A colleague emailed me yesterday asking the Top 10 things the Triton Loyalty Audience Engagement Team recommends for an affiliate to insure a successful launch. This is a great question, and as I responded, editing my list from 100 to 10 (only partially kidding), it struck me that this would be useful to you. (NOTE: Information on the Triton Media Audience Engagement Team to the left!)
Here are my Top 10:
1) Understand what the loyalty program is, how it works, and put it into your STRATEGY. Knowing how to use the tools and manage the system is not establishing a strategy for integrating it into your brand. Let us help you with this before you launch!
2) Define specific goals and expectations for the program. Communicate the goals from TOP MANAGEMENT to the entire staff, down to the LOWEST PERSON IN THE ORGANIZATION. If the importance of the program isn’t communicated to the staff, you will be disappointed with the results. We can help you set up a system to track membership and activity. When you establish a method of measuring success against goals (weekly/monthly/quarterly), more attention and focus is spent on the program. If possible, reward key staff personnel for reaching these goals, and hold them accountable if they fall short.
3) Promote the benefits offered. On the air, on the main page of your web site, in the newsletter, at events…everywhere. If it’s part of the brand strategy, this will be easy. It should not be promoted as a separate entity. An important part of this is to make the program seamless. It’s not about promoting THE CLUB…it’s about making the BENEFITS available to consumers available through the club…then promoting it to be both IMPORTANT and EASY. This is one of the hardest things to understand and can be the biggest difference between success and failure.
4) Use video and bonus content inside the club. Make the site come alive with fresh material each day. Rewarding your audience isn’t just giving away prizes but delighting them with entertainment and fun every time they log on.
5) Set up a promotional strategy to attract new members, and more importantly, keep existing members active. How are the benefits being marketed? Are you changing your tactics regularly to attract a different type of member?
6) FOLLOW OUR BEST PRACTICES suggestions, and SUBSCRIBE TO THE BLOG. Of course, if you’re getting this, you already subscribe….but EVERYONE on your team should subscribe. Blog content for programming/promotions is sent almost daily, and is the best way to stay fresh on everything in the program, and gain new insights and ideas for success.
7) Insure that you send a newsletter out regularly (weekly) and that it is a) useful and beneficial, b) relevant, and c) all about the club and club activity-not about OTHER STUFF. Your members participate to stay in touch with the CLUB…so honor that with appropriate content.
Use surveys creatively. It’s a powerful feature, and there are dozens of ways to use them. Let us help you understand all the ways that they can pay off for you. Almost as importantly : share information and results back to the audience so they feel a part of it.
9) Use appointment features creatively…not as a simple “word of the day” but something that enhances your brand, fits into the brand strategy and drives online traffic. With our new Instant Win feature, there are even more ways to create excitement and appointments.
10) Introduce new features slowly, planning carefully in advance and treat them as a major enhancement. Build
anticipation with an announcement. When a new feature is introduced at Disney World, it’s promoted with fanfare and focus. They don’t just run the same commercials saying “come to Disney”. Your program is full of features. Focus on them individually and with celebration.
Finally, remember that there are hundreds of ways to use the program, and members will join for different reasons. Each element is unique and can attract a different audience segment. Some feature are more relevant for your program than others. We will help you sort it out and put them to work for you. Ask questions! Use us, the Triton Loyalty Engagement Team as a resource to help!
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