Bill Hanifin
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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.
