CRM to the Rescue

Due to declining readership and revenue, many media companies have been struggling to stay relevant and ultimately, stay in the game. With so many eyeballs gravitating to the Web, many print publications have lost their fan base and have been forced to build engaging websites with fresh content. As a result, Time Warner, Disney and other media companies are experimenting with customer relationship management programs in an effort to retain their relevance. However, traditional media lag behind their online counterparts in collecting customer data.

Media companies are trying to figure out the best strategy to keep their consumers happy. They are also trying to package the content in a way that will provide the most value to their loyal customers. “Newspapers, magazines and media companies in general have to start thinking about what con­tent they reserve and what they don't,” said David Rosen, SVP at San Francisco-based Loyalty Lab, a provider of on-demand customer loyalty technology. “By asking people to sign up for digital con­tent, for example, and to be part of the brand, it creates a deeper sense of engagement. That then becomes a marketing platform as opposed to an advertising plat­form, which is what media com­panies have now.”

Creating a relationship with its best cusomters is a strategy that rings true for Disney, the world renound company that children and even adults adore. According to a recent article in the DM news, Disney has launched a comprehensive membership program called D23 that includes a subscription to a new quarterly publication, offers to attend special events and purchase exclusive merchandise, access to exclusive online content and a membership certificate and card. Additionally, the Disney.com/D23 fan site will feature Disney news, exclusive feature stories, blogs, a collectibles boutique, special event information, and other content. A statement form the company explains that D23 refers to the year 1923, which is when Walt Disney opened his studio in Hollywood. The program is the first official community for Disney fans and a one-year membership costs $74.99 according to a statement from the company.

The driving reason why companies are willing to invest in these loyalty programs is because they want to continue the conversation with their loyal consumers. Ultimately, subscribers have to feel that a relationship with the brand is really worth paying for. Rosen agrees and says, “Here's a case where a media company is taking a lesson from the direct marketing industry. By providing structured value [to its cus­tomers], Disney will ultimately see higher levels of conversion and engagement across the entire franchise.” With this sophisticated communications program and community, Disney is able to understand what their customers are willing to pay for and reward with items that are of interest to them. As the infamous character Donald Duck would say, "Nothin' to it!"

What does it take to create brand champions?

We all know that there are so many media outlets today and brand messages are more cluttered than ever. Ultimately, all this noise makes it harder for consumers to actually pay attention and engage with a brand. So what does it take for consumers to love and champion a brand? In a previous blog post, I listed a few tips that brands and companies should pay attention to in order to keep their best customers. The third tip I recommended was to reward customers. Rewards not only create a sense of belonging, but it also makes the consumer content and feel appreciated. Ultimately, this leads to a zealous consumer who will sing your praises and will tell the world (and fellow bloggers) about the wonderful experience. Luckily, I am not alone in praising the concept of rewarding.

In The New Champion Customers: Measuring Word-of-Mouth Activity Among Reward Program Members, a recent COLLOQUY study explains that members that participate in a loyalty-building effort, like rewards programs, are 70%more likely to actively recommend a product, service, or brand than the general population. Some of the more notable rewards programs are MyMarriot Rewards, MyCokeRewards and the Best Buy Reward Zone. The study was designed to “explore the intersection between consumers who participate in loyalty and reward programs and their Word-of-Mouth (WOM) activity regarding brands, Reward Programs and specific product categories.” The study polled more than 7,000 consumers in the U.S. and Canada. Of those who participated in rewards programs, 55% described themselves as brand champions. The majority of this group (68%) said they would recommend a program sponsor’s brand during the course of the next year. When asked why they are motivated to participate in W-O-M activity, respondents said: to tell manufacturers what I think (73%), to get smart about products and services (68%), to be the first to discover new items (68%), to get free product samples (63%) and to share my opinion with others (61%). (Check out the COLLOQUY study here.)

Based on findings from this study, and my own feelings on this topic, its seems obvious that people want to belong, desire a deeper relationship with brands and want to share their opinions with those brands and others around them. The companies and brands that want to hold on to their customers should listen to their needs, wants and comments in various places such as call centers, social networks, blogs and You Tube. People that feel compelled to share their opinions will in a major way. It’s happened in the past, and it will continue to happen. Rather than have disgruntled or disengaged customers, brands have an opportunity to make strong connections with their cusotmers and ultimately, build a relationship that could last a lifetime.