Mark Cavendish is the fastest person in the world on two wheels. At the moment, the professional cyclist, riding for HTC Highroad, holds the lead in the sprinter’s competition in the Tour de France and is a favorite to hang on to the “green jersey” until the race wraps up next Sunday in Paris.

With all due respect to the accomplishments of Mr. Cavendish, there’s still a larger prize to be won, and the sprint competition is a subset of the overall picture in cycling’s greatest race. He’s a critical and fascinating part of the Tour de France story this year as are other similar “races within the race”, i.e. the King of the Mountains, Best Young Rider, Best Team, and some others.

In the business world, similar phenomena take place. The genre of data-driven marketing programs known as Loyalty Marketing were launched in earnest in 1981 and have been evolving steadily over the past 25 years. Throughout this time, there have been a number of subplots, some forgettable (online currencies like Flooz and Beenz) and some significant (1 to 1 Marketing, Word of Mouth Marketing, Deal of the Day).

The important thing to remember is that there’s a big race to be won, and the outcome is still in doubt. Winners are yet to be determined. Some of the “subplots” over past years have been precipitated by payment innovation (smart cards, contactless payment), regulatory/legislative issues (merchant funded rewards, whatever is to come post-Durbin), technology (Customer Relationship Management) or just plain visionary thinking (1 to 1 Marketing).

Today we are experiencing yet another phase of marketing development and, as in the past, the focus of brands, markets, and investment capital is on tactical options that can change how we communicate and deliver value to customers while macro themes are set aside. The current obsession with social loyalty, location based marketing, game based engagement programs, and deal of the day plans like Groupon are examples drawing the market’s attention.

You might be surprised to hear this sort of talk from Loyalty Truth. After all, we’ve invested ourselves to help brands “get ahead of the transaction” and successfully engage with Customer 2.0. To be clear, there is no inconsistency in our thinking, rather an unwavering commitment to help fulfill the greatest promises of data-driven customer strategy.

The three biggest unfulfilled promises of Loyalty Marketing from our viewpoint are the under-utilization of customer data collected, the failure to deliver personalization and relevancy through two-way dialogue between brand and customer, and the shortcoming of Loyalty Marketers to apply what they know works to meet objectives across a Customer Lifecycle.

At Loyalty Truth, we will continue to learn, test and advocate for how best to incorporate new technology and communication channels into customer-facing marketing programs. At the same time, we’ll keep our eyes on the big prize as we apply the benefits of these new tactics, technologies, and channels.

After all, if Cavendish could pull it off, he’d rather have both a Green and a Yellow jersey to wear at the end of the bike race.

There are two forms of brilliance in business – one displayed by people who invent things we haven’t thought about before (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare) and those that find a way to incorporate these new communications channels into mainstream business to generate revenue.

In many aspects of social media, we are waiting for the dots to be connected and for business to understand how to put the tools to use to enhance existing business models, engage customers, and make money. Location based marketing has been a head-scratcher from this perspective. Foursquare launched at SXSW only two years ago in March 2009 and now has an estimated 5.7 Million registered users. Many of these users are interested in doing more than becoming the “mayor” of a location, yet merchants have been slow to take advantage of the platform to deliver targeted and inexpensive marketing. Many people think that 2011 will be the year that Location Based marketing takes off and the predictions here are indicative of the potential.

The launch of SNAP (Social Network Appreciation Platform) today was covered by Mashable in an article here and has my full attention as it represents the second form of brilliance and is a legitimate tool to make any loyalty program “social”. In the spirit of full disclosure, Hanifin Loyalty has been named an agency partner of SNAP and will be advocating SNAP to the market.

In the SNAP press release, capabilities are explained and it is clear that the application can connect any existing loyalty program membership base to local merchants to enable “passive check-in” using Foursquare, Facebook Places, and Twitter. Leaderboards and Badges are supported as are more sophisticated bonusing elements.

“Social Loyalty” using passive social network check-in was pioneered by Tasti D-Lite and Loyalty Truth applauded its launch about this time last year. The work done between Tasti D-Lite and PC America has evolved to become SNAP and can enable social loyalty on a standalone basis for smaller merchants and even work within a gift card platform. You can get the idea even better via this clever video.

To my knowledge, TopGuest is the only other application in market that converts check-ins to rewards points, but they approach the subject from a different angle. TopGuest is a mobile application that enables consumers to check-in and earn extra points with designated rewards programs, principally in the hospitality segment. The fact that TopGuest quickly affiliated with brands such as Virgin America, Hilton, and Intercontinental speaks to the high level of interest by business in bringing a social element to their staid rewards programs.

SNAP is an open platform that can be used by any business – small or large – to enable social check-in, reward word of mouth marketing, and generate referrals and recommendations across a trusted network of friends. It can be integrated to loyalty processing software packages and with POS systems in merchant locations.

I’ve only recently realized that the conversation isn’t about Millennials or Generation Y anymore. It’s about “Consumer 2.0″, those consumers who have grown up with technology and live in an “always on” environment, preferring to communicate with friends and brands through digital channels.

The significance of this realization is that Consumer 2.0 probably numbers about 150 Million, or half of the US population. The figure includes all the Millennials (so you’re not forgotten) and accounts for those of us (Boomer, Gen X, and other groups) influenced by the Millennials we know and the increasing importance of digital marketing.

SNAP opens up many doors to allow brands to connect with their customers and adds a critical component to any loyalty program if it is to stay relevant with Consumer 2.0.

Social shopping is one of the new terms being circulated today among business people and consumers. Shopping has always been a social activity, so the name doesn’t define anything that we don’t understand intuitively.

Not so long ago, the term might have conjured up images of two friends going to the mall together, discussing stores, brands and products, and ultimately influencing – and helping with – purchasing decisions.

What does Social Shopping mean in 2011?

To understand the concept and gain vision on where this movement is heading, break down the thought into activities that make up a social shopping experience.

1. There has to be a purchase transaction at some point. The question is, does “Social”, as it is currently being used, refer to online, offline, or both?

2. Regardless of channel, “social” implies that a sharing of information takes place. We somehow recommend favorite products and brands to each other. We might even make a formal referral of a friend to brand.

3. There is probably a role for incentives in a Social Shopping network. Sure, the engine can run on Word of Mouth marketing, but referrals in particular need to be driven with incentive and there needs to be some value offered by merchants to ignite the movement of a social network of people towards their brand.

Given the components mentioned, I’m not sure I buy the introduction of shopping carts on Facebook pages as “Social Shopping”. In my book, F-Commerce is just one aspect of the equation. In fact, one could argue that F-Commerce is just good old e-commerce delivered through a new channel and facilitated by a new payment currency, in this case, Facebook Credits.

Social shopping is better defined as an eco-system where value for shoppers and merchants is generated as networked shoppers share opinions, recommendations, and make referrals to drive an increased share of their spend to the merchants participating in the network. Shoppers are provided incentive in the form of rewards (cash back or other means) and will continue to patronize merchants in their network as long as the merchants play the game.

The fruits of “search and discover” will be on display as shoppers will recommend merchants they want to see in-network and prune out those that jumped in, but don’t deliver satisfactory product or service. For merchants, the model is highly evolved from a new customer acquisition and retention standpoint and they can be assured that their marketing dollars are well placed and have measurable return.

To provide a tangible example of a social shopping scheme that works, have a look at Zavee.com. Zavee is designed to encourage shoppers to patronize a participating group of local merchants. Their tagline of Simple, Local, Social is an apt description of the value proposition for consumers and merchants.

Zavee merchants can create their own highly flexible promotional offers, with cash back awarded on purchases. Zavee pays out cash rewards to its shoppers on a quarterly basis. Merchants pay only on activity, which rationalizes the relationship between marketing expense and revenue, and obviously reduces risk to the merchant. There are no sign-up or ongoing maintenance fees for merchants, nor are there complicated changes to point-of-sale systems.

In fact, there is not even a membership card needing to be swiped as Zavee works on a registered card basis. Shoppers enrolling can register as many of their favored payment cards as they wish. From that point, smart shoppers visit the Zavee site to identify merchants, review the available offers, and then do what they do best – shop.

On the social track, Zavee shoppers leave reviews and comments about Zavee merchants on the web site. The remarks are relevant as only shoppers making a purchase with a merchant may comment on that merchant. That squeezes out the troll-like nature of some reviews seen on line today – both falsely negative reviews from competitors and falsely positive ones from the merchants themselves (or their publicists) – and spikes the timeliness, relevancy and reliability of reviews on Zavee for other shoppers.

To complete the value generated within Zavee, each purchase made by a shopper generates not only the cash back reward, but “Care Shares™”, i.e. a unit of value that can be accumulated by the shopper and given to benefit one of the local charities affiliated with Zavee in its network. Care Shares are triggered by shopping and funded jointly by the merchant and Zavee itself, giving rise to a new take on “Social Giving”, another term being tossed about today and with multiple implications.

Zavee is focused on serving the local merchant market. It is being piloted in South Florida and early results are positive. The Zavee model and bonusing engine could easily be adapted to serve an online community or a cross-channel set of  merchants, but Zavee is about connecting local shoppers with merchants within the community and creating value for all parties including charities. It might also represent a bridge between traditional loyalty marketing programs and the way Millennials wish to engage with brands as well as the way forward for coalition loyalty in the U.S.

Given the challenges that small-medium businesses have in today’s market, Zavee is a great asset for a business owner and a more much efficient step up from spending marketing dollars on the Yellow Pages and coupon packs where the investment is non-targeted, funded up-front and the results hard to measure.

People have always engaged shopping as a social activity. Now, they have a vehicle to shop, earn, share, and give all while supporting the local merchants that are vital to our communities and the fabric of our nation.

When it comes to brand recognition, the usual names that dominate the conversation are Apple, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Visa and …. Chick-fil-A?

Ok, Chick-fil-A may not be a household name of the same caliber as Starbucks, but I guaranty that the “second largest chicken restaurant chain in the US” has the most passionate fan base in the quick-serve sector.

I was a first-hand witness to a Chick-fil-A grand opening in Pompano, Florida this week and I was amazed by what I saw. It was the tent city that caught my eye and made me pull over on the road. But it was the “renegade” fans that made me hang around and be late for dinner.

About 5 years ago, Chick-fil-A started its “First 100″ promotion in conjunction with new store openings. Beginning at 6am the day before official opening, folks can line up and enter a lottery to win one “Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries and drink per week for a year”, a total of 52 meals.

In the midst of the crowd, I not only met the guy who was “No. 1″ in line, but also a rare pair of gents, one named John Veggieoilman, who told me they had participated in 34 openings over the past 4 years.

Chick-fil-A was founded by Truett Cathy in the early 1960’s and his faith based business philosophies have served him well. Mr. Cathy is credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich and the chain has grown to more than 1,430 stores across 38 states – all without being open on Sundays.

More people might know Chick-fil-A for their renegade cows which urge people to “Eat Mor Chikin”. These iconic figures are on par with the Geico Gekko and the Aflac Duck, but it is truly the renegade fans who line up for 18 hours to be part of the First 100 that tell the story of a successful brand.

For all the viral and word-of-mouth marketing taking place online, here is an excellent example of how an offline brand can create a passionate following of customers all through an “underground” promotion like First 100.  The story has been often repeated around the country and  judging from the people I talked with at the Pompano store, the frenzy will continue.

Chick-fil-A surely benefits from the nearly-free media impressions from local coverage and I’ll bet those winners don’t eat alone during their year in the freebie line. First 100 is a winner all around just as is Chick-fil-A.

Mr. Cathy and his family have lots to proud of, and the rest of us can learn a bit about brand building from this humble southern gentleman.

Editor’s Note: I’ll be having lunch at Chick-fil-A tomorrow as part of my follow-up story!

When it comes to brand recognition, the usual names that dominate the conversation are Apple, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Visa and …. Chick-fil-A?

Ok, Chick-fil-A may not be a household name of the same caliber as Starbucks, but I guaranty that the “second largest chicken restaurant chain in the US” has the most passionate fan base in the quick-serve sector.

I was a first-hand witness to a Chick-fil-A grand opening in Pompano, Florida this week and I was amazed by what I saw. It was the tent city that caught my eye and made me pull over on the road. But it was the “renegade” fans that made me hang around and be late for dinner.

About 5 years ago, Chick-fil-A started its “First 100″ promotion in conjunction with new store openings. Beginning at 6am the day before official opening, folks can line up and enter a lottery to win one “Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-A Waffle Potato Fries and drink per week for a year”, a total of 52 meals.

In the midst of the crowd, I not only met the guy who was “No. 1″ in line, but also a rare pair of gents, one named John Veggieoilman, who told me they had participated in 34 openings over the past 4 years.

Chick-fil-A was founded by Truett Cathy in the early 1960’s and his faith based business philosophies have served him well. Mr. Cathy is credited with inventing the boneless breast of chicken sandwich and the chain has grown to more than 1,430 stores across 38 states – all without being open on Sundays.

More people might know Chick-fil-A for their renegade cows which urge people to “Eat Mor Chikin”. These iconic figures are on par with the Geico Gekko and the Aflac Duck, but it is truly the renegade fans who line up for 18 hours to be part of the First 100 that tell the story of a successful brand.

For all the viral and word-of-mouth marketing taking place online, here is an excellent example of how an offline brand can create a passionate following of customers all through an “underground” promotion like First 100.  The story has been often repeated around the country and  judging from the people I talked with at the Pompano store, the frenzy will continue.

Chick-fil-A surely benefits from the nearly-free media impressions from local coverage and I’ll bet those winners don’t eat alone during their year in the freebie line. First 100 is a winner all around just as is Chick-fil-A.

Mr. Cathy and his family have lots to proud of, and the rest of us can learn a bit about brand building from this humble southern gentleman.

Editor’s Note: I’ll be having lunch at Chick-fil-A tomorrow as part of my follow-up story!

There’s a secret society that I wish to unmask. It’s not as menacing as the Knight’s Templars, but if you are tasked with selling consulting services, marketing technology or loyalty marketing solutions, you will immediately identify society members by their common behaviors.

It’s the “Society of Graduate Buyers“. These are the folks who, in the course of a sales or capabilities presentation, ask the tough questions and take “poker face” to a whole new level. Ask them for a detailed description of next steps at the end of the meeting, and they will immediately defer to the procurement officer sitting at the end of the table or indicate that the decision makers are going on vacation for the next week or two and “we’ll get back to you”.

Seasoned salespeople are used to the process and have developed thick hides, therefore you’ll understand that I’m just having some fun here. In fact, if you don’t get frustrated by the white collar version of a “stiff arm”, you can learn a thing or two.

In a recent meeting, one of the client group threw me a curve ball, asking if I had experience with both “Big L and Little L” loyalty programs. He went on to explain that, by his definition, Big L programs feature an explicit value proposition with a promotional currency (points, miles, stars, credits) while Little L programs score member behavior and use the data to trigger promotions, offers, and communications without full transparency to the consumer.

The answer of course was “yes” as I’ve worked to leverage behavioral and attitudinal data to create value propositions articulated in many forms besides points. I would include viral, word-of-mouth, and social media programs with a data backbone in this group. The client must have been a consultant somewhere in his past as giving something familiar a catchy name is part of the trade (ever hear of the Loyalty Asterisk™?).

The lesson I learned from this encounter was simple:  loyalty marketing is anything but business as usual these days and practioners need to constantly test themselves to stay abreast of how the market perceives our craft. We also need to expand our definition of how customer loyalty can be created, and embrace that we have the tools to achieve multiple goals across the business from acquisition to retention and cross-sell.

I’ve added the “LIttle L” to my loyalty glossary and have pledged to give the next set of Graduate Buyers the benefit of the doubt. Never know what I’ll learn next!

There’s a secret society that I wish to unmask. It’s not as menacing as the Knight’s Templars, but if you are tasked with selling consulting services, marketing technology or loyalty marketing solutions, you will immediately identify society members by their common behaviors.

It’s the “Society of Graduate Buyers“. These are the folks who, in the course of a sales or capabilities presentation, ask the tough questions and take “poker face” to a whole new level. Ask them for a detailed description of next steps at the end of the meeting, and they will immediately defer to the procurement officer sitting at the end of the table or indicate that the decision makers are going on vacation for the next week or two and “we’ll get back to you”.

Seasoned salespeople are used to the process and have developed thick hides, therefore you’ll understand that I’m just having some fun here. In fact, if you don’t get frustrated by the white collar version of a “stiff arm”, you can learn a thing or two.

In a recent meeting, one of the client group threw me a curve ball, asking if I had experience with both “Big L and Little L” loyalty programs. He went on to explain that, by his definition, Big L programs feature an explicit value proposition with a promotional currency (points, miles, stars, credits) while Little L programs score member behavior and use the data to trigger promotions, offers, and communications without full transparency to the consumer.

The answer of course was “yes” as I’ve worked to leverage behavioral and attitudinal data to create value propositions articulated in many forms besides points. I would include viral, word-of-mouth, and social media programs with a data backbone in this group. The client must have been a consultant somewhere in his past as giving something familiar a catchy name is part of the trade (ever hear of the Loyalty Asterisk™?).

The lesson I learned from this encounter was simple:  loyalty marketing is anything but business as usual these days and practioners need to constantly test themselves to stay abreast of how the market perceives our craft. We also need to expand our definition of how customer loyalty can be created, and embrace that we have the tools to achieve multiple goals across the business from acquisition to retention and cross-sell.

I’ve added the “LIttle L” to my loyalty glossary and have pledged to give the next set of Graduate Buyers the benefit of the doubt. Never know what I’ll learn next!

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association held its “WOMM-U” event last week in South Beach, and was attended by an impressive array of consumer brands including Dell, Disney, Heinz, Kraft, Lenovo, NBC, McDonalds, Pepsico, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, and Walmart. Add to these familiar names, several titans of Web 2.0 Facebook, Google, MySpace, Yelp and YouTube and you can imagine attendees got their money’s worth during the two day event.

I’ll have a full conference report submitted to The WiseMarketer very soon, but couldn’t wait to share a few highlights. WOMMA puts on a good show and to keep the conversation lively, they shared a live Twitter feed in the main conference salon.  Two days of Tweets are archived on their web page and, taken as a whole, they provide color commentary for the event.

I wanted to share my favorites which were selected for being insightful, forward-looking, or just humorous. Hope you enjoy them and please follow the folks who generated the original content to continue the conversation.

• It used to be that the homepage of your website was your first digital impression. Now it’s the Google search results. | @spikejones
• Federated Media: Amex has found Twitter best online vehicle for advertising their small biz website | @leslieforde
• Lenovo gave 100 Olympic athletes a free technology solution to blog live from Beijing…a social media plan with real teeth | @hyperdrivei
• “Trying to change an organization is like swimming in peanut butter.” – Chris Aarons |@CatchUpLady
• Facebook: focus on building movements, not campaigns | @tsiles
• 50% of US families have broadband – look for video explosion – this is likely how people will consume info – Duncan Wardle | @CentsibleSawyer
• Disney’s Ducan Wardle: Brands who don’t change from marketing to engaging will soon become nostalgia brands | @davekerpen
• 90% of moms watch online video in last 7 days vs only 1/3 of all moms are in the blogosphere. Integrated marketing w/ moms a must | @MomTalkRadio
• Duncan Wardle from Disney: It is NO LONGER about clicks and impressions. It’s about engagement , conversation and conversion. | @warrenss
• “Internet is not a library of information anymore it is a social area for people.” – Kathryn Collins.|@tanyachadha
• FTC Change “The communicator of the message must be transparent and honest.” Well that about says it all. | @jamietedford
• Wonders what a talk at WOMMA looks like. Based on my feed, it’s quiet with hundreds of people looking down, typing madly on mobile devices. | @justicar

There have been a number of viral marketing campaigns that have created a vortex of attention online and, today being Mother’s Day, I have to add MomsRising to the list.

I innocently clicked through an invitation to celebrate Mother’s Day in a unique way and was surprised at what I found. The link landed me on the “Mother of the Year” video which I easily customized and sent to several of my favorite “Moms”. It was easy, funny, and I got positive feedback from several of the recipients.

At last look on the MomsRising web site, there have been over 7 million views of the video, making it officially a viral marketing success.

What’s behind the organization? According to the web site, “MomsRising is working to bring together millions of people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America. Started in May of 2006, MomsRising has gained over 150,000 citizen members and is rapidly growing”.

This is a great example of a group that knows what its about and consciously crafted a campaign that was compelling enough to drive engagement and subtle in its effort to raise awareness for its mission.

I can’t vouch in more detail for their intentions, but raising awareness for the importance of Motherhood can’t be all bad.  They’re on Twitter and can be followed @MomsRising.

I’m headed to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association event in South Beach this week and can’t wait to get more feedback on this, the latest, of viral marketing campaigns to solidly hit the bulls-eye.

Let me know what you think of this effort and send me suggestions for your favorite viral campaign from the past year.

Happy Mother’s Day!

There have been a number of viral marketing campaigns that have created a vortex of attention online and, today being Mother’s Day, I have to add MomsRising to the list.

I innocently clicked through an invitation to celebrate Mother’s Day in a unique way and was surprised at what I found. The link landed me on the “Mother of the Year” video which I easily customized and sent to several of my favorite “Moms”. It was easy, funny, and I got positive feedback from several of the recipients.

At last look on the MomsRising web site, there have been over 7 million views of the video, making it officially a viral marketing success.

What’s behind the organization? According to the web site, “MomsRising is working to bring together millions of people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America. Started in May of 2006, MomsRising has gained over 150,000 citizen members and is rapidly growing”.

This is a great example of a group that knows what its about and consciously crafted a campaign that was compelling enough to drive engagement and subtle in its effort to raise awareness for its mission.

I can’t vouch in more detail for their intentions, but raising awareness for the importance of Motherhood can’t be all bad.  They’re on Twitter and can be followed @MomsRising.

I’m headed to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association event in South Beach this week and can’t wait to get more feedback on this, the latest, of viral marketing campaigns to solidly hit the bulls-eye.

Let me know what you think of this effort and send me suggestions for your favorite viral campaign from the past year.

Happy Mother’s Day!