Loyalty program

1. Summary of the intranet application

A system to acknowledge achievement and time spent at the company, which is apart from being entertaining, is a very popular form of benefits and a useful tool to keep quality workers. By reducing fluctuation it helps continuous development of service quality, increases efficiency of planning process and workplace moral. Due to the progressive scoring, loyalty points gain more importance as workers spend more time at the company, and thus it will be less attractive to start a carrier again at a new company. Furthermore, it provides the opportunity to acknowledge achievements that would not be possible with cash, or that would lead to conflicts within the company.

Each colleague has his/her own account. Points can be collected in several ways:

on a subjective basis: monthly, yearly - in a progressively growing way
according to the superiors' evaluation of the (for example) quarterly results
for results over the average at regular tests
for organizing company happenings
for constructive ideas to increase efficiency at the company
for overtime activities (filling in forms, interviews)
etc.

Points collected over time can be used in different ways:

for purchase - at a certain rate - at partner companies (bookshop, webshop, mensa)
to convert into a holiday check (if the amount is substantial enough)
to extend holiday - "buying free days"
to apply for training within the company
to pay for studies outside the company
etc.

In an intranet loyalty program each colleague has his/her own - password protected - site, where he/she can check their account, manage their points, fill in forms to gain more points, view the history of their account, find information about specialties, etc.

2. Public (internet based) loyalty application

Loyalty programs have long history at the product and service industry (see, e.g., the frequent traveler programs) As it is becoming increasingly important for companies to keep their current clients - in addition to getting new ones - it is more important to acknowledge their loyalty. Since Competition Law explicitly forbids differentiation between groups by pricing, alternative ways have to be found to persuade clients to stay.

Furthermore, a club with good morale helps clients to frequently visit the companies' website, it is an excellent forum for feedbacks and presenting new products and services, not to mention the increased role of the company in its clients' life. Should they be interested in buying anything that fits the company's profile, they will automatically start searching at the corporate website. If the good morale is supported by specials or bonuses it will turn into an effective source of clients satisfaction.

Loyalty programs are especially popular at companies that usually get new clients through agents or brokers. In this case there is no need for extra budget for the loyalty program, extras can be financed from the agents' commission, and clients can be persuaded for further purchases directly.

Another advantage of the loyalty program is data base building from habits and characteristics of existing customers, a tool to ease positioning and strategy development. Since customers are voluntary applying to the system, and they are already interested in the company's field of activity, they can be polled in a cost effective way, without being accused of unwanted advertisements or spam. An ideal target group can be created this way for testing and introducing new products.

In a loyalty program each registered user has his/her own page, where he/she can get information about current specials, their account and exclusive services. Users can receive points in the following cases:

new purchase (contract) earns a substantial one time amount of points
regular services (subscription, insurance) earn continuously, depending on the amount
for filling in satisfaction or other marketing forms
for certain anniversaries
at days of drawings
etc.

Each member can benefit from the facilities provided by the club. They can get outlet products or try out new products before introduction to the market, etc. In addition to these, there are several ways of using their points:

for purchase - at a certain rate - at partner companies (bookshop, webshop)
convert them to discounts
can purchase the same product for a reduced price (partner card)
can extend warranty
etc.

3. Technical overview

Users, accounts, earned and spent points, logs are stored in a database. They can be traced back and checked anytime. The loyalty system can cooperate with 3rd party internal systems (billing, customer service, project tracking systems) and with the help of information arriving from these systems they can automatically maintain users' state, award or use points. Interfaces can be set up for external systems if necessary for the use of the points. Coupons can also be used for spending points. In this case users convert their points into coupons, codes of these coupons are sent to the external partners, where users can spend them. Used coupons can be traced via automatic feedback. Public data accessible through the internet, and internal, administrative data can be separated, and the databases can be synchronized in both direction.

Our current system is based on Perl and/or JAVA . There are no special requirements for the external database, it can even work with MySQL. Security requirements can be satisfied by RSA or Blowfish encryption. The administrative database is capable of handling automatic tasks in the form of stored procedures (PL/SQL) - thus cooperation with other databases can be securely managed. In this case we prefer the use of PostgreSQL or Oracle databases. The Loyalty System's administrative interface is based on Perl and Apache. It is primarily used for accessing user/account data and can be used to select the recipient addresses for newsletters. Two way synchronization between the separated databases is carried out by a Java and Tomcat based web system. The synchronization channel is secured by VPN using RSA keys or on an SSL/JDBC basis.

4. Service content

Creation of client/worker database, consistent with existing database.
Creation of necessary interface towards other existing subsystems.
Creation and installation of the system.
Creation of web- or intranet interface for clients/workers.
Continuous system maintenance.

5. Target group

The intranet version of our application is recommended to companies, that can not afford loosing its experts to the labor market. Our system can be the most profitable for companies that have workers have workers with special skills - which can be well used at other companies of that particular branch, so they are continuously exposed to the effort of the concurrence to attract them.

Our internet based loyalty application has been specially developed for companies of the financial, trade and service sector. To keep clients and to persuade them to further acquisitions is a key feature of companies that have their income from regular fees, like telecommunication services, air companies, advertisers or even banks and insurance companies.

6. References

Shell Hungary Inc. (https://www.shellsmart.com/smart/index.html)
AEGON Hungary General Insurance Inc. (https://www.online.aegon.hu/netklub/)

	Home / Services / Loyalty program Loyalty program 1. Summary of the intranet application A system to acknowledge achievement and time spent at the company, which is apart from being entertaining, is a very popular form of benefits and a useful tool to keep quality workers. By reducing fluctuation it helps continuous development of service quality, increases efficiency of planning process and workplace moral. Due to the progressive scoring, loyalty points gain more importance as workers spend more time at the company, and thus it will be less attractive to start a carrier again at a new company. Furthermore, it provides the opportunity to acknowledge achievements that would not be possible with cash, or that would lead to conflicts within the company. Each colleague has his/her own account. Points can be collected in several ways: on a subjective basis: monthly, yearly - in a progressively growing way according to the superiors' evaluation of the (for example) quarterly results for results over the average at regular tests for organizing company happenings for constructive ideas to increase efficiency at the company for overtime activities (filling in forms, interviews) etc. Points collected over time can be used in different ways: for purchase - at a certain rate - at partner companies (bookshop, webshop, mensa) to convert into a holiday check (if the amount is substantial enough) to extend holiday - "buying free days" to apply for training within the company to pay for studies outside the company etc. In an intranet loyalty program each colleague has his/her own - password protected - site, where he/she can check their account, manage their points, fill in forms to gain more points, view the history of their account, find information about specialties, etc. 2. Public (internet based) loyalty application Loyalty programs have long history at the product and service industry (see, e.g., the frequent traveler programs) As it is becoming increasingly important for companies to keep their current clients - in addition to getting new ones - it is more important to acknowledge their loyalty. Since Competition Law explicitly forbids differentiation between groups by pricing, alternative ways have to be found to persuade clients to stay. Furthermore, a club with good morale helps clients to frequently visit the companies' website, it is an excellent forum for feedbacks and presenting new products and services, not to mention the increased role of the company in its clients' life. Should they be interested in buying anything that fits the company's profile, they will automatically start searching at the corporate website. If the good morale is supported by specials or bonuses it will turn into an effective source of clients satisfaction. Loyalty programs are especially popular at companies that usually get new clients through agents or brokers. In this case there is no need for extra budget for the loyalty program, extras can be financed from the agents' commission, and clients can be persuaded for further purchases directly. Another advantage of the loyalty program is data base building from habits and characteristics of existing customers, a tool to ease positioning and strategy development. Since customers are voluntary applying to the system, and they are already interested in the company's field of activity, they can be polled in a cost effective way, without being accused of unwanted advertisements or spam. An ideal target group can be created this way for testing and introducing new products. In a loyalty program each registered user has his/her own page, where he/she can get information about current specials, their account and exclusive services. Users can receive points in the following cases: new purchase (contract) earns a substantial one time amount of points regular services (subscription, insurance) earn continuously, depending on the amount for filling in satisfaction or other marketing forms for certain anniversaries at days of drawings etc. Each member can benefit from the facilities provided by the club. They can get outlet products or try out new products before introduction to the market, etc. In addition to these, there are several ways of using their points: for purchase - at a certain rate - at partner companies (bookshop, webshop) convert them to discounts can purchase the same product for a reduced price (partner card) can extend warranty etc. 3. Technical overview Users, accounts, earned and spent points, logs are stored in a database. They can be traced back and checked anytime. The loyalty system can cooperate with 3rd party internal systems (billing, customer service, project tracking systems) and with the help of information arriving from these systems they can automatically maintain users' state, award or use points. Interfaces can be set up for external systems if necessary for the use of the points. Coupons can also be used for spending points. In this case users convert their points into coupons, codes of these coupons are sent to the external partners, where users can spend them. Used coupons can be traced via automatic feedback. Public data accessible through the internet, and internal, administrative data can be separated, and the databases can be synchronized in both direction. Our current system is based on Perl and/or JAVA . There are no special requirements for the external database, it can even work with MySQL. Security requirements can be satisfied by RSA or Blowfish encryption. The administrative database is capable of handling automatic tasks in the form of stored procedures (PL/SQL) - thus cooperation with other databases can be securely managed. In this case we prefer the use of PostgreSQL or Oracle databases. The Loyalty System's administrative interface is based on Perl and Apache. It is primarily used for accessing user/account data and can be used to select the recipient addresses for newsletters. Two way synchronization between the separated databases is carried out by a Java and Tomcat based web system. The synchronization channel is secured by VPN using RSA keys or on an SSL/JDBC basis. 4. Service content Creation of client/worker database, consistent with existing database. Creation of necessary interface towards other existing subsystems. Creation and installation of the system. Creation of web- or intranet interface for clients/workers. Continuous system maintenance. 5. Target group The intranet version of our application is recommended to companies, that can not afford loosing its experts to the labor market. Our system can be the most profitable for companies that have workers have workers with special skills - which can be well used at other companies of that particular branch, so they are continuously exposed to the effort of the concurrence to attract them. Our internet based loyalty application has been specially developed for companies of the financial, trade and service sector. To keep clients and to persuade them to further acquisitions is a key feature of companies that have their income from regular fees, like telecommunication services, air companies, advertisers or even banks and insurance companies. 6. References Shell Hungary Inc. (https://www.shellsmart.com/smart/index.html) AEGON Hungary General Insurance Inc. (https://www.online.aegon.hu/netklub/)

\| FAQ \| Site map \| Disclaimer \| Last updated: 15/07/2005