Big Data is a powerful tool that companies can use to drive revenue growth, increase profits and improve customer loyalty. However, many companies think harnessing Big Data is a daunting task and try to avoid it in practice. See why you can’t afford to ignore your data any longer and how third-parties like Truaxis can help you turn this data into actionable insights.

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Loyalty reward systems are the de facto standard for both retail and credit card companies. Especially since loyalty programs have been shown to increase retention and a study by Baines and Company found that a mere 5% increase in company customer retention will translate into as much as 75% profitability. Credit card holders revel on the benefits of credit card rewards as well. Statistics show that as many as 85% of US households are members of a credit card rewards program – one of the most important factors that influences a consumer’s choice of credit card. The benefits of effective loyalty programs for both industries, and consumers, are clear. As such, with all the loyalty rewards program strategies available, companies need to consider how to continually innovate to create a loyalty rewards program that best fits the needs of its target consumers.

Consumer Data
The best “fit” often lies in matching the credit card rewards system with the consumer’s standards of living. Marketing efforts should be focused on defining the lifestyle and buying tendencies of customers as this offer clues on what valued customers prefer. For example, a UK retailer used customer data in promoting products that appeal to parents of students who are about to start college – such as towels, cookware and bed sheets – at the start of the school year. Similarly, DVDs, alcoholic drinks and software receive are promoted more during the holiday season, when the students are expected to return home.

Understanding Your Brand
Understanding the nature and purpose of your product will determine how it should be promoted and to which group of consumers. Capitalize on this information to reinforce customer behavior and generate strong emotional attachment to the brand. This principle was used by an airline company to increase the use of frequent flyer miles. This company found that customers had difficulty redeeming their frequent flyer miles points due to reduced airline capacities, which decreased satisfaction ratings down to 48%. To resolve this problem, they allowed customers to redeem their rewards points as either flight or cash. This increased redemption to 35% after only 30 days, thereby pleasing the customer by changing how they can interact with the program and the brand.

Finding the Perfect Fit
Fox Business News reports that as many as 80 million Americans use credit cards with rewards. Aite Group also found that the type of loyalty program had greater impact on credit card choice than the interest rates. Experts agree that the primary reward goal should focus more on “practical profitability” rather than creating alluring marketing strategies. Virtual cash and cash back programs are more appealing to many credit card users than points or miles.

However, with the advent of transaction-driven services, companies can expand their reward offerings to go beyond a simple cash-back strategy. Vendors like Truaxis analyze customer purchase behaviors to perfectly match users with their ideal rewards. By adding this extra analysis and context, reward programs are automatically tailored to the individual with no additional effort from the bank, retailer or customer.

As customers desire more and more personalization, loyalty programs will be able to harness the power of data and collaboration to continue to evolve and please their customers.

Generation Y is the first generation that grew up being wired. While they remember a time before computers, they grew up being taught how to use technology. And with this technology, they started doing some interesting things – aside from posting cat videos. They started shopping and interacting with brands differently. They post video reviews of their favorite products on YouTube or ask advice about a particular service on Facebook. They posted photos of their favorite brands on Tumblr or links to their favorite new purchase on Google+. Word of mouth via the Internet is one of the biggest factors when it comes to purchase decision making for this group.

Advertisements tend to get Generation Y’s attention by going viral, that is, through sharing via social media. They don’t sit through tired old infomercials. They want something witty, something that will quickly capture their attention. One such successful advertising campaign began in March 2012 for a start-up company called Dollar Shave Club. Its video ad uses light profanity and a cheeky attitude to sell its product. The result? In less than one month, the company’s website has been circulated on Facebook more than 20,000 times, shared on Twitter more than 8,300 times, and has garnered more than 12,600 Twitter followers.

How Millennials Manage Their Money
One survey found that millennials tend to invest higher amounts of their income than preceding generations, including Baby Boomers. More than 25% of Generation Y, as opposed to just 16% of Baby Boomers, is funding both an IRA and a 401K. This means there is a huge opportunity for banks to ensure that this generation chooses to invest with them through digital channels.

Banks must meet the digital challenge by making their websites more accessible and user-friendly for Millennials and future generations. Millenials are impatient. If they have difficulty accessing their accounts immediately, they will abandon your bank in favor of one that offers a better consumer experience. Millennials expect few fees, high interest rates, and have little brand loyalty. You must earn their trust.

Buying Power
Generation Y loves to research products before they buy them. Sites like Yelp help them make decisions, such as where to take a date for dinner or where to get their eyes examined. Expect this generation to know everything about your product or business before they enter the store, which means the employees must be just as knowledgeable. According to financial firm Jones, Lang & LaSalle, while younger members of Generation Y make up only 7% of the total population, they influence the purchasing habits of the entire family, generating 21% of total revenue. Don’t risk losing their business by not being prepared for their shopping habits.

Millennials also like to shop anytime, anywhere, with ease. This is the first generation that feels at ease doing a majority of their shopping online – from clothing to groceries. Additionally, they are using their smartphones to assist with every aspect of their lives, including shopping. They are likely to download retailer-specific apps to make the purchasing process simpler and want to stay on top of sales and specials. Some apps like Foursquare make a game out of shopping and dining with check-ins and badges, which is appealing to this generation and a great way to drive in-store visits.

Millennials are also more apt to join loyalty programs available through these apps. In fact, 77% of Millennials in the United States participate in loyalty programs, while 78 percent say they would choose a brand that offers one over a brand that does not. (Source)

The buying power of Generation Y continues to grow as members become gainfully employed. They outnumber their Generation X predecessors by nearly 2-to-1, making them the driving force for today’s economy. In short, online marketing, viral marketing, peer to peer reviews, and a healthy dose of reality are what drive Millennials to make their purchases. Those businesses that catch their attention through off-kilter, guerilla marketing will maintain and gain their market share, while those who don’t may not make it to 2020.

Today, companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Whole Foods and Walmart are well-known nationwide. However, they all started with small means. See how they were able to make it big and take a look at some ways to help launch your business to the next stage.

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<br /> <a href="http://www.truaxis.com/blog/12743/how-small-companies-made-it-big/" title="RagsRiches"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/y9XuY.jpg" alt="RagsRiches" border="0" /></a><br /> Source:<a href="http://www.truaxis.com/blog/12743/how-small-companies-made-it-big/" title="RagsRiches"</a><br />

When 1 person shares something on a social media site, an average of 77 people are reached. This can be extremely valuable if you can get these people to talk about your company or brand. Take a look at how customers are interacting with companies on different social media sites and see how you can get them engaged and promoting your products.

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<br /> <a href="http://www.truaxis.com/blog/12737/anatomy-of-a-social-consumer/" title="SocialConsumer"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/hYvJU.jpg" alt="SocialConsumer" border="0" /></a><br /> Source:<a href="http://www.truaxis.com/blog/12737/anatomy-of-a-social-consumer/" title="SocialConsumer"</a><br />

It’s not new to hear that customer loyalty is important for a company and a brand. However, loyal customers can be hard to find, especially with only 15% of consumers reporting being loyal to one retailer for everyday purchases and an even worse 5% saying they’re loyal to a brand. With more than half of a retailer’s sales coming from loyal customers, increasing customer loyalty is a necessity for any business.

In a country where 42% of shoppers have trouble limiting their purchases, all is not lost for retailers though. When it comes to shopping, most people head to the store with a specific product or item in mind. Anything else that they purchase is an impulse buy. One study found that 40% of all purchases in the US are impulse buys! More impressively, $4.2 trillion was spent on impulse buys just in Q4 of 2010. Impulse purchases represent a huge opportunity for retailers to turn potential customers into loyal patrons.

So, who is actually making these impulse buys? 60% of women have made an impulse purchase in the past year and 55% of women between the ages of 45-54 make impulse buys online compared to only 38% of men. (Source)

When it comes to getting shoppers to actual make the impulse purchase, one study found that 88% of impulse buys happen because the item is on sale. Additionally, 55% of consumers report that they often or very often end up buying more than just the discounted product when they are drawn in by a sale. While retailers want to be cautious about training customers to wait for discounts, when it comes to incentivizing impulse purchases, discounts seem to be the way to go. To help promote these discounts, 39% of customers prefer receiving email promotions while 9% prefer social media. However, it should be noted that 63% of consumers like a Facebook page expecting a promotion. (Source)

Once a retailer has hooked a customer with a sale, they need to convert these customers into lifetime buyers. Retailers can’t just let this impulse purchase data sit in a data center somewhere; they need to find ways to leverage it to bring the customer back. This is why more and more of the industry is shifting to automatic rewards programs that can better reach customers when it’s most effective. Third-party companies have started to emerge that analyze transaction data to allow retailers to get a better, more complete view. With this, retailers can control what sort of rewards customers are shown based on how much they spend, how often they visit the store, where else they shop or a variety of other factors. With this, retailers can run campaigns aimed to hook new customers who have never visited or only visited once. They can offer different tiers of deals to ensure that their marketing dollars are being spent efficiently and are reaching exactly who they want to reach.

With nearly 70% of sales dependent on loyal customers, retailers quite literally cannot afford to miss an opportunity to turn an impulse buy into a repeat purchase.

Mobile payment technology is redefining the world of payments. With investments from Google and Apple and the rise in mobile banking use, mobile payments are set to take off in 2012. Here is a look into what’s currently available and the environment as a whole.

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<br /> <a href="http://www.truaxis.com/blog/12714/the-rise-of-mobile-payments/" title="MobilePayments"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/p77A2.jpg" alt="MobilePayments" border="0" /></a><br /> Source:<a href="http://www.truaxis.com/blog/12714/the-rise-of-mobile-payments/" title="MobilePayments"</a><br />

There are two times more Baby Boomers than there are Gen Xers and they earn 47% of all income in the US, making them a key demographic to target for all industries. However, to properly reach this group, it’s important to understand what they are looking for as they prepare for retirement.

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Gamification is the recent buzzword that has taken over marketing and customer engagement strategies. Gamification can be used to drive certain behaviors and make tasks and technology more engaging to users. The premise of gamification is that desired tasks are translated into badges, status, points, etc. so customers earn more, the more they interact. Companies can use this to encourage customers to take surveys, watch videos, write reviews, visit stores or any other action they believe is valuable for the customer. The beauty of gamification is that rewards can range from strict bragging rights (for competitive customers) to actual discounts or special offers.

Research firm, M2, estimates that the gamification market is currently worth $100 million, and is expected to reach $2.8 billion by 2016. Experts are also projecting nearly 200% revenue growth in this market for 2012 alone. In the near future, it is clear that gamification will be a key part of user engagement and loyalty initiatives.

Many retailers have already started successfully integrating gamification into their marketing strategies. For example, Bluefly aimed to engage customers on their site by awarding them with badges when they watched videos, wrote reviews or created wish lists. These badges highlighted user statuses and could lead to rewards like deals and early access to products. The combination of tangible benefits and bragging rights has helped make this a success among customers.

Another example was when Best Buy partnered with CityVille, a popular game on Facebook. In the game, players are able to build homes, roads, and create entire cities. Last fall, players were also able to add a Best Buy to their city and collect different Best Buy electronics to unlock special decorations for their store. Since this partnership occurred right before the holiday season, it ensured that Best Buy was top of mind for players when it came to shopping for gifts and reminded users of the types of products sold.

Gamification doesn’t need to be a stand-alone initiative though. By partnering with banks and vendors like Truaxis, merchants can offer customers (and potential customers) badges and rewards based on how often they shop, how much they spend or how involved they are in the specific merchant category (such as if they frequently shop with a competitor). This allows merchants to easily reach their target clientele and reward customers with highly targeted discounts and rewards while building permanent relationships between the merchants and their customers.

By 2014, 70% of the top businesses are expected to have one or more gamified applications. Gamification is a great way to get customers engaged with a brand while simultaneously increasing customer loyalty and revenue.

Achieving customer satisfaction a key to success for any business in any industry, even banks. Customer satisfaction happens throughout the entire customer experience, so making sure to the experience is positive from sign-up to customer service is vital. This can help drive not only customer loyalty in the long-run but also significantly increase profits.

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