Question

Blogging Assignment

"bloggers" are responsible for posting news articles and offering brief commentary on them.

The Rules:

1) Anything "bloggers" post must specifically pertain to the field of technology or e-marketing. As you are aware, these fields are wide open and have many interesting and varied topics within it, so you should have a lot of material to choose from. Look to newspaper articles, management journals, company PR sites, information on new technology pertaining to e-marketing, Internet articles, and so on for material.

2) Articles must be less than one year old.

Note that good blogs provide a URL, a short description of the article, and some commentary (point out controversy, offer some opinion on it, etc) on the article. For "bloggers", this criteria will be used to help determine your grade.

Answer 1

The following article talks about a phenomenon that comprises of both fields of technology or e-marketing - Demystifying Loyalty Program.

My comments and understanding are summarized below. It was an article published on service loyalty by a leading marketing journal.

One of the most critical perspectives of sales is repeat business. Loyalty programs as a marketing strategy gained popularity in the early 1990s when airlines started offering discounts to frequent fliers. This strategy was extended to the retail business, and card-based loyalty programs proved to be a huge success. Loyalty programs involve companies encouraging customers to continue shopping or using the service and returning the favor by rewarding the customer through discounts on current purchase or allotment of points. There are various forms in which loyalty programs can be offered:

• Using a simple point system. This is the most popular loyalty program methodology. Frequent shoppers earn points, which translate into some reward. Whether it’s a discount, a freebie, or specialized customer treatment, customers work toward a certain amount of points to redeem their prize.
• Tier system to reward initial loyalty and encourage more purchases: Present small rewards as a base contribution for being a part of the show, and then support repeat customers by increasing the value of the awards as the consumer moves up the loyalty ladder. This helps solve the dilemma of members forgetting about their points and never recovering them because the time between purchase and satisfaction is too long.
• Charging an upfront fee for VIP benefits: This system is most applicable to businesses that thrive on frequent, repeat purchases. For an upfront fee, your customers are relieved of inconveniences that could impede future purchases. Amazon's mastered this for e-commerce, but this model also has potential to work forB2B businesses that deliver products to companies on a regular basis.
• Partnering with other companies: When you give your customers with value that's important to them but goes ahead what your company directly can offer them, you're revealing them you understand and care about their demands. Plus, it'll help you improve your network to reach your partners' consumers, too.
• Loyalty programs in the form of games: Who doesn’t love a good game? Turn loyalty program into a contest to inspire repeat customers and -- based on the type of game you want -- help solidify your brand's image.