Evidence of the health of the loyalty marketing business is that my list of subjects to write about grows faster than I can type.

Yesterday, as I picked up the USA Today slipped under the door in my NY hotel room, a glossy 8 1/2 x 11 flyer fell in my lap and changed my blogging plans for the day.

“It’s Like Joining EVERY Hotel Loyalty Program. Except, it’s only one.” was the message. Flipping the piece over, the offer was clear: book  and stay 10 nights using Hotels.com and earn 1 free night at any of the 60,000 hotels offered through the site worldwide. Better yet, signing up for the WelcomeRewards™ challenge offered the chance to win 2 bonus nights over the course of 30 total nights booked.

The punch card might be the oldest loyalty tactic in town, but it works well for Southwest Airlines and for Hotels.com. I did a quick comparison and the simplified approach is not too far away from the basic value promised by traditional hotel loyalty providers Marriott and Intercontinental Hotels Group. For example, if a member of Marriott Rewards or Priority Club stays 10 nights at one of their respective properties with average room rate of $100, a free night is on the radar.

I know that Marriott and IHC offer multiple ways to boost earnings and have much more sophisticated programs overall, but for the budget driven traveler, joining WelcomeRewards™ is not a bad deal.

Interesting to me is that the program was launched in July 2008 but has had low visibility in the consumer eye. Also, given that Hotels.com is an operating company of Expedia, I wonder why the ThankYou! Rewards currency that Expedia uses wasn’t extended over to this brand.

WelcomeRewards™ comes with a few conditions (a/k/a the Loyalty Asterisk™), specifically:

• Rewards may be redeemed at “eligible” hotels, but I could not find that term defined on the web site
• The maximum value of a free night can’t exceed the average daily rate of the 10 nights used to earn the reward. You can however, choose to pay the difference if you really want to stay at a higher priced property
• Taxes, fees, meals, incidentals and any “other costs associated with the booking” are not covered by the free night
• Each loyalty credit is valid for three (3) years from date earned
• The program may be terminated by Hotels.com at any time

Summing it up, the flyer that dropped in my lap reminded me why brands continue to choose data-driven incentive (Loyalty) programs to engage and retain customers. Far too many people that I have heard from are using travel aggregator sites like Hotels.com and Expedia to shop around and then login to their frequent guest account at the airline or hotel chain of their choice to book reservations.

To break the habit, Hotels.com had to do something and WelcomeRewards™ is an easy to understand program that delivers sufficient value change a few consumer minds.

Evidence of the health of the loyalty marketing business is that my list of subjects to write about grows faster than I can type.

Yesterday, as I picked up the USA Today slipped under the door in my NY hotel room, a glossy 8 1/2 x 11 flyer fell in my lap and changed my blogging plans for the day.

“It’s Like Joining EVERY Hotel Loyalty Program. Except, it’s only one.” was the message. Flipping the piece over, the offer was clear: book  and stay 10 nights using Hotels.com and earn 1 free night at any of the 60,000 hotels offered through the site worldwide. Better yet, signing up for the WelcomeRewards™ challenge offered the chance to win 2 bonus nights over the course of 30 total nights booked.

The punch card might be the oldest loyalty tactic in town, but it works well for Southwest Airlines and for Hotels.com. I did a quick comparison and the simplified approach is not too far away from the basic value promised by traditional hotel loyalty providers Marriott and Intercontinental Hotels Group. For example, if a member of Marriott Rewards or Priority Club stays 10 nights at one of their respective properties with average room rate of $100, a free night is on the radar.

I know that Marriott and IHC offer multiple ways to boost earnings and have much more sophisticated programs overall, but for the budget driven traveler, joining WelcomeRewards™ is not a bad deal.

Interesting to me is that the program was launched in July 2008 but has had low visibility in the consumer eye. Also, given that Hotels.com is an operating company of Expedia, I wonder why the ThankYou! Rewards currency that Expedia uses wasn’t extended over to this brand.

WelcomeRewards™ comes with a few conditions (a/k/a the Loyalty Asterisk™), specifically:

• Rewards may be redeemed at “eligible” hotels, but I could not find that term defined on the web site
• The maximum value of a free night can’t exceed the average daily rate of the 10 nights used to earn the reward. You can however, choose to pay the difference if you really want to stay at a higher priced property
• Taxes, fees, meals, incidentals and any “other costs associated with the booking” are not covered by the free night
• Each loyalty credit is valid for three (3) years from date earned
• The program may be terminated by Hotels.com at any time

Summing it up, the flyer that dropped in my lap reminded me why brands continue to choose data-driven incentive (Loyalty) programs to engage and retain customers. Far too many people that I have heard from are using travel aggregator sites like Hotels.com and Expedia to shop around and then login to their frequent guest account at the airline or hotel chain of their choice to book reservations.

To break the habit, Hotels.com had to do something and WelcomeRewards™ is an easy to understand program that delivers sufficient value change a few consumer minds.

If you want to find the perfect boat, you’ve got to know what you want and make some tough decisions. The same holds true for setting the course of your Loyalty strategy.

Living in proximity to water, there are many excuses to buy a boat and, with two of the biggest boats shows in the world on the doorstep, the range of choices is incredible. Let’s say you’re in the market for a center console outboard fishing boat, somewhere between 21 – 32 feet. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and the Miami International Boat Show offer a breathtaking array of options.

By the time you have scoured these shows and are nursing the blisters on your feet, you will realize that there is not one boat that will “do it all”.  With every salesperson claiming their boat offers a “dry ride and fish-ability”, you have difficulty choosing a favorite and rationalizing a wide range of prices.  The happiest boat owners I know solved the problem by refusing to compromise. They knew what they wanted and landed on the boat that was the best in their chosen niche.

For example, the best flats boat available (in my opinion) comes from Egret while the offshore boat of highest magnitude is made by Yellowfin. These boats not only ooze quality but deliver on their promises, and are guaranteed to evoke complements and knowing glances when at the local marina or boat ramp.

Sponsors planning their Loyalty Marketing strategy are in much the same fix.  A quick story illustrates the point. A short while back, I worked on the frequent stay program for a mid-size hotel chain that wanted to stand out in the crowd and attract the “road warrior” customer that was their bread and butter. Dutifully, our team delivered a competitive matrix of programs in the market capturing all known features and benefits.  Looking at the final product, nearly every box was checked in the grid. That’s meant to say that all the major brands had tried just about everything and “copycat” was the favorite play of the day.

We affixed the chart to the wall of our planning room and named it the “what not to do” matrix. The sub-title was “what we won’t allow ourselves to do”, meaning that we would not let the client fall into the trap of sameness that saturated their business. After some work, we recommended a loyalty program design that was unique and it was successfully launched and operated for a number of years. It survives in the market today with some modification.

Having just read Seth Godin’s gem of a book The Dip, I think he would agree the loyalty business is living through a “Loyalty Dip” at the moment. Sponsors who adopt a generic strategy to “reach everyone” will meet with disappointing results and providers that stick with the tried and true may find themselves in a dead end. Those introducing innovation to the business (e.g. through the mobile handset and with social media) will survive the dip and emerge as leaders for Loyalty 2.o.

The point is, be an Egret or a Yellowfin, but please be somebody.

If you want to find the perfect boat, you’ve got to know what you want and make some tough decisions. The same holds true for setting the course of your Loyalty strategy.

Living in proximity to water, there are many excuses to buy a boat and, with two of the biggest boats shows in the world on the doorstep, the range of choices is incredible. Let’s say you’re in the market for a center console outboard fishing boat, somewhere between 21 – 32 feet. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and the Miami International Boat Show offer a breathtaking array of options.

By the time you have scoured these shows and are nursing the blisters on your feet, you will realize that there is not one boat that will “do it all”.  With every salesperson claiming their boat offers a “dry ride and fish-ability”, you have difficulty choosing a favorite and rationalizing a wide range of prices.  The happiest boat owners I know solved the problem by refusing to compromise. They knew what they wanted and landed on the boat that was the best in their chosen niche.

For example, the best flats boat available (in my opinion) comes from Egret while the offshore boat of highest magnitude is made by Yellowfin. These boats not only ooze quality but deliver on their promises, and are guaranteed to evoke complements and knowing glances when at the local marina or boat ramp.

Sponsors planning their Loyalty Marketing strategy are in much the same fix.  A quick story illustrates the point. A short while back, I worked on the frequent stay program for a mid-size hotel chain that wanted to stand out in the crowd and attract the “road warrior” customer that was their bread and butter. Dutifully, our team delivered a competitive matrix of programs in the market capturing all known features and benefits.  Looking at the final product, nearly every box was checked in the grid. That’s meant to say that all the major brands had tried just about everything and “copycat” was the favorite play of the day.

We affixed the chart to the wall of our planning room and named it the “what not to do” matrix. The sub-title was “what we won’t allow ourselves to do”, meaning that we would not let the client fall into the trap of sameness that saturated their business. After some work, we recommended a loyalty program design that was unique and it was successfully launched and operated for a number of years. It survives in the market today with some modification.

Having just read Seth Godin’s gem of a book The Dip, I think he would agree the loyalty business is living through a “Loyalty Dip” at the moment. Sponsors who adopt a generic strategy to “reach everyone” will meet with disappointing results and providers that stick with the tried and true may find themselves in a dead end. Those introducing innovation to the business (e.g. through the mobile handset and with social media) will survive the dip and emerge as leaders for Loyalty 2.o.

The point is, be an Egret or a Yellowfin, but please be somebody.