Have you seen The Customer-Focused Marketing Playbook?

This comprehensive and practical guide to the latest ideas in customer-focused marketing hands you over 200 packed pages of strategy, best practices, do's and don'ts, practical know-how, facts and figures, and ideas to optimise your marketing strategy, boost sales, market share, increase ROI and profit.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

What retail loyalty leaders do that others don't

The study examined retailers including Best Buy Reward Zone, Amazon Rewards, Target REDcard, and Macy's Star Rewards, and concluded that loyalty cards can be a win-win for shoppers and retailers, especially in the lucrative holiday shopping season.

There are many types of reward and loyalty programmes, including those that are free to join and others that require shoppers to sign up for a credit or debit card first. According to ShopSmart's editor-in-chief, Lisa Lee Freeman, consumers are advised not to leave an outstanding balance on credit cards linked to loyalty programmes if possible, as high interest rates are also an incentive for retailers to recruit members.

Among the programmes, benefits and perks, and fine print highlighted were:

• Amazon Rewards Visa card
  This card can deliver big rewards in the form of cash back, gift cards and travel for frequent Amazon shoppers.

  Best Perk: A US$50 gift card just for signing up.

  How It Works: Three points for every US$1 charged at Amazon.com, including downloads, gift cards and subscriptions. One hundred points converts into US$1 to spend with Amazon.

• Best Buy Reward Zone
  The perks of this programme are a big incentive to join, especially for those who make big purchases here. Best Buy's new price-match guarantee includes online retailers such as Amazon.com and members receive exclusive offers, promotions, and access to special events.

  Best Perk: Free product setup helpline for Premier Silver members of the programme.

  How It Works: US$1 spent in stores or online equals 1 point. Or join the free Reward Zone Gamers Club to earn 2 points per US$1 on gaming purchases and trade-ins.

• Macy's Star Rewards
  Shoppers get 15% off purchases made in their first two days after enrolling, plus choose-your-own sale days and returns for up to two years without a receipt.

  Best Perk: Exclusive store coupons.

  How It Works: All Macy's cardholders automatically receive coupons in the mail.

• Target REDcard
  This debit card gives shoppers all the perks and none of the interest payments that come with credit options. In addition to 5% discounts on almost all purchases, shoppers get free shipping on online purchases and 30 extra days for returns.

  Best Perk: 5% off both in-store and with online purchases.

  How It Works: Simply shop and pay with the card.

Looking beyond credit and debit card reward programmes, there were three free rewards apps for smartphones that were noteworthy:

• Belly
  Forget punch cards and stamps. With Belly, shoppers simply scan their phones at the register to keep track of their loyalty activity and earn rewards. It works on Android and Apple phones.
• Front Flip
  Unlock rewards and win instant prizes by scanning QR codes at participating retailers, restaurants and online. It also works on Android and Apple devices.
• Key Ring Rewards Cards
  This app allows users to scan their loyalty cards, join new programmes, and receive exclusive discounts from within the app itself. This also works on Android and Apple handsets.

Have you seen The Customer-Focused Marketing Playbook?

This comprehensive and practical guide to the latest ideas in customer-focused marketing hands you over 200 packed pages of strategy, best practices, do's and don'ts, practical know-how, facts and figures, and ideas to optimise your marketing strategy, boost sales, market share, increase ROI and profit.

Learn the insider's tricks and techniques to turn every customers into a 'super spreader' for your brand. It's better than free advertising. Once you start this ball rolling, your brand can grow rapidly through word-of-mouth, advocacy, influencers, and customer loyalty. Super-charge your company's marketing strategy, build up your market share, and make more sales through repeat business and customer loyalty.

Find out what works - and what doesn't - and who's succeeded, and how they did it. See how the world's top brands keep their competitive edge against all odds.

The Customer-Focused Marketing Playbook walks you step-by-step through the techniques, metrics, reporting, analysis, marketing models, technologies, tools and innovations for successful marketing strategies - both traditional and emerging - with expert guidance from thought leaders in every major market. Find out the best ways to gather, analyse, and act on customer data to increase profitability, build your brand, empower your customers, beat the competition, reduce churn, and increase customer profitability. This is a marketing book you simply can't afford to be without.

This book aims to hand you all the facts, figures and research data you need for the best decisions for a more profitable, more engaging marketing strategy. It also highlights all the facts, forecasts and trends identified by our experts from the global Marketing Factbook's vast database of market data, news, studies, research and articles, and presents you with an invaluable library of ideas and practical support you can call upon at will.

With The Customer-Focused Marketing Playbook at your side, you'll have instant access to a true goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, research and market data, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid, profitable marketing strategy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)