I’m a former Borders customer and past member of the now defunct company’s Rewards Perks program. While I freely admit to moving a lot of my business to Amazon over the years, I was sorry to see Borders go.

Maybe it’s nostalgia, but every once in a while I like to walk into a book store, stroll the aisles, and leisurely look for a title or two I may have missed. Just like reading a physical book has a tactile advantage over an e-reader, I also think a physical store has a sensory advantage over a virtual storefront—which for me, unfortunately, ultimately gets trumped by the superior selection and lower prices of an Amazon.

But back to Border’s. When the pieces of the company were sold off, Barnes & Nobel made an important purchase that went beyond the chain’s physical inventory—they bought Borders’ customer contact info and importantly, their purchase history, giving them the opportunity to send out personally relevant communications.

The wooing has begun, as B & N is now attempting to turn me from a qualified prospect to a customer. They’ve sent me a few e-mails to date and while I think my scant recent personal history prevents them from sending truly relevant messages, I do appreciate their efforts.

From a communications perspective, I think they’ve made a smart progression from showing sympathy over the loss of Borders, to being transparent when revealing the use of my Borders’ customer data, to being justifiably “retail-y” as they seek my business. See the messaging sequence below:

October 1: Sympathy Over the Break-Up

Dear Borders Customer,

My name is William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble, and I’m writing to you today on behalf of the entire B&N team to make you aware of important information regarding your Borders account. First of all let me say Barnes & Noble uniquely appreciates the importance bookstores play within local communities, and we’re very sorry your Borders store closed.

October 15: Honesty and Transparency

Dear Borders Customer,

As a reminder, on September 30, 2011 Barnes & Noble acquired the Borders customer list. The transferred personally identifiable information in the customer list includes customer e-mail addresses and purchase history. No credit card data was transferred. If you would like to opt out of having your customer data transferred, please go to www.bn.com/borders by November 2, 2011.

November 7: Asking me out on a first date.
Subject line: Let’s get to know each other, starting right now.

You’ll always be welcome here. Nothing says welcome like an extra 30% off your first purchase at Barnes & Noble.

November 16: Attempt at a second date.

Subject line: A convenient 40% off at the always convenient BN.com

Your nearest Barnes & Nobel is open 24/7—at BN.com. Take an Extra 40%off one item.

I think Barnes & Noble is in a tough spot and agree with many that they’ll be the next domino to fall in the radically changing book industry. That said, I do think they’re doing a good job trying to convert prized prospects—former Borders customers like me—to the B & N fold. At least, they’re going down swinging.

If you aren’t convinced of the depths of our individuality as human beings, then stop texting at the next red light and have a look at the bumper stickers on the cars ahead of you.

I did just that, though I might have looked while texting, and saw three different calls to action to cure a disease. There was a pink ribbon representing breast cancer, a sticker for Team in Training which supports Leukemia and Lymphoma, and another for ALS, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. That was just at one stop light in my neighborhood.

My thought, as it related to customer strategy and loyalty marketing, was how different all of our customers are and what a big challenge it is to offer them something that piques interest and springs them into action.

The loyalty and rewards industry has two big issues which it is facing today:

1. Program membership is at its highest level ever, but participation levels are lagging. It seems we can get people to join with an initial offer, but there’s not enough value to keep people engaged.
2. There is a tremendous financial liability that brands have accumulated on their balance sheets, which now is being impacted by stringent international accounting standards.

Charitable giving has long been a feel-good tactic applied by brands to solve both problems. Social responsibility and green causes look good on corporate resumes and can stimulate engagement with program members on a temporary basis. It is also a great vehicle to help burn off orphan point/mile balances.

The trouble with charitable outlets for loyalty points in the past has been lack of choice. If you offer me 3 choices after clicking on the “Causes” tab on your program website, I may not identify with any of them.

As illustrated by the bumper sticker example, we’re all individuals, there is an incredibly long tail of interests that shape us as people. I might want to build a house for Habitat for Humanity or give to my local church, while you may want to support Livestrong in its battle against cancer or donate to your child’s 3rd grade classroom to help defray the cost of classroom supplies.

The game is changing with the launch of KULA Causes. The founders of KULA Causes come from diverse backgrounds, and have depth of knowledge and experience in cause-related public works around the world. Gerrit McGowan, one of the Founders and CEO, worked with and for the United Nations for 10 years, helping charities and non-governmental organizations bring value to their causes.

He explained to me that the name KULA has roots in a system of giving practiced by Melanesian Islanders and the Coastal First Nations of Canada. As he stated “KULA introduces a “Currency of Giving” which changes the way loyalty program sponsors and brands will view the linkage between data driven marketing and charitable causes”.

KULA has three implementation models, allowing for “direct earn”, “direct burn”, or a “Currency Exchange”. A brand can build a Customer Strategy around this Currency of Giving or position KULA as a reward option. Whatever path is chosen, program members can convert any reward currency to make a donation to one of over 2 Million certified charities around the world. In the U.S., these donations are tax deductilbe, making KULA a “win-win-win” for consumers (program members), brands that sponsor loyalty programs, and the charities themselves.

Ask any seasoned loyalty professional and they will tell you that a “balanced blend of reward and recognition” is key to successful program operation over the longer term. To make a connection emotionally with program members is a tall task. It’s also a tough one to have to manage millions of dollars of accumulated points on the balance sheet.

KULA can help to do both, and brands that embrace KULA should see an uptick in member engagement levels as well as reduction in financial liability.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am working with KULA Causes in an advisory capacity to help them manage their high-growth environment. I know the points of pain in our industry these days, and have seen how KULA can relieve some of the pressure.

Loyalty Marketing needs an injection of innovation, and KULA Causes is a great source for that spark. Their potential goes beyond just our industry and will develop in surprising ways. In the interim, anyone wanting to increase member engagement and manage financial liability should take note of KULA Causes.

That would be good for all of us, right?

Disappointing economic results were reported this week, with retail sales stagnating in August due to less than robust job growth and consumer confidence that continues to waiver. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that median income figures, adjusted for inflation, have declined 2.3% since 2009.

In related news, a report from the Conference Board on World Income Inequality stated that the gap between rich and poor in both the United States and Canada is growing to record proportions. Surprisingly resilient Canada has seen its span between have and have-nots growing at even a faster rate than the U.S..

Recent activity by Walmart indicates they are not only aware of these trends but are ahead of the curve introducing measures to engage and increase share of wallet with customers.  In fact, they added several features to their loyalty program over the past few weeks.

You didn’t know that Walmart had a loyalty program? Here are some of the key features:

• Supporting its brand promise of “Everyday low prices” with weekly price scans of 60 competitors to make sure they deliver on the promise
• A renewed layaway payment plan to ease the pain of major purchases for customers
• Re-stocking it shelves with a broader selection of goods, reversing an attempt to streamline inventory and offering more choice to customers
• Giving attention to private label product lines, focusing on its George clothing line

Walmart doesn’t have an explicitly named loyalty program, nor is it awarding promotional currency or giving away punch cards and key fobs at the register.

It does have a Customer Strategy, however, one that is based on understanding of its competitive environment and the needs of its customer base, while leveraging its supply chain advantage.

The illustration of Walmart’s approach to attracting and retaining customers is an example of how building Customer Strategies contrast from launching loyalty and rewards programs. Walmart is also unique in its market position and their strategy is not easily emulated by Target, Costco, BJ’s or others seeking traction with consumers in tough times. There can only be one low-price leader in a category and when that leader also happens to be the supply-chain gorilla, there are diminishing returns to be reaped as a follower, fast, slow or any speed in between.

When you sit down to create strategy to meet client objectives, keep Walmart in mind. They may be the anti-loyalty enterprise in a traditional sense, but they do represent a valuable case study in building effective Customer Strategy.

We live in a world that tolerates, if not celebrates, grandiose celebration. Just read the last few press releases to hit your inbox and you’ll encounter a slew of exaggerated adjectives and hyperbole. “World’s best”, “Global Leader”, “robust and scalable” are just a few examples.

So when I saw the advertisement from Discover Card touting that “We are proud to have America’s #1 cash rewards program”, I decided to pause. The fine print below the ad supported the claim as follows “More U.S. households have a Discover card than any other cash rewards card”, this based on 2009 TNS Consumer Card Strategies Research.

Discover card’s brand is more closely associated with cash back rewards than any other and by their tenure in the market, I’m not disputing the claim. My question is whether banging the drum hard for cash back as the most popular and “best” form of card rewards program is compatible with a broader portfolio of rewards cards.

One of the early loyalty marketing firms had a slogan “We do one thing and we do it well”. It was printed on coffee cups and conference room doors as a reminder to staff and customers of the firm’s focus on loyalty marketing. It’s important to focus and there are many examples of businesses which fail as they cannot say “no” to a client request, commit themselves to projects outside of their core competency, and do not deliver to meet client expectations.

Being a “Jack of all trades” and master to none is a risk facing most business people in this frenetic information filled world. We are tempted to move in many directions and we have to decide where to focus our talents, resources, and available cash to get the best results for our own companies and our clients.

Discover card has focused on cash back, but looking deeper, you realize that their value proposition today goes well beyond cash back and includes travel, gift cards, merchandise, and charitable donation options.  In reality, when consumers sign up for a Discover card, are they seeking cash back or does the broader set of reward choices sweeten the pot?

I wrote a few months back about Bank of America’s promotional messaging in conjunction with the launch of its Cash Back card product. The bank described it as “Refreshingly simple. Rewards with no hoops to jump through”, reassuring customers that there are “No Hassle, no tricks, I know what I get, not like those other card reward programs”.

That message will ring true with Discover card cash back loyalists and I’m sure it drove acquisition of new cards at a time when consumers are weary of high interest rate cards and seeking to avoid revolving balances. It’s also a message that implicitly denies the value of other travel and rewards cards offered by Bank of America – unless of course BofA holds itself above the fray as all of its cards avoid “hoops, hassles, and tricks”.

My point is this: Cash back serves a specific market of consumers and is a great solution for many people. When issuers tout cash back to the detriment of the balance of their card portfolio, or really have a cash back card that’s lots more than “just cash back”, they send a mixed message to the market.

Cash back should be marketed as a “good” offer, not the “best”. In reality cash back offers are truly rewards, not loyalty programs as they are the ultimate example of earning a deferred discount on spending, nothing more, nothing less.

Maybe it is better to “do one thing and do it well”.

Saucony is a mid-sized running shoe company that’s battling for customers with athletic gear giants like Nike, Reebok and Adidas. So how do they compete? By making an emotional connection with first-time buyers, and then introducing them to an online community that helps turn them into loyal customers.

Now, no one develops a loyal customer base without having a great product—and Saucony does. Their constantly evolving product line generates consistently strong reviews from customer influencers like Runners World magazine. But what really sets Saucony apart, is its engaging and inventive advertising, specifically its Web and social media presence.

Last month I wrote that the key to a great social media campaign is a big idea—and Saucony has one that starts with its general ad campaign, and is then layered into its Web and social media efforts. The campaign theme is “What is Strong” and in TV and Web spots, runners are challenged to define what strong means to them and encouraged to “Find Your Strong”.

The “strong” theme is featured prominently throughout the Saucony Web site. Runners are invited to “Create & Share Your Personal Strong” by entering the things that make them strong, including how they train and what inspires them. You can then share these thoughts via the Web site, Facebook or Twitter—and even have your strong statements made into a T-shirt.

Coolest of all, is the campaign’s interactive online gallery. You can choose to participate in, or just view, a clever and well-designed series of word portraits that show how other runners have answered the query “This is My Strong”. Call-outs include things like “6am Run”, “My Mom” and “My City-New Orleans”.

As expected, the Sacuony Web site is chock full of pages on the latest running shoes and apparel, as well as the technology behind it. But what’s compelling and differentiating here is the online community, where runners can gain inspiration from both elite and everyday runners.

The writing is great throughout, as well. For instance, the Community page greets you with language that runners (like me) just eat up: We all share a common love of running. A common pride in personal bests. A common disdain for potholes and cramping.  A common interest in other runners. Welcome, runners all.

Great job, Saucony. And while I must admit to being a long-time Nike loyalist, I’ll be taking a very close look at Saucony the next time I go shoe shopping.

From the Editor: Loyalty Truth values its select group of guest contributors and is proud to share thoughts from this week’s National Restaurant Association (NRA) show from David Slavick. David is a long time colleague, and has worked with several national retail brands to develop complex marketing and 1:1 customer initiatives over recent years.

Attending the show this week, David participated in discussions about how restaurants can best leverage collective buying sites (a/k/a Deal of the Day) such as: Groupon, Living Social, Facebook Deals, Scoutmob and the myriad of copycats that have recently emerged.

Here’s his take:

A top priority focus for restaurant operators from the small café owner to the CMO at a national restaurant chain and all in between is to fight for every customer, generate repeat traffic, and do it all profitably. Every business day these professionals work hard to optimize square footage between front and back of house, improve food prep efficiency while reducing waste, and apply technology to manage customer relationships.

It’s a big challenge.

These were all key themes at the NRA, but what really intrigues both the sophisticated as well as the neophyte marketer in the consumer restaurant category is to evaluate the role virtual coupons should play in their plans for 2011, and to determine a logical approach to leverage the collective buying sites mentioned. If you plan to dive into the pool of collective buying, you better be prepared to swim in the deep end, because the risk – reward equation is decidedly high.

Even in a business environment where new customer acquisition costs are on the increase, few firms are willing to give away $50 in sales for a $25 purchase in the name of “experience”. The adoption of “deal of the day” offers has been over simplified in the press, mostly due to the pervasive adoption of the tactic by restaurants and other retailers.

To properly evaluate “deal of the day” for your business, it takes pre-planning discipline, operational coordination, a vision for what you hope to accomplish, plus the tools in place to evaluate and sustain the momentum, post-campaign. It is commonly accepted by those who have learned to swim in these waters that your restaurant or hospitality operation must jump out of the starting blocks smartly and be able to answer the following questions in the affirmative, and without hesitation:

1. Can we afford to take a loss, even a big-time loss in order to gain new customers?
2. Do we have the capacity to handle the volume that an offer, even with limitations, may generate – including being able to staff optimally, take reservations, and accommodate surprise “drop-ins” with equal grace and warm smiles?
3. Are there other services we can sell during the redemption event, or which are complimentary to the customer experience that will generate incremental revenue?
4. Do we have seasonal peaks and valleys in our business, and are we willing to fulfill on an offer over an extended time period – up to 3 months – knowing that there may be overlap with the high season?
5. If fulfillment does cross into a peak season, how will we handle operational pressure and accommodate customers, including satisfying the offer post-expiration?
6. Do we have the systems in place to leverage on-boarding of new customers – either through the “old fashioned way” with personal information captured on a comment card, or through sign-up in a rewards program already in place?
7. Are we willing to support a double-dip, i.e. redemption of a deep discount coupon, while funding rewards per program rules of our existing loyalty program?
8. Do we have the capability to execute campaigns post-coupon event to thank the customer for their visit and encourage repeat business?
9. Are we willing to accept the risk of “Hit N’ Run” customers – those who redeem and never return, for the benefit of acquiring new ones?

From the list of questions above, it’s clear that the foundational considerations for the restaurant or hospitality marketer to consider before moving forward with collective couponing campaigns are anything but simple. Importantly, the vendors who facilitate delivery of the offer should be providing the client (your brand) with both planning and post-campaign services.

To date, these providers seem to talk a good game about measurement, but don’t go much further than offering upfront metrics for tracking coupon views and on-page advertising impressions delivered to the interested browser. Site/page metrics, broad customer demographics, and customer tracking through reservations systems like OpenTable help, but still don’t provide an adequate picture for the brand.

In a white paper to be published by the WiseMarketer shortly and thereafter by Hanifin Loyalty, I’ll provide a more comprehensive guide to optimize your social couponing efforts. If you just can’t wait, give Hanifin Loyalty a call to get the “rest of the story”.

For every Yin, there’s a Yang, and most brands seek out a proper balance of their Loyalty Marketing efforts to engage, retain, and deepen relationships with their customers.

Reading the Spin Within the other day, I learned that Macy’s is not yet satisfied with its Loyalty pilot to roll it out across the retail chain.

As reported,  Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet stated “We’re still watching and seeing. But so far, while we’ve gotten sales lifts (there’s) not enough to pay for the program.”

Contrast Macy’s hesitancy with the positive description of DSW Rewards in the chain’s 2010 Annual Report:

“We are dependent on our DSW Rewards program to drive traffic, sales and loyalty. DSW Rewards is a customer loyalty program that we rely on to drive customer traffic, sales and loyalty. In fiscal 2010, shoppers in the loyalty program generated approximately 87% of DSW store and dsw.com sales versus approximately 84% of DSWstore and dsw.com sales in fiscal 2009.

As of January 29, 2011, approximately 16 million members enrolled in “DSW Rewards” have made at least one purchase over the course of the last two fiscal years, compared to approximately 13 million members as of January 30, 2010.

In the event that our “DSW Rewards” members do not continue to shop at DSW or the number of members decreases, it could have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.

The DSW program is reasonably simple in construction and it is clearly not just returning good results for the retailer, it is cited as being material to the health of its business.

Dick’s Sporting Goods shared a few “secrets” to its success as a leading sporting goods retailer in its most recent Annual report with a tip of the hat to employee training:

“We strive to complement our merchandise selection and innovative store design with superior customer service. We actively recruit sports enthusiasts to serve as sales associates because we believe that they are more knowledgeable about the products they sell.

For example, we currently employ PGA and LPGA golf professionals to work in our Dick’s golf departments and Golf Galaxy stores, bike mechanics to sell and service bicycles and certified fitness trainers to provide advice on the best fitness equipment for the individual.

We believe that our associates’ enthusiasm and ability to demonstrate and explain the advantages of the products lead to increased sales. We believe our prompt, knowledgeable and enthusiastic service fosters the confidence and loyalty of our customers and differentiates us from other large format sporting goods stores.

In my view, Dick’s may have identified a key to execution of loyalty program strategy that leads to improved customer experience and increased customer satisfaction with the brand. I wonder if Macy’s is allocating time and resource to training of its front line staff as much as it is churning the customer segmentation and financial models.

Sometimes, in order to find success, you have to focus not just on “what can be measured” but what impacts the customer.

What are you focusing on?

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about Atlantic City and its prolonged losing streak—and I’m sorry to report, things aren’t looking a whole lot better today. After a rocky 2009, revenues in AC fell again in 2010 by nearly 10%. And forecasters say 2011 could be even worse.

In an attempt to rejuvenate the fading gambling mecca, NJ governor Chris Christie, citing the “complete incompetence and corruption in Atlantic City”, recently pushed through legislation that makes him the city’s de facto mayor. (Which led actual Atlantic City mayor Lorenzo Langford to complain “the state is treating Atlantic City like a pimp treats a prostitute.”)

One of Christie’s first moves was to spearhead the formation of an Atlantic City tourism district, which covers a large portion of the resort city. The state will take over responsibility for public safety, cleanliness and business development. Not a bad idea, given the seamy vibe that permeates AC once you set foot outside a casino.

With that backdrop, let me tell you about a recent trip I made to the Trump Marina casino and hotel.

First thing you should know about Trump Marina is that the Donald is nowhere to be found. A few years ago, the three Trump casinos in Atlantic City were about to go broke, and he sold off all but 10% of the properties. So it’s really Trump in name only—and at Trump Marina, soon even that will be gone. Houston-based Landry’s Restaurants, owners of the Golden Nugget in Vegas, are buying the casino and will reportedly rebrand it with the Golden Nugget name.

My trip to the casino occurred during a recent boys’ night out to attend the Atlantic City Beer Fest, followed by some obligatory late night gambling. With my trusty Trump One player’s club loyalty card in hand, I hit the casino floor late on a Friday night into Saturday morning. The place was half-dead and I mean that literally, as half the casino floor was shut down due to a lack of business.

It’s not a bad place, actually a welcome break from the more glitzy and more crowded Borgata—and it wasn’t a bad night either, which for me means I walked out with the same amount of money I walked in with, while enjoying a few cold beverages on the house. (My buddy Jim fared a bit better clearing over $400 from a four-hour session at the poker tables.)

Now, I don’t expect much from my Trump One loyalty card while I’m at the place—I’m a lower tier member—but I do expect a little recognition and better customer experience when I go to the Web site, which I did a few days later to make sure my playing was being tracked. It was, but I felt a little less than welcome.

A few notes on my Web experience:

• I had trouble remembering my password—I had selected it late one night with a code word that probably made sense at the time, but was now totally lost to me. I sent a message asking for help, but received a canned e-mail reply telling me the only way I could retrieve my password was to go to the casino. No password reset function. No one to call.
• After 50 or so tries, I did remember the password to my Trump One account—let me tell you, it was pretty obscure—only to find little relevant information for me on the site. I click to view my “Statement”—it’s not there, I need to call to get the info. I click on “Rooms” and a blank screen appears.
• Even if I hadn’t hit the threshold to receive an offer or room reward, the site needs to engage me. Give me a few dollars off on my next stay. Offer me a free app if I eat at the restaurant. Tell me you can’t wait for me to come back. Show me some love!

But it looks like I’ll have to wait for the new regime to get some personalized attention. A NY-based management company is now running the Trump casinos, and according to a company exec quoted in the press, they’re “focused on cutting costs, including marketing programs that were deemed to be too expensive…we were over-incentivizing our customers…it was not a sustainable model.”

Granted the house needs to make money, but cutting back on “incentivizing our customers” seems like the wrong way to go about it—and a good way to lose an ever decreasing pool of loyal customers that is opting to go to the more glamorous Borgata—or other, newer casinos that have popped up in Philly, Delaware and New York.

But my guess is now that the Trump Marina has been sold, the caretakers have packed their bags and are waiting for the new owners to arrive so they can turn over the keys. Soon the Trump Marina will be history—and the Golden Nugget will take its place.

It’ll be interesting to see if they bring new vim and vigor in the attempt to attract—and more importantly, retain—customers.

Technology Enables, but Imagination Wins

Tasti D-Lite not only rolled up its sleeves to take advantage of open API’s from Twitter, Foursquare & Facebook to integrate them with its point-of-sale system – it used its imagination to make an otherwise familiar loyalty program structure become the first and most widely executed example of “Social Loyalty” in the restaurant category.

Imagination Wins, but Flawless Execution Keeps Your Job!

All the hard work invested by Tasti D-Lite and its POS vendor, PC America, in integrating the SNAP Social Loyalty application would go for naught if the resulting customer experience didn’t work. Last night I took my family to visit a newly opened store in Boca Raton.

I did the unthinkable – I had forgotten my TastiTreat loyalty card and had no idea of my number or how to connect with Tasti Rewards – so I simply asked the cashier to help. She asked my last name and within seconds said, “oh, you’re Bill”. Nothing more needed to be done. We enjoyed our tasti treats and had some fun looking at the social posts resulting from the transaction.

No Loyalty Asterisk™ Here

Everything worked, the customer experience was put ahead of any policies or procedures, and the interaction between customer and the rewards program was nearly invisible.

This is a great example of how loyalty program execution should take place, and there are big lessons to be learned from the simple purchase of a tasti frozen dessert.

Note: In helping clients take the first steps towards new Social Loyalty models, Hanifin Loyalty is a SNAP agency partner. Affiliations aside, the desserts at Tasti D-Lite are great and SNAP works!

Watching the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics kickoff their playoff series this weekend, I saw the latest in gratuitous advertising from a beer company, in this case Miller Light.

I’m not sure if I should be complemented or insulted that I’m among the demographic targeted by the ads. Consistent with past campaigns, Miller clearly trades on the concept that every guy watching the NBA playoffs on a Sunday afternoon is totally defenseless against the sight of 3 girls in bikinis.

If influencing consumer behavior through marketing was this easy, then the entirety of the Loyalty Marketing industry has been wasting its time for the past 30 years. Anyway, I was debating whether to hit the mute or pause button on my TIVO controller, when they wrapped up the spot with a graphic that shouted “Tastepoints.com“.

It smelled like a points based loyalty program to me and I went to the website to check it out.

Surprisingly, this is what I found. Basically, nothing. Nothing that is, except the opportunity to view the bikini girls again and hit the “Get Started Now” button. It is revealing that Miller decided that allowing consumers to connect with their Facebook credentials was the only way to join the program.

Facebook executives must be delighted over this leading indicator that big consumer brands have capitulated to the idea that Facebook is, in fact, the internet. You might still be debating whether Al Gore invented the internet, but it’s almost a fact that Mark Zuckerberg owns it now.

The fact that Miller didn’t even invest in a landing page offering some program basics, FAQ’s and provide alternative paths to enrollment (email, Twitter at least) speaks loudly. I had to search for the Miller press release to learn the details of how Tastepoints works. Marketers need to pay attention to the implications of this approach to execution by Miller.

Clicking through the “Get Started Now” button, I was presented with the now familiar option to allow an application to connect to my Facebook page, authorize it to have access to my information, be able to post on my wall, and other privileges that I don’t fully understand.

I’ll bet many people immediately authorize the connection shown in the graphic here, just as they mindlessly check “ok” on software license user agreements without ever reading them. The question is, do we really know what we are giving up just to play the Tastepoints game? I don’t understand the nuances of these permissions well enough, and will make that task a personal homework assignment over the next few weeks. If anyone really gets it, please drop a comment to this post.

The bottom line is that Miller took a risk by managing its program enrollment through a single channel, and may have put a dent in its customer engagement strategy. If enough consumers have Facebook accounts (high probability in their targeted demographic) and are willing to blithely give away access to that account (how trusting are we after recent announcements of data breaches?), then it might work out in Miller’s favor.

The risk of this strategy could still be mitigated by taking time to provide more information about the program upfront, and to allow alternate paths to enrollment. Why Miller chose this approach should make an interesting debate for all marketers interested in building social loyalty.