevance of communications (39 percent)
•Gathering more insights and intelligence for better customer handling (38 percent)
•Adding new benefits, incentives and inducements (36 percent)

Credible Results Measurement
ROI Has A New Playground
Social Media is all the rage.  But, as the CMO report previously cited – social media isn’t the preferred communications channel for many loyalty program members.  However, the real question is about how to measure and leverage social media.  Do we really know what we are looking at?  To get a feel for what’s going on in the social media measurement world check out this post by Brian Solis on Mashable:  The Maturation of Social Media ROI.

Rather than try to communicate all the great thinking in this post here’s the closing paragraph to the post:

Defining the “R” in ROI is where we need to focus, as it relates to our business goals and performance indicators specifically. Even though much of social media is free, we do know the cost of engagement as it relates to employees, time, equipment, and opportunity cost (what they’re not focusing on or accomplishing while engaging in social media). Tying those costs to the results will reveal a formula for assessing the “I” as investment.

When we truly grasp the ability to define action and measure it, we can expand the impact of new media beyond the profit and loss. We can adapt business processes, inspire ingenuity, and more effectively compete for the future.

“A laugh is not an acceptable return on an investment of this size.”
Some say the only reason people watch the Super Bowl is for the advertisements.  Unfortunately, it may not be the best place to spend money if you’re looking for consumer engagement.  BrandKeys, Inc. is suggesting that Dr. Pepper and Kia may want to re-evaluate their spend on February 7 because they are predicting a poor return on their investment.  Can you truly predict an ROI? It will be interesting to watch.

“How Super is the Super Bowl?  63% of Advertisers will Fumble ROI”

ROI Session at Virtual Edge Summit – February 22-23, 2010
It Takes More Than a Spreadsheet to Measure Virtual Meeting Effectiveness & ROI

One of the most difficult and murky aspects of a virtual event or virtual meeting can be measuring its value, and when to take the measure. Was the event or meeting valuable to attendees, exhibitors, and event producers? If not, why not?  If so, how valuable?  Metrics during an event are certainly important to know who, how many and how long people came.  But, the true value of an event may not be known until well after the event.  This session examines effective ways companies use to measure the value of their virtual and hybrid events.  Special attention will be paid to how best to capture timely and accurate ROI information for all parties.  http://www.virtualedgesummit.com/program-2010.php

About the Virtual Edge Summit:  Virtual Edge Summit 2010 is the only event that focuses exclusively on providing education, training and solutions for planning and producing virtual events, meetings and communities.  Over 2 days, dozens of experts will share their expertise with you, and be available for one-on-ones.  Meeting alternatives have been available for many years and the solutions have been growing steadily but it took the crisis that started in 2009 to really bring them to the forefront. Now more than ever, companies need to stay in touch with loyal customers, reach new prospects and collaborate internally. More and more, companies are discovering that ‘Virtual Environments’ can provide many solutions to offset the new economics of business communications and drive revenue and relationships.

The 2010 EEA Networking Expo – June 3-5, 2010
Enterprise Engagement: Tracking ROI

An overview of research from multiple sources outlining the financial benefits of Enterprise Engagement as it relates to marketing and communications to consumers, channel partners, salespeople and other employees. This session includes a report on the findings of an EEA case study analyzing the ROI of the engagement strategy of a leading health insurance company. Handouts will include a detailed fact sheet on the economics of Enterprise Engagement for use in the planning sessions later in the two-day event. 

Presenters:  Allan Schweyer, EEA Chair, and Don Peppers, Principal, Peppers & Rogers Group, and Todd Hanson, Principal of the ROI of Engagement Institute  http://www.eeaexpo.com/education-agenda.2392.html

About the EEA Networking Expo - The event is designed to help organizations profit from engaging their key audiences and engineer new ways to use rewards and recognition to drive performance. A slate of interactive education sessions will enable attendees to share the latest and most effective policies, procedures, strategies and tactics in the field of engagement, offering unique, actionable ideas and information they can use to boost performance and profitability, and build relationships with all key audiences.

Engage!
Don’t forget – engagement is about connecting.  Subscribe to our blog either through RSS or via email at ROI Of Engagement Blog:  http://www.roiofengagement.com/blog.html Or follow us on twitter:  http://twitter.com/ToddHanson

Suggestions on improving our newsletter or if you have a topic you want us to look into – drop us a line at: info@catalystperformancegroup.com