Search for UK’s customer service champions
Competition to celebrate businesses that always put the customer first
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Firms must “get closer to customers” if marketing is to be welcomed
Consumers see supermarkets as ‘friends’ but many major industry sectors fail to relate to customers, finds survey Read more ...

Octopus Card admits huge customer data sale
Nearly two million cardholder details passed on Read more ...

Biscuit maker starts first loyalty programme
Scheme to offer rewards via 360 million packets
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Cashback website gives shares for internet purchases
A new cashback website gives users rebates on their purchases at over 1,000 online retailers, in addition to shares in its business. Read more ...

Customer profitability down at banks
People more likely to shop around finds global survey
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Irish traders launch town rewards card
Independent businesses in Carrigaline, Co. Cork have launched a town-wide loyalty card. Read more ...

Vision Express launches its Nectar reward
Vision Express has launched its partnership with Nectar, offering 2 points for every £1 spent at over 330 Vision Express stores, nationwide. Read more ...

Anglia Battlefield to improve foreign currency management with prepaid
Anglia Battlefield Tours, a leading provider of guided battlefield tours is to issue its tour guides with prepaid expense cards.
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Mobile POS loyalty platform launched in US
Solution to personalize customer service Read more ...

Shell – Playing it’s cards right
Shell is the largest branded retailer in the world with over 45,000 sites. It operates loyalty schemes in 20 countries and has 20 million registered loyalty customers.

Crispin Rogers, global loyalty and B2C payments manager for Shell explained to Loyalty why the concept of loyalty is so important for his company. Read more ...

Driving customer loyalty with the right IT
How to ensure loyalty schemes continue to deliver the rewards. It is the insight that is gained from understanding a customer's behaviour that is the real pearl, says Simon Helliwell, Retail Consultant at Clarity Commerce Read more ...

Customers want dialogue with brands and businesses
Research has found that most consumers want a dialogue with the brands and businesses they encounter, but only 10% of European marketers are actually joining in the conversation as equals. Read more ...

The centrality of customer retention to hotel’s operating model
Customer retention remains one of the single most important operational goals for hotels. The effectiveness of hotel loyalty programmes depends entirely on the nature of the programme itself, and on how innovative the hotel is willing to be with regards to its implementation, says Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Officer of TravelInk’d Read more ...

Keeping the customer online
Brand loyalty in the online world is far more fragile than the real world. Graham Moore, e-retail specialist, Zeus Technology looks at the importance of maintaining a consistent online brand presence to avoid customer churn and says it's vital that web traffic is prioritised and managed effectively. Read more ...

Low cost airlines embracing loyalty – report
An average of one in five seats flown globally today is on a Low Cost Carrier (LCC). Loyalty programs have become the norm, with 8 out of the 10 largest LCCs offering at least some form of loyalty program. Now, says Carlson Marketing’s Evert de Boer, senior director of the global airline practice, it is time for LCCs to differentiate themselves and become more customer value oriented if they are to continue to be competitive. Read more ...

Collecting that right kind of data is vital for true customer insight
When it comes to customer insight, it’s not just how many customers you have on your database, but the depth of the data and what you do with it. Article by Richard Higginbotham, head of marketing for Transactis. Read more ...

Turning browsers into buyers: Making online shopping more personal
FAQs just don’t hack it!: UK retailers are increasing both their investment and focus in e-commerce services to attract the growing amount of customers who shop online.  A recent study by eBay predicts that 85% of consumers intend to maintain or increase their online shopping.  Article by Ravi Shankar Pandey, senior VP and UK head of NIIT Technologies. Read more ...

Asda & loyalty: balancing expectations and cost
The current financial strain on businesses may lead some to overlook the importance of staff and customer loyalty. And while tightening the purse strings may be a priority, company loyalty doesn’t need to nose-dive as a result, says Tracy Aslam, Director of Asda Business Rewards. Read more ...

Will Barclaycard’s Freedom proposition drive increased business?
The Barclaycard Freedom loyalty scheme has called for a significant IT investment, commitment to a major advertising and marketing budget – and the appointment of a number of heavyweights to run it, including Sarah Newman former general manager for strategic delivery at British Airways and several others from the airline. But not everyone in the industry is convinced that the Freedom loyalty proposition will lead to increased business. Read more ...

Sainsbury’s chooses coupons  to boost Nectar loyalty - Andrew Mann interview
Last month Nectar overtook Tesco Clubcard in cardholder numbers. This was used by Sainsbury’s to claim that it now had access to the largest loyal customer base.

The news prompted Loyalty Magazine to call Andrew Mann, director of insight and loyalty at Sainsbury’s, to ask him for his views on loyalty, Nectar, data and a few other things too. Read more ...

Freedom goes live with 30,000 merchants plus Shell
Exclusive interviews with Barclaycard and Shell on how Freedom feels so far

Barclaycard went live with its new Freedom loyalty scheme today, with the pressing of a big orange button at 7.30 this morning as the www.barclaycard.co.uk/freedom website updated with full details of the scheme and its partners.

Supermarkets losing out to value retailers
Over a third of shoppers have switched from their usual grocery supermarkets to ‘value’ retailers, as once-loyal customers look to trim their household expenses by turning to cheaper alternatives. Article by Andy Wood, MD of GI Insight. Read more ...

Recession-weary businesses look to customer service for help
With the global recession still continuing to threaten the viability of many companies, customer service has come to the fore as a strategic business tool that can be used to help retain, win and win back customers, says Guy Tweedale, Senior VP of European Operations at Jacada.  But how can we help our Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) to achieve these goals? Read more ...

Pepsi drops out of Superbowl but wins marketing game?
The decision by Pepsi to stop its 23-year advertising sponsorship of the US Superbowl this year and divert more of its marketing efforts to social media and web-based initiatives could herald a new marketing template.

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Happy birthday Clubcard, happy birthday Loyalty
Tesco is using Clubcard’s 15th birthday as the excuse for extending its double points offer at least into the summer.
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What's in store for multichannel retail?
To remain affluent in a difficult economy, retailers need to better understand their customers' needs, providing them with a level of service that meets and exceeds their expectations, says Frank Sherlock, SVP & MD International, Convergys Global Business Unit. Read more ...

No longer a nation of queue lovers
Given that excellence in customer service has been touted as the key big differentiator in pulling out of the recession, it’s unsettling that the UK still suffers from a relatively poor reputation in this regard, says Ian Turner, General Manager Northern Europe at Nuance Communications. One manifestation of this customer service failing is the public’s aversion to ringing call centres. Read more ...

French banks become more “fidelité” focussed
Requirement to allow competition brings wave of new initiatives
Loyalty came late to France as a payment card marketing tool. It wasn’t until October 2007 that even co-branded cards were allowed. This ban by the French banks enabled them to keep tight control of their payments business – until EU rules forced a change. Now everything is different.
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What loyalty means to customers and why businesses should pay attention
Most consumers are aware of the major loyalty schemes - but does this translate into increased sales? Article by Anamaria Chiuzan, Customer Insight and Loyalty - Senior Marketing Manager at The Logic Group Read more ...