The one-two PUNCH: Loyalty Best Practices for Small Businesses

Good morning all! I came across this press release this morning and think it has some GREAT tips for keeping customers loyal. Many successful companies have great loyalty programs that keep people coming back for more. Read these tips and think of how you can incorporate them into your everyday business practices! 

"The first punch is to deliver a 'jab,' which is a philosophical transformation in the way loyalty-leaders treat customers. Each loyalty-leader treats their customers like they're made of gold--meaning there is a deep level of respect and courtesy given to customers at every touch point. Having a friendly and polite staff is numero uno. The second punch is a 'straight punch,' which is delivering the proper marketing message and seamless technology to loyalty members. This allows you to identify customers, track spending, motivate behavior, reward performance, and measure results."

Brooks explains that once small businesses are able to effectively combine the one-two punch, they'll be on their way to delivering a "knockout" program.

He also offers the following five loyalty best practices that every business owner should include in their loyalty strategy:

1. Do unto others.

Yes, it's the loyalty program golden rule. Give customers a reason to be loyal, because if you don't, your competition will.

2. Clearly disclose all program benefits and rules (including potential restrictions).

Remember to put all rules out in the open. Dedicate space on the company website, or have printed material available that is easily accessible to website members. Keep your customers well informed.

3. Offer attractive redemption options.

The goal should be to motivate customer behavior. To do so, offer redemption benefits that are relevant and very attractive to your member base--not par for the course.

4. Communicate with customers.

When the customer enrolls in your business' program, ask them to opt-in to your newsletter or promotional e-mail updates. If e-mail is not an option, try communicating through receipt messaging, statement inserts, or other potential touch points such as social networking. You'll see that communicating stimulates activity.

5. Empower employees.

Train your employees to fully embrace the loyalty program as they hold the keys to the loyalty kingdom. Your loyalty members will buy-in if they see your employees have bought-in."

Roger Brooks, loyalty strategist and author of The Power of Loyalty: 10 Essential Steps to Build a Successful Customer Loyalty Strategy

New Press Release Out From Us Today!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 21, 2010

Contact:

Kristin Andrews

Twigg Marketing

210.275.3292

kandrews@twiggmarketing.com

Unprecedented Social Media Management and Training Brought to San Antonio

Twigg Marketing shows small businesses how to utilize social media as an affordable and effective marketing strategy

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - July 21, 2010 – Social media outlets such as Facebook and LinkedIn are an affordable way for San Antonio small businesses to gain new contacts, loyal customers and a bigger bottom line. Unfortunately, there are few resources in San Antonio for small businesses to receive training on how to utilize these resources in an efficient and effective manner without taking the focus off of their day to day operations. Twigg Marketing recently has bridged this by offering social media management and training™ for small and medium sized businesses in the San Antonio area.  

“During these tough economic times, it is especially important to utilize affordable outlets such as social media to reach your target audience and grow your business,” said Kristin Andrews, executive director, Twigg Marketing. “It is our goal to provide our clients social media strategy, innovative campaigns and targeted training that allows them to get a big return from their efforts.”

Twigg Marketing can provide a variety of social media training services including sales, marketing and recruiting strategy, social media policy writing, best practices for growing customer base, and more. They also provide a variety of management services which range from an occasional post to full management of all social media sites.

“The social media outlets that Twigg Marketing set up for Major Inc. allowed us to get our name out in a way we were unable to before,” said Nathan Rizzo, director of business development, Major Inc. “We are able to build our business by connecting with new customers, current clients, vendors, fellow association members and even our competition.”

About Twigg Marketing

Twigg Marketing provides affordable social media management and training for small and medium sized businesses in the San Antonio, Texas area.  For more information, please visit www.twiggmarketing.com or call 210.275.3292.

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How Sweet it is!

Great couple of days this week. Yesterday I ventured downtown to the county court house in order to  get my assumed name filed so that Twigg Marketing can become my official operating name. Very exciting stuff! Seems like things are REALLY coming together and I could not be more excited.

In social media news, ice cream giant Ben and Jerry's dropped email marketing in favor of a strong social media stategy including Facebook, Twitter and tasty iphone apps including "Scoop of Happiness" and "Moo Vision." Read the full scoop on how they are going to build their business using social media:

http://www.bizreport.com/2010/07/ben-jerrys-drop-email-in-favor-of-social-media-marketing.html.

I love ice cream puns: can you tell?  I also love reading stuff like this and thinking to myself SOMEBODY gets it! This is such an exciting and game changing time in marketing! Social media can truly change the way we do business! 

Now I am in the mood for some Phish Food or Cherry Garcia.

Kristin

Networking or Socializing on the Clock?

Microsoft launched a Outlook/Facebook integration that brings status updates right to your inbox. I am (obviously) all for using social networking for business, but is this business or socializing on the clock? 

I think this new development has to be handled with the maturity and discipline that comes with having a job. Obviously each day employees are faced with the choices that we may not have had 5,10 years ago. Do I want to do a report or email my friends? Go to that meeting or mindlessly waste an hour organizing my paper clips? This new integration should allow your team to keep up with contacts in real time with out having to go to an additional site.  Will you take advantage of this new feature?

Check out the scoop on the integration and a screenshot here: http://tinyurl.com/32q4rjh

Happy Tuesday, 

Kristin

Google has goats and other things to ponder

Rackspace. Google. Zappos. Southwest Airlines. Learning information on the internal culture and activities of these companies can get the most career content person submitting their resume.  Mashable put up a post last week on 10 fun facts on Google. How many of you small business owners out there have a company dinosaur?

Check out the rest of these interesting and fun facts:http://mashable.com/2010/06/19/10-google-facts/.

Does your company have any fun extras like this? Even something small can bring a smile to your employees' faces. 

Hope everyone is gearing up for a great 4th of July weekend! 

Kristin

Web site is up and running

Good morning blog world! Today is a very exciting Thursday for Twigg Marketing. After starting over(twice) the website www.twiggmarketing.com is up and running. This is my first shot at making a  website and it seems to have turned out pretty well. I wanted it to clearly state what we do and be really easy to navigate. Take a look and let me know what you think!

www.twiggmarketing.com

Social Media: Cash or Crock?

"Everything that can be invented has been invented"
This quote was said by Charles H. Duell, Commissioner in 1899. He worked for the US patent office. 

This morning I have been researching quotes such as this one to add to a page I am working on for my website titled "Social Media: Cash or Crock". It will have statistics and videos that support social media and the idea of a network of connections as a way to grow your business and build your brand. 

I love thinking about the future in terms of technology and inventions and how business will be run and how our mindset as a society is changing so rapidly right now. When people say social media is a passing trend and they don't need to use it to grow their businesses, I think they are missing getting in on the ground floor of something HUGE. Sure you don't have to have a Facebook to run a business, but why miss an opportunity to connect with your target audience?

Here are quotes on some other passing trends that did not need to be considered: 
There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home. - Ken Olson (President of Digital Equipment Corporation) at the Convention of the World Future Society in Boston in 1977.

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." -- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -- Western Union internal memo, 1876

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." -- Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre

"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusi on of the wise and humane surgeon." -- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria , 1873