Steven Slater is a blogger’s dream. For anyone looking for that quirky story to opine about, Mr. Slater provided a remarkable set of actions that will earn him a bit more than 15 minutes of fame. In fact, I’ll bet the incident that took place this week on Jet Blue flight 1052 from Pittsburgh to JFK will be cited in serious business circles over the next year as some form of turning point in improving the commercial airline travel experience.

Let’s be clear. It is not acceptable for a customer facing employee, whether flight attendant, service write-up person, or cashier to lose control and address others with anger and profanity. The world is a frustrating place but my Dad used to remind me “the veneer of civilization is paper thin”. In other words, we have to maintain control no matter the circumstances.

On the other hand, flying commercially is becoming more tortuous by the day. The restrictions that the airlines deem necessary negatively impact the flight experience and, rather than the intended compliance, are bringing out the worst in many people.

It seems the more travelers are charged for things that used to be free and the less freedoms we enjoy in flight, the more rebellious that paying customers seem to become. Our sense of entitlement is being threatened and we don’t like it. The offending passenger on Mr. Slater’s flight, by all reports, was truly offensive and anyone of us that endures business travel can attest to the selfish, rude, and flat out ignorant behaviour displayed by many passengers these days.

Toddlers learn quickly that ignoring rules and responding with extreme petulance draws further punishment. Mr. Slater executed his own version of a smack down and essentially threw his entire flight into “time out”. Not good, but he certainly delivered his message.

In my opinion, the airlines could defuse frustration for all parties on board simply through improved communications.

I have always wondered if using my cell phone in flight “really” impacts flight operations. Now it seems that placing your mobile device in airplane mode is not enough as we are constantly reminded to “turn everything with an on/off switch into the off position”. I guess Apple wasted its time designing that feature for its iPhone.  Posting simple explanations of policies that impact passengers would go a long way to soothing flyer nerves.

The biggest opportunity for airlines to create goodwill with their customers is to make compliance with TSA’s Secure Flight Program a breeze. If you are not familiar with the requirements of Secure Flight, read here.

I have received notice of my need to comply from several airlines via emails and in newsletters. JetBlue published a link in an email addressing the topic but I challenge you to find further reference to the topic on their website. Delta currently requires passengers to change the name of their SkyMiles accounts in writing and to provide “legal documents” as support.

I’d rather send them my legal name that matches my passport and redeem 10,000 miles for them to make the change, not that they would ever consider making it this easy.

Neither prosecuting Mr. Slater nor further clamping down on passengers will yield good results for the airlines as a group. Giving more thought to communicating the reasons behind in-flight requirements and making it easy for loyal frequent flyers to comply with new TSA regulations would not only serve as damage control, but represent steps towards restoring civility in commercial air travel.

There’s an App for all this: it’s called social media. Why don’t the airlines considering using it to communicate with their valued customers?

Relationships are challenging. But navigating relationships in the new era of social media brings with it a whole new set of challenges (and now a whole new host of web sites.)

In the past few days, I’ve had two friends change their relationship status on Facebook to announce a new relationship that has been going on for less than a month. One of the relationships has already ended (and I hear is now back on again.) I’ve got my fingers crossed for the second one.

So, it shouldn’t have surprised me at all to flip on the TV on Saturday morning and see a news story on CBS about “How to Delete Your Ex From Your Online Life.” Breaking up is hard to do, but apparently there are lots of new web sites and apps at-the-ready to help you out.

1. Blockyourex.com

Go to BlockYourEx.com and type in the names and social networking usernames of up to five exes, and install the blocker to make every online image and mention of them disappear. The blocker works for Facebook, Twitter, in Google search results and more. It takes only a matter of seconds to download and is compatible with most Web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome).

Your ex has no way of knowing you’ve installed the “Ex-Blocker.” And, should you reconcile, it’s quick and easy to uninstall!

2. EraseUrX iPhone App (99 cents)

Yes, there’s an app for that! The EraseUrX iPhone app will help you create an e-mail, send a screw-you photo from your library or camera, or record your own voice message. Then it will erase their number from your phone – let’s face it, that’s the hardest part!

3)  iDump4You.com

Yes, you can pay someone to do the breaking up for you. Seriously. For a fee, someone from iDump4U.com will personally call your partner and break it off. Fill out a simple form on the site, make a payment, and within 24 hours, the deed will be done. Fees range from $10 for a basic break up to $25 to break off an engagement to $50 to initiate a divorce.

4) Foursquare and Avoidr.org

Location-based social networking apps like FourSquare are all the rage with over 2 million users updating where they are, so it was only a matter of time until somebody developed a product to deal with the backlash. Avoidr is a website that enables you to follow your Foursquare friends, then identify the places they aren’t checked into.

5) IDoNowIDont.com

And finally, there’s the aptly named IDoNowIDon’t.com where someone ending an engagement or marriage can sell or auction off his or her your engagement ring. Mara Opperman, cofounder of the site, says its average transaction price is $2,500, usually 30 to 60 percent below retail, so it can also be a place for those planning an engagement to snag a deal on a ring. The site is full of interesting back stories detailing relationships gone bad.

Jill McBride is our latest contributing author at Loyalty Truth and will be sharing thoughts on public relations, direct, loyalty & relationship marketing and will offer up a few surprises as well. Jill is Founder & CEO of JZMcBride & Associates, a Cincinnati based firm which provides marketing, direct marketing, public relations and event planning services and consultation. She has an impressive list of clients which you can find here and publishes the Spin Within, a highly entertaining blog that’s worth a read. Thanks to Jill for this first post offering a new “Spin Within” on relationship management.

I’m honored to have made strong alliances with respected people in my industry. Though I wouldn’t turn down sensible sponsorship, each of the icons on the right hand panel of the Loyalty Truth are there through mutual agreement, not due to an advertising deal.

Once in a while, one of my strategic partners gives me time on the soapbox. I wanted to share a piece here written about the impact of social media on loyalty and millennial marketing.

This was originally published in the Loyalty Guide, a great publication available from The Wise Marketer which I would encourage you to add to your library. A free 50-page Executive Summary, including chapter samples, table of contents, text searching, licensing and ordering details is available here.

How to earn loyalty from social media and Millennials

With data-driven marketing starting to resemble a mature industry, progress and change are clearly just around the corner, according to Bill Hanifin of Hanifin Loyalty. If you agree that the industry has its origins in the American Airlines AAdvantage programme in 1981, and in light of the first North American credit card rewards programme being launched around 1992, then the industry itself is something like 20 to 30 years old. In which case it’s time to stop leaning on the excuse that “we’re still learning” and assume the responsibilities of loyalty marketing adulthood.

For years, Bill has been asked the question, “Does loyalty really work?” and, with growing patience, he answers the question with a practised response: “Yes, it does work. The concept of measurable marketing programmes that link customer and transactional data is more attractive than ever”. I also explain that the magic of successful loyalty marketing programmes lies in attention to the details of execution, the diligent usage of collected data, and attention to financial measurement.

As Bill has turned his attention to recrafting loyalty programme designs to engage Generation Y, he has noticed that value propositions are changing and the communication channels used to convey promotional messages are also new, untested, and evolving before our very eyes. The key to successful ‘Millennial marketing’ lies increasingly with the effective incorporation of social media tools into our communications plans and, despite what you may read on Twitter, there are not nearly as many ’social media experts’ around the world as you might think.

Loyalty programme sponsors are launching communities, setting up Twitter accounts and Facebook fan pages, and some are even rewarding members with promotional currency for updates on social media sites. With more of this activity being evident in the market now, the new question that he is being asked regularly is, “Is this social media thing here to stay, or is it just a fad?”

That is a valid question on the surface, but his answer is another question: “Do you want to be able to communicate with the 80 million Millennial consumers in the US, a segment which is emerging as the most important economic force in the market, and equal in size to Baby Boomers?”

Of course, implied by his answer is the idea that we don’t have to like social media – and we don’t even have to necessarily understand it – but we do have to admit that social media and social networks are the preferred communication method of the Millennial consumer. While growing rapidly among the 18-29 age group, social media is also making inroads into older demographics as well.

In 2009, there were approximately 40 delegates at a loyalty conference who participated in a Twitter conversation during the conference. This represented about 10% of total attendees and the volume of Tweets during the event was less than significant. Interestingly, almost one year later, Bill made a quick evaluation of the Twitter accounts of those 40 delegates, and found that only a small handful were still actively participating and growing their network. This of course says less about Twitter itself than it does about how the core of the loyalty marketing industry is engaging with social media.

An increasing number of our clients and potential clients with whom we speak are active in social media and inquire about our depth of understanding of the tools. There is interest in incorporating social media into loyalty programme designs. Advertising agencies and specialty ‘new media’ marketing agencies are rapidly taking the high ground in this emerging area of member communication.

So, rather than waste time apologising for social media and wringing our hands over whether Twitter, Facebook, Mixx, StumbleUpon, or Propeller will survive, Bill is listening to clients and learning as much as he can to serve their growing needs.

Fred Reichheld told us long ago that we should listen to our customers to better meet their needs. We need to do the same with our own clients and exercise our own form of retention programme. Some 80 million Millennials may have different tastes from your own generation, but we need to meet them where they are and build transparent and open communication plans to build engagement and engender their loyalty.

This article is an extract from the 30 chapters of detailed coverage in ‘The Loyalty Guide 4′, which is The Wise Marketer’s latest 1,000+ page global guide to customer loyalty and engagement techniques, best practices, models, metrics, practical advice, market data and research. The report provides hundreds of detailed case studies, forecasts, trends, tables and visual materials to support new initiatives, presentations and proposals and represents a complete, portable reference library of customer loyalty, engagement and marketing strategy.

Suppose you’re a local craft brewery, without the marketing resources of a Coors, Miller or Sam Adams. You don’t have money in the budget for national TV commercials—or any TV spots for that matter. So how do you get the word out about your award-winning brews?

If you’re Delaware-based Dogfish Head, you make the most of your marketing dollars—by leveraging the Web and social media to help spread the word and turn casual customers into loyal fans.

Now if you’ve ever had a bottle of any type of Dogfish Head, you’ll know that this is one company that knows what they’re doing when it comes to making beer. Dogfish Head brews are consistently tasty, distinctive and often complex in flavor, with notes that are more akin to a fine wine than a beer.

So it probably comes as no surprise that these passionate brew masters have brought the same level of passion and flair to their brand marketing efforts. A few highlights that set the brand apart:

• A robust Web experience—at the Dogfish site, you can read about the latest Dogfish Head releases as well as happenings at the brewery and company restaurant. What’s important here is the sheer depth of the content. Each brew—and there are lots of them—has it own page, with the story behind the beer, tasting notes and even food pairing recommendations.
• An active presence on Facebook and Twitter—the key to success on both of these social sites is to keep the material fresh and interact with those who reach out to you. Dogfish Head does both and has over 55,000 Facebook followers and 18,000-plus on Twitter, impressive for a microbrew.
• Its own video-rich YouTube channel—most of the videos feature founder Sam Calagione with a behind the scenes look at the brewing ingredients and process. Sam is personable, has a good camera presence and his commitment to his craft comes through loud and clear.
• A community of fans—what better way to develop brand advocates than to develop a place where they can congregate and interact. At the site’s community forum, members can pontificate on issues ranging from music to home brewing to, of course, Dogfish Head’s latest releases.

On a personal note: my favorite Dogfish Head beers are the delicious 60-minute IPA, or when I’m in the mood for a more intense “sipping” beer, the raisin-infused Raison D’ Etre.

Cheers!

Tom Rapsas is a seasoned Creative Director and has helped many brands deliver their message effectively to consumers. Loyalty Truth appreciates this tasty post on the eve of the July 4th weekend. You can follow Tom’s creative insights on Twitter via @TomRapsas

The Return of the Hoodoo Gurus

I’ve been a fan of the Australian rock band the Hoodoo Gurus since the 1980’s, when they were college radio favorites with hits like Bittersweet, Come Anytime and What’s My Scene. The group’s sound has been described as everything from power pop to garage punk to surf rock, and has aged well—at least if you consult the number of plays the Gurus get on my iPod.

The band has been under the radar in the US for a decade or more—but a few weeks ago, the Gurus put out their first new music release in several years. Titled Purity of Essence, it’s better than anything they’ve done since their heyday—a tuneful, hard rocking set that I’ll be playing loud on my way to the beach this summer. (Recommended download: I Hope You’re Happy.)

The good vibes got me thinking: How do you revitalize and market an aging brand? In this case, how would you bring to life an aging rock band that has been out of sight & out of mind for years?

• Should the brand image be repackaged for a younger market?
• Can it be done without putting a lot of money behind the effort?

Here’s my quick take on what the Hoodoo Gurus, or any mature brand, can do to make a go of it in today’s market.

1. Capitalize on name recognition – Is a rebranding needed? Not here, as the Gurus name has enough cache to bring back happy memories to fans of a certain age. In rock and roll, nostalgia still rules, as evidenced by the fact geezer bands from Rush to Crosby Stills & Nash are still successfully touring. By comparison, the Gurus, now in their late-40’s, are relatively young.
2. Revitalize the product – The group could have rested on past laurels with a “greatest hits” release, but instead has opted for a brand refresh—a new CD that puts a fresh new spin on their sound. This increases the chance of winning new fans as well as rekindling the interest of older ones.
3. Connect with thought leaders – While the new release has received good reviews from mostly obscure music blogs (save a glowing review in allmusic.com), they need to connect with the leaders in the space. This includes Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, and of course the leading rock radio outlets including XM and Sirius. Push, push, push, to get the new CD reviewed—and played—wherever possible.
4. Use social media to get the word out – Social media represents the best way to reconnect with a now scattered fan base. While the band has set up Facebook and MySpace pages, it looks like there could be more interaction from band members, especially regarding fan posts that reference old videos and shows. Make the conversation a dialogue, not just a monologue.
5. Take the show on the road – There’s nothing like a live product demonstration, especially when it comes to rock-and-roll. So I recommend the Gurus dust off their passports and hit the road for a tour. If they’re anywhere near Philly or NYC, you’ll find me not far from the stage.

Tom Rapsas is a seasoned Creative Director and Loyalty Marketing guru and expresses his own “Purity of Essence”  on all things Customer-Centric on Loyalty Truth whenever we are so fortunate to have some of his time. You can follow him on Twitter here: @TomRapsas

Banks traditionally build brand on the pillars of strength, reliability, security, and service. Few have developed a “personality” brand and I cannot think of one that has created a brand that evokes a passionate response from its fans as do Starbucks, Apple, and Coca-Cola.

Though banks are uncomfortable with the concept, many are essentially in the retail business. In my area of the Southeastern US, Bank of America and Chase have a retail delivery network akin to quick-serve restaurants, pharmacies, and gas stations. There seems to be one on every corner.

Considering the current expansion of branch networks (mostly through merger & acquisition), it makes sense that a more engaging brand personality would be good for business.

That said, it was a refreshing surprise to read an article in US Banker’s May issue describing how North Shore Bank was experimenting with Foursquare and other social media channels to create brand awareness in the communities it serves.

The $1.8 Billion bank based in Brookfield, Wisconsin has a tech-savvy e-Business Coordinator, Tim Gluth who decided to contact the “mayors” of the bank’s 44 branches and offer them a $5 Subway gift card for their patronage. “Patronage” could be a stretch as the bank did not ask if the mayors were customers of the bank, they simply acknowledged their mentions of North Shore online to say “thank you”.

Mr. Gluth found the “Mayors” on Twitter and Facebook and made contact initially through those channels. The promotion was greeted with surprise and, from this perspective, was successful in establishing customer engagement. The bank has since carried on to sponsor local Tweet-Ups in support of the minor league baseball Timber Rattlers.

Tommy Clifford was cited in the article as a brand advocate and went beyond tweeting about the experience to documenting his experience in this You Tube video. Jason Sherrill, Owner of InetSolution, Inc., a Utica Michigan based firm, posted on his blog about the experience and is encouraging more banks to follow suit.

Emerging from the recent financial crisis in the US, banks have been working hard to re-establish credibility and trust. Advocating financial literacy among the customer base and offering products that are easy to understand and in the best interest of customers are current marketing themes.

Compatible with that messaging would be to “humanize” the bank brand.

There are still voices that tell me that Twitter, Foursquare and the rest are a waste of time. I would challenge those voices to suggest another way for banks to connect with their customer base on the local level at a cost that will not upset the marketing budget, particularly in community bank and credit union marketing.

I think they’ll find the North Shore experiment to be a big step in the right direction.

These days, it’s just about impossible to find a social media “expert” who doesn’t recommend that your company and/or clients jump on the social media bandwagon. And why not? It really is an amazing new channel that both empowers customers and, as pointed out by Bill Hanifin, is about as close to the holy grail of 1-to-1 communications as we ever may get.

But let me play devil’s advocate for a moment: Is there ever a situation where getting into social media is a mistake? Well, just maybe. There are at least a few companies on the social media scene that are taking a thumping.

I’m talking about companies that, justly or unjustly, are seen as having a less than sterling reputation when it comes to customer service. With the advent of social media, these companies have to deal with more than angry customers on the phone—they now have angry customers on the Net, with the ability to amplify their message to thousands of others, often on the company’s own social networking sites.

One vertical that seems to have more than its fair share of angry Netizens are the cable companies. Take for instance, Comcast. In a past post, I wrote about some Comcast service-related issues I was having with the cable conglomerate, but also pointed out that their Twitter presence was top-notch.

As far as I can tell, Comcast has no official Facebook presence but, as you might expect, others have filled the void. A quick look reveals two separate Facebook pages for people who don’t like the company, including “I Hate Comcast”. Yet the fact that Comcast doesn’t have its own corporate Facebook page may be a good move—especially when you take a look at competitor Verizon, who is being forced to fight off critics right on its home turf.

On Verizon’s Facebook Discussion page are threads that include “Verizon sucks” and “Awful Customer Service”. More vitriol can be found on the company’s “Fans of FiOS” page. Along with accolades, there is a steady stream of negative postings like: “Verizon has the worst customer service in the world and here are all the things I now HATE about FiOS”, followed by a 10-point list.

What’s most interesting are the responses from the “Fans of FiOS crew” (aka Verizon employees) who have the unenviable job of answering these rants. In most cases, they respond in a bright and chirpy manner that deals with the issue at hand and ignores the nastiness. But many times the FiOS crew appears to let damaging claims go unchallenged.

Here are two customer postings that did not get an official company response:

“Beware. Their billing is atrocious. Watch your bills closely, they are playing games with the bills.”

and:

“Verizon lies again with their offers and promotion propaganda and I am not the only one. Many people on this board are not getting the $150.00 gift card that you promised when we signed up as new costumers. Explain please!!”

The query below received some polite technical advice regarding the Xbox issue, but ignored the “bill” and ”dedicated line” comments:

“This service blows I’ve been getting so much lag on xbox live…my bill is crazy high every month going up and I’m still in my one year contract…and by the way its not fiber to the home… its a shared network too… stop advertising “dedicated line” until u back it up.”

Ouch! So what do you do if you’re Verizon, now that the social media genie is out of the bottle, and you’re consistently being hammered on your own Facebook page? Well, the “Fans of FiOS Team on Facebook” recently took action. They put up a “Notice Regarding Repeat Posts on the Wall” which in part reads:

To our valued Fans,

Recently, we’ve seen a number of fans repeatedly posting questions regarding content that we’ve addressed in the past…these repetitious posts have made it more difficult to address new questions…for this reason, we have decided to begin removing repeat posts of the same topic.

So they’ve given themselves the “right to remove posts”—which could mean taking down any complaint on any issue they feel like they’ve already addressed. This is sure to tick off some fans of FiOS, who see the Facebook page as a public square—but I think Verizon has done the right thing.

At a certain point, you just can’t let your own Web pages be a platform that assists in your own demise and further damages you’re already less than golden reputation.

What do you think?

Don Peppers and Martha Rogers gave birth to the concept of 1 to 1 Marketing over 15 years ago. The brilliant marketing innovation is intended to “illustrate the importance of treating different customers differently. (from their website).

From a practitioners viewpoint, 1 to 1 has also been difficult to execute while attaining measurable ROI.  “Mass customization” has been the closest application of the general idea that most marketers have achieved.

In my opinion, Web 2.0 communication tools including social networking platforms finally open the door to communicate with consumers on an individual level without breaking the bank, but a big question remains: how do we gain insight into the customer preferences that drive purchase decisions?

• Yes, you can survey, but the process does not invite accuracy unless carried out within a permission driven environment
• Focus groups are not conducive to promote a diversity of opinions shared with full transparency
• Satisfaction surveys are pretty window dressing that don’t serve as reliable predictors of future purchase behavior
• And NO, there is not just one question that can be asked to determine future customer loyalty

A conversation with a friend provided an example of how bundled preferences can become a purchase-decision reality.

Marketers try so hard to collect and understand personal preferences through qualitative surveys. And, after all the work and investment, we find the behavioral data contradicts survey results on many occasions.

How can we re-engineer our methods of collecting attitudinal data from consumers to achieve better results?

• Could we use social media to encourage people to outline their “dream ticket” of one-stop shopping for grocery, fuel, or mobile phone service?
• Could we create a member community that provides value to Elite level collectors and opens the door to collaborative conversation?
• Could we employ location based marketing and social sites like Foursquare to generate “instant” surveys on favorite haunts?

If we changed our approach to consumer research, what might we find?

Keep asking questions across your customer base and listen more diligently.

The answers will come clear in time.

In the past week, business has taken me to Vancouver, BC and San Jose, Costa Rica with a pit stop in South Florida for a day or so at home. None of that was a big deal until my colleague Mike Atkin noted at dinner that we’ve been hitting these spots in conjunction with some pretty big events.

We arrived in Vancouver exactly one week before the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics, landed in South Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIV, and arrived in San Jose on election day as the country was electing the first female President in its history. I’m not sure how I can top that although I have noticed that I arrive back in SoFla just in time to make Valentine’s day special for my wife. Better pull that one off!

I’ve also been using Foursquare for a while and, like a lot of social media waves, I engaged knowing that it would cost me a little time without being sure of a return. I’ve been having some fun with it around my local haunts and have been thinking about how something like Foursquare could intersect with location based offers as part of a loyalty marketing program. My first eye-opener was the blending of Foursquare and Twitter into the Tasti D-Lite rewards program which I talked about in a recent post.

This last jaunt across the continent and back connected a few dots. Checking in to my hotel in Vancouver, I saw a pop-up on my iPhone that said “Special Nearby”. Clicking through, I read “Welcome to the Mill Marine Bistro & Bar. Mayor receives a free beer. Show your server to redeem.”

I wasn’t the Mayor and didn’t get a free beer, but Mike and I did visit the nearby pub to have a quick dinner. The point made was that promotions relevant to someone’s stay could be delivered via this little iPhone application. Better yet, these offers are made to people who have opted-in to receive the offer. in this case, the Mayor might game the offer to get lots of free beer and over time I hope the restaurant will become more creative in the offers made, possibly targeting guests at the hotel next door.

Landing in FLL a day or so later, I switched on the phone and “checked in” to Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport and received a tip from a local attorney, Leland Garvin. On the verge of the Super Bowl weekend in SoFla, what better message could an attorney send than (paraphrased) “Have fun while in town, but if anything happens from arrest to a speeding ticket, call Leland Garvin, attorney at law.” A phone number was included and if I was a “Who Dat” ready to tear it up for the Super weekend, I would have written it down and tucked it somewhere safe.

With lots of minds grinding on how to incorporate mobile marketing, location based promotions, and social media into loyalty program communication streams, these two “pops” from Foursquare got my attention and sparked some good ideas.

Consider the possibilities. What’s it make you think about?

I’ve been in way too many meetings lately where I have been asked the question “Is Social Media just a fad that will soon blow away?”

Fortunately, I’m well schooled in responding to skeptics since, for the past dozen years, I’ve been answering the classic question in my core business, “Does this Loyalty stuff really work?”

I have a well-practiced response to the second question, but at times when asked about the staying power of social media, I feel like the kid who was just caught by his parents looking at a magazine not on his school reading list – as if I should feel guilty because I’m making a case for understanding how to incorporate social media into the traditional world of data-driven communication strategies.

Convictions aside, it is fortifying when we see offline businesses wading deeper into the social media pond. We’ve seen plenty of our favorite brands open a Twitter account and establish a public Facebook page. But really linking these venues with their mainline customer acquisition and retention efforts? Well, we are just beginning to see examples in the market.

A great one that I came across, courtesy of @ragythomas is the TastiRewards loyalty program, where customers can not only earn points for enjoying tasty ice cream treats, but can also earn extra rewards by connecting their accounts to  Twitter and Foursquare.

The program is really simple and has adopted what I consider a QSR chain best practice by offering a dual-function gift and loyalty card. In this case, the card can be used across participating locations first to facilitate purchase, but with the added value of registering at MyTasti.com to qualify for extra points through social media updates.

TastiRewards members earn 1 point for each pre-tax dollar spent on qualified Tasti D-Lite products. Members become eligible for rewards once 50 points are accumulated and are eligible to receive a free medium Tasti cup or cone.   Extra points can be earned for registering the card online and checking points balances.  Providing a date of birth qualifies you to receive a free medium Tasti cup or cone on the big day.

The success of the TastiRewards program won’t hinge on its linkage to Twitter and Foursquare but, like most programs, will be judged by consumers on its overall value proposition. Points don’t expire, but earning is only possible when the physical card is presented at time of purchase. And there are questions of just how Tasti D-Lite will protect itself against members who try to use the social media option to game the system. As far as value is concerned, the social media point-accelerator seems to boost the perceived value of the program to 8-10% back, above average among today’s loyalty programs.

Tasti D-Lite has taken the important step of doing something with social media instead of just talking about social media. If their treats are as tasty as their innovative TastiRewards, good things should be in store for the chain. I found a store nearby and plan to visit soon.