BOULDER, Colo. -- InfoPrint Solutions Company, the joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council today announced that they will launch a six-month milestone research initiative to determine key areas of optimization and opportunity and develop best practices for leveraging and maximizing loyalty programs.  The research will highlight new, creative ways marketers can use retention marketing programs including rewards, loyalty, perk and points programs to engage and grow customers and advocates, a critical mandate for survival in today’s tough economy. Getting a Business Lift from Loyalty™ will audit and assess the operations and innovation in loyalty club programs as well as gain a deep understanding of the value and utilization of customer data to drive response rates and top line growth.
 
According to research from the CMO Council, more than 75 percent of consumers are members of loyalty or rewards programs and 25 percent belong to two or more.  Although marketers continue to spend more than $1 billion on these campaigns, many have not defined clear and precise strategies for optimizing revenue potential through them.  Getting a Lift from Loyalty plans to address the value of personal, relevant and contextual communications that can show marketers a defined route to revenue.
 
“Pinpointing new routes to revenue has highlighted a need for marketers to fully leverage investments in loyalty and rewards programs, yet all too often, these programs neglect to mine, utilize and take advantage of this valued customer engagement opportunity,” said Liz Miller, Vice President of Programs & Operations for the CMO Council. “Our work with InfoPrint has been a very successful and informative experience. The results of our recent ‘Routes to Revenue’ campaign showed that personalized and relevant marketing initiatives deliver impressive, measurable results. Once again, we have best of breed best practices from the pioneers in personalized communications channels as well as a roster of professional experts from the marketing and IT worlds collaborating to find the true dollar value of precise, targeted and timely personalized communications.”
 
Part of the initiative will be the development of multiple pilots to explore optimized communication within loyalty programs. These pilots come on the heels of two customized campaigns for Best Western International, THE WORLD’S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN® and one of the top five U.S. cable companies, both part of the Precision Promotion (www.precisionpromotion.com) campaign.  The pilots highlight key opportunities for companies looking to drive growth and customer engagement through highly personalized, relevant and measurable campaigns.
 
“It is truly evident by the compelling results of our work last year that loyalty programs within many organizations can drive top line results and, together with the CMO Council, we are helping companies see the true potential of their loyalty and reward programs,” said Lee Gallagher, Manager of Direct Marketing Solutions at InfoPrint Solutions Company.  “Our approach is not to jump in and restructure existing processes, but rather to work seamlessly as a team to leverage existing customer data to drive more personalized and relevant marketing programs.  Based on our previous outcomes, this collaboration brings quantifiable value to our customers.”