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 [...]

Editors Note: Jim Kuschill is a patient man. Patient enough to have architected one of the world’s leading loyalty marketing software platforms while Chief Technology Officer of Frequency Marketing. DIRECTV got his goat and the following is worth a read, especially if you’re the person responsible for customer experience or customer service at your company.

I [...]

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 [...]

Over the recent holidays, my friend Bill Hanifin pointed out a post written by the person arguably at the forefront of the whole social media movement, Chris Brogan. In the post, Brogan said, “People are slowing down to turn their thoughts to family and to their own development, and to what worked and what didn’t [...]

Black Cats, Black Magic, and Black Friday … sounds like a threesome to avoid.
But untold millions will be lining up the day after Thanksgiving in the wee hours of the morning with steely-eyed focus and adrenaline pumping – all with the almighty bargain in mind.
Maybe it’s a gender thing, but while you might find me [...]

Almost 10 years ago, I wrote an opinion piece for COLLOQUY questioning whether Frequent Flyer miles were still the most valuable currency in the Loyalty Marketing landscape.  The premise was that the weakening value of the FF mile might open the door for a better offer to capture the loyalty imagination of consumers. The next [...]

At times, Marketers can be real Bozos…….or is it BOGOS?
Striving for creativity can unleash the best and worst in marketers and while I’m not afraid to make mistakes, I try to avoid outsmarting myself as much as possible.
Folks working in the marketing space will agree that we have to be sharp as tacks to stay [...]

In the beginning, there was Air Miles. Actually, according to history, it was three men in a room that started Air Miles.
According to Air Miles corporate history, Keith Mills wasn’t one of those three guys, but somehow later it was Sir Keith Mills that sowed the seeds of the Air Miles brand and business model [...]

I am often asked where to go to learn more about Loyalty Marketing. Until Mark Johnson and his crew launched Loyalty 360, it was difficult to provide a useful answer.  There are occasional tracks presented at the annual DMA event and Colloquy continues to deliver its Loyalty Marketing Workshop in conjunction with the DMA, but [...]

Data security, taxes & privacy concerns: Grown up Challenges for a Maturing Industry
A few thoughts on challenges for an industry entering adulthood.
Loyalty Marketing has its own two-edged sword to contend with. The collection of customer data is essential to delivering offers and promotions that influence purchase decisions, but the spotlight on responsible management and protection [...]