Loyalty Programs Maybe it's a matter of offering a better value-added component. This what Futura touts in their literature (and may be their only hope of success for the future). I'm not an expert on loyalty programs but this article seems to imply that engagement with customer is lacking. May not seem important, but it affects the bottom line of retailers bigtime. Loyalty progams like Aeroplan are trying to resolves this:
Sometimes members can seem loyal from a behavioural perspective, but they’re attitudes don’t necessarily match. “You’ve got to be able to capture both,” says Daniel. Aeroplan, which began as a promotional tool for Air Canada’s business travellers in 1984, uses both attitudinal and behavioural data to divide its member base into three segments: travel, fi nancial and retail. Members can earn their points at retail partners like Esso or Home Hardware, through one of Aeroplan’s travel partners like Air Canada or Avis car rental, or fi nancial partners like American Express.
Then Aeroplan looks at their level of participation (the number of Aeroplan partners a member is engaged with, the types of partners they’re engaged with, the frequency at which they’re engaged, etc.) , says David Klein, the company’s head of marketing. And on the redemption side, Aeroplan analyzes the types of rewards members are redeeming, whether it’s travel experiences or merchandise ranging from cameras to bed spreads. Based on this, Aeroplan can tailor its communications, and offer the types of promotions members are most intersted in.
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According to research from Maritz, nearly 70% of loyalty program members have lost interest in participating in at least one of the programs they belong to. Hlavinka says marketers can use transactional data to look at a member’s risk of attrition, and ultimately, their future potential value to determine whether or not it’s worth reigning that customer back in. Otherwise, marketers can spend a small fortune trying to engage all of their members, instead of focusing on “high value” or “high potential” consumers who have lost interest in the program.
“You cannot be speaking to everyone in your loyalty program in the same way,” says Maritz president and CEO Bob Macdonald. “As a result, individual customer experience tracking along the road to loyalty is absolutely vital,” he says. “You can only do that if you have a good sense of the folks inside your program—are they recently in or on their way out—and speak to them individually.” To re-engage inactive members, Hlavinka recommends following the three “R” approach by answering these questions: How am I rewarding these members? How am I recognizing their loyalty? How am I delivering relevance?
Answering these questions with the right communications can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line, says Hlavinka. Members of Scotiabank’s Scene loyalty program who haven’t been to a theatre in a couple of months will receive an e-mail offering extra points if they visit within a week or two of receiving the notice, says Bloom
https://www.marketingmag.ca/uncategorized/secrets-of-canadas-top-loyalty-programs-2-25684
For Futura to engage at this level will cost money. Maybe form a partnership with a marketing company which have to good grasp of engaging loyalty members with the retail trade. Futura can't focus only on being a reseller of 3rd party currencies, but must be in the forefront of providing value-added component to car dealers and auto service centers.
If I was a car dealer, Aeroplan and the 4 US frequent flyer programs are ok, but I also wish to (integrate/complement) customer profiles normally kept by the auto industry, with Futura's value-added loyalty offering. But if Futura wants many more sign-on's, this is the way to go.
As an example, I never got any correspondence from my car dealer after I bought my car. Yet they had a good service center and parts specials with reasonable cost which I never knew about. So I bought elsewhere. Putting ads in paper or on the radio doesn't work as it may have done in the past. Direct communication with each customer works better. Successful loyalty program will have to address this, simple, yet critical oversight.
A 1/2 cent stock means there's a lot of work yet to be done. Something is missing from the picture. Management is on the right path, but will need help from others to make it really happen. Not enough in- house expertise to carry the company through.