2007 was a pivotal time in the growth of BSP Rewards and 2008 looks like it could be our major breakout year.
The year started out with a great deal of momentum and it just kept going, and going and going…yes, just like the Duracell Bunny.
We added a great many merchants to our mall and then elevated the platform to the status of the largest, most complete web mall ever. It now contains over 700 national merchants, a discount merchandise catalog of over 200,000 discount items, over 100 gift cards from national merchants, and printable discounts coupons at 7000 neighborhood restaurants. In January we will add thousands of “printable” discount coupons for both local and national merchants. A pretty good running start for 2008!
During the year we also built many new private branded malls for an ever expanding list of clients and added hundreds of thousands of new members. Our list of branded web malls grew continuously with larger and larger companies coming on board. These companies included national companies such as Clipper Magazine (a division of Gannet), Edebit Pay (one of the nation’s premier issuers of debit cards), VBN.TV a virtual TV network), Nation Safe Drivers (a National Roadside assistance company) ….. to name a few. And that is only a small sampling to what we expect in 2008.
The first quarter of “08 looks as if the dam will break and a flood of new clients will start to roll in. We can’t name the companies yet as the paperwork is being finalized, but all I can say is WOW! Not only are they big names, but they their private branded malls should be generating a continuous influx of new members – members that will be shopping in our mall and be available for our cross marketing efforts.
The increased membership this coming year should produce substantially enhanced income. 2008 will be a year of initiatives as we plan on commencing advertising revenue and income generating special promotions.
I won’t outline our expansion plans yet, but keep tuned. The first quarter is upon us and expect it to be an exciting prelude to the months that follow.
Happy New Year!!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Holiday Party
…A good time was had by all.
Last Friday we held our annual Holiday Party and if I say so myself, it was a lot of fun.
We hold the party every year and each year it gets a little bigger and better the year before. This party was no exception.
Ema and James are to organizers and manage to come up with a different, unique and outstanding theme each time. I don’t know how where all of their ideas come from but they were again at the top of their game.
Ema plans, invites, decorates and in charge of all the food. James is in charge of the games. (Silly as the games are they always provide great entertainment and belly laughs)
We always have the party in our offices. Where other companies normally hold theirs at a restaurant, we find that would be much too cold. We didn’t want an “eat and run” atmosphere that is generated by a restaurant setting -we like the team to stay around for more than just the meal.
BSP Rewards prides itself on a family work place and that goes double when it is time to celebrate. We have a very close knit group of (great) employees that work along, and get along, fabulously as an integrated team. An office get together gives us the opportunity to sit and chat like friends and even play some party games, laugh, and award prizes. It is like attending a game show – with food.
All in all, everyone had a terrific time and we all look forward to an even bigger party next year with and expand team to handle all of the new clients coming on board.
We wish all of you, a Happy Holidays and healthy and prosperous New Year!!!
…More next week
Monday, December 10, 2007
Gift Cards
Gift cards are wonderful for the consumer - and we are in business to please the consumer.
BSP Rewards offers approximately 100 gift cards from a variety of national brands. These include cards from BP Gas Cards to the Gap, Macy’s to Timberland…Office Depot to Best Buy, Target to Sears and Chili’s to Red Lobster – to name a few.
The best of the best are offered because that is what our member expect and deserve.
We sell all of cards at face value (just like other gift card sites do) BUT we give back rebate points (like others DON’T DO). We look at gift cards from a different point of view. We sell a lot of gift cards (a real lot) but never planned to make much money on them.
As I stated, they are for our member’s convenience AND they fit perfectly into our platform and plan. To us, gift cards are a marketing tool.
We have built the largest mall on the web between our on-line merchants, gift cards, restaurants, a 200,000-item discount catalog, and soon thousands of discount coupons; the gift cards fit right in.
Whether of members shop our mall to get the gift cards, or they shop for gift cards to get to the mall…gift cards drive traffic. The results are to same – the more traffic, the more sales (and did I mention that our members love them).
We carry all of the gift cards in inventory so that we can fill all of the orders quickly. We even customize the card so that they can be delivered in the name of each branded site we build – and also carry the member’s special message. The enclosure can even feature items and messages to enhance the shopping experience.
Our member’s suggested that we create a printable “Everything Certificate” so they could print them at home. They wanted to give the recipient the opportunity to pick a card for the merchant of their choice. Of course we complied.
So you can see how the gift cards act as a marketing tool for the web mall and for our client’s ability to communicate to his members – with and end result of providing a world of good will and customer loyalty.
…More next week
Monday, December 3, 2007
Merchant Extra Benefits
Merchants want increased sales.
You don’t have to be a genius to guess that retailers want to stimulate more traffic and lower their cost of acquiring a customer. I guess that is why I figured it out.
Accordingly’ we believe that we have developed a merchant program that will cause a paradigm in the industry.
BSP Rewards work with merchants on 4 levels:
1. E-Commerce
2. Gift Cards
3. In-store Merchant
4. Branded Rewards Program
The first level is easy (E-commerce) …that we why we have acquired over 700 merchants in our web mall. We simply place the merchant in our mall and watch the sales occur. As the merchant only pays for success; his only cost is when a sale is actually consummated.
The differentiating point with the BSP program is that we place that merchant in every mall we build and brand for clients - and that number is north of 50 (as opposed to a single mall). By the way, we with new malls being launched all the time.
Then we cross market them to all the members, in all the malls, through monthly newsletters and other unique marketing programs. For instance, every time the member makes a purchase from the merchant they send a them an email confirmation - and we send one also. Double exposure!
The merchant also sends another email when the item ships, at which time we send one to them awarding their points - again double exposure!
And the beauty for the merchant is there is no cost for this advertising exposure:
1. To be listed in the mall
2. To be highlighted in newsletters
3. For the confirmation email
4. For the point award email
A pretty neat multi-prong advertising campaign - and it is all for FREE. No wonder BSP has the largest mall on the web.
The mall has now reached critical mass. We have come to the point that we turn down merchants every week who apply. Of course we will allow some additional merchants to participate…but only if the meet our criteria.
Next week I outline our strategy relative to gift cards.
You don’t have to be a genius to guess that retailers want to stimulate more traffic and lower their cost of acquiring a customer. I guess that is why I figured it out.
Accordingly’ we believe that we have developed a merchant program that will cause a paradigm in the industry.
BSP Rewards work with merchants on 4 levels:
1. E-Commerce
2. Gift Cards
3. In-store Merchant
4. Branded Rewards Program
The first level is easy (E-commerce) …that we why we have acquired over 700 merchants in our web mall. We simply place the merchant in our mall and watch the sales occur. As the merchant only pays for success; his only cost is when a sale is actually consummated.
The differentiating point with the BSP program is that we place that merchant in every mall we build and brand for clients - and that number is north of 50 (as opposed to a single mall). By the way, we with new malls being launched all the time.
Then we cross market them to all the members, in all the malls, through monthly newsletters and other unique marketing programs. For instance, every time the member makes a purchase from the merchant they send a them an email confirmation - and we send one also. Double exposure!
The merchant also sends another email when the item ships, at which time we send one to them awarding their points - again double exposure!
And the beauty for the merchant is there is no cost for this advertising exposure:
1. To be listed in the mall
2. To be highlighted in newsletters
3. For the confirmation email
4. For the point award email
A pretty neat multi-prong advertising campaign - and it is all for FREE. No wonder BSP has the largest mall on the web.
The mall has now reached critical mass. We have come to the point that we turn down merchants every week who apply. Of course we will allow some additional merchants to participate…but only if the meet our criteria.
Next week I outline our strategy relative to gift cards.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Our Clients...
Everyone wants loyal customer or members
It doesn’t matter if they are a retailer, a church, an association or a service….you want people to be loyal to you.
They say it is 10 times harder to get a new customer than to keep him/her. The cost of acquisition is very high so you had better make sure you keep them happy once you have them. Whether it cost you money to acquire a customer (member) or it’s the cost of time invested, anyway you look at it it’s expensive. BSP Rewards has come up with a way to keep the cost down.
Incentives and rewards that are awarded to members the client’s name, but they don’t pay for. We arranged for the rewards to be given be the participating merchants making it totally “merchant funded”.
All the rebates, coupons and discounts are funded by the over 700 merchants in our mall so that it doesn’t cost our clients one red cent, The only exception to that rule is if our client is a merchant them self and then we have it set up that it only costs him/her on a completed sale – and they choose the amount.
A typical client has customers (members). He presses a button and places all of them in the program. Remember, the program is private branded for him and is actually his program…we only administer it for him. The member is then given the option to opt out - but very few do as it is free to them and they can amount of money they can save by shopping in the mall.
It works like this.
They auto-enroll their members or customers.
We send them a welcome e-mail explaining this new, wonderful, benefit (branded for the client) telling them of this new service that they have been given. They begin to shop the mall and see how much money the can save. They receive an email with each purchase (branded for the client) telling them how many points they have earned (every points = $1.00).
The email directs them to click a link to see how many points they have. It can link to a landing page (branded for the client) to promote whatever that client wants. Once a month we send out an email newsletter (branded for the client) promoting him and a group of special offers.
The bottom line is their branded BSP Rewards mall is a great communication tool and the client’s members love it because every time they receive an email it means they are making money.
So, as I said, the program is a great incentive to visit the client’s site, creates a high volume of traffic and builds a high affinity towards them. It creates more loyalty to the client and that results in a great cost savings in both acquisition cost and retention cost. By offerings the Mall as a value added incentive to become a customer, or member, and then a continuous loyalty program to remain one; our clients establish an excellent tool that costs them very little. Add that to the value of being able to have a consistent communication vehicle and it is a winning situation all around.
And if you are a merchant, you have additional benefits…but that’s a story for next week.
It doesn’t matter if they are a retailer, a church, an association or a service….you want people to be loyal to you.
They say it is 10 times harder to get a new customer than to keep him/her. The cost of acquisition is very high so you had better make sure you keep them happy once you have them. Whether it cost you money to acquire a customer (member) or it’s the cost of time invested, anyway you look at it it’s expensive. BSP Rewards has come up with a way to keep the cost down.
Incentives and rewards that are awarded to members the client’s name, but they don’t pay for. We arranged for the rewards to be given be the participating merchants making it totally “merchant funded”.
All the rebates, coupons and discounts are funded by the over 700 merchants in our mall so that it doesn’t cost our clients one red cent, The only exception to that rule is if our client is a merchant them self and then we have it set up that it only costs him/her on a completed sale – and they choose the amount.
A typical client has customers (members). He presses a button and places all of them in the program. Remember, the program is private branded for him and is actually his program…we only administer it for him. The member is then given the option to opt out - but very few do as it is free to them and they can amount of money they can save by shopping in the mall.
It works like this.
They auto-enroll their members or customers.
We send them a welcome e-mail explaining this new, wonderful, benefit (branded for the client) telling them of this new service that they have been given. They begin to shop the mall and see how much money the can save. They receive an email with each purchase (branded for the client) telling them how many points they have earned (every points = $1.00).
The email directs them to click a link to see how many points they have. It can link to a landing page (branded for the client) to promote whatever that client wants. Once a month we send out an email newsletter (branded for the client) promoting him and a group of special offers.
The bottom line is their branded BSP Rewards mall is a great communication tool and the client’s members love it because every time they receive an email it means they are making money.
So, as I said, the program is a great incentive to visit the client’s site, creates a high volume of traffic and builds a high affinity towards them. It creates more loyalty to the client and that results in a great cost savings in both acquisition cost and retention cost. By offerings the Mall as a value added incentive to become a customer, or member, and then a continuous loyalty program to remain one; our clients establish an excellent tool that costs them very little. Add that to the value of being able to have a consistent communication vehicle and it is a winning situation all around.
And if you are a merchant, you have additional benefits…but that’s a story for next week.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Discount Coupons
Discount coupons are both new and old for BSP Rewards.
We have had one form of discount coupons for some time now. Members can click on the restaurant tab, click on restaurants.com and voila you are there. They can then see over 7000 neighborhood restaurants to choose from.
There are 3 neat things about it. Firstly, they are printable coupons; that means that they can be used the minute they came off your printer. 2nd, the coupons average a 60% discount… which is pretty darn neat. And to top it off, an additional 5% in rebates are earned with each coupon. It makes me hungry just to think about it. I have enjoyed many a good meal and they taste even better with a 60% discount.
The other coupon program has not launched yet…so you are the first to know. It will feature discount coupons from thousands of local, and some national, merchants. BSP has built a rewards mall for Clipper Magazine, known as My Clipper Rewards and can be seen at www.bsprewards.com/myclipper .
In turn Clipper coupons will be offered on all of BSP rewards sites as a value added feature. There will be no rewards given with these coupons BUT they will be instantly printable and offer great discounts at all sorts of local merchants from shoes to yogurt.
A special tab will be added to the sites that link directly to the coupon site. The Members will the be able to search for local merchants by zip code, print the coupon ad take it into the local merchant and receive their special price.
This new feature is scheduled to launch in December so be sure to visit one of the many private branded BSP malls to see it in action.
…more next week.
We have had one form of discount coupons for some time now. Members can click on the restaurant tab, click on restaurants.com and voila you are there. They can then see over 7000 neighborhood restaurants to choose from.
There are 3 neat things about it. Firstly, they are printable coupons; that means that they can be used the minute they came off your printer. 2nd, the coupons average a 60% discount… which is pretty darn neat. And to top it off, an additional 5% in rebates are earned with each coupon. It makes me hungry just to think about it. I have enjoyed many a good meal and they taste even better with a 60% discount.
The other coupon program has not launched yet…so you are the first to know. It will feature discount coupons from thousands of local, and some national, merchants. BSP has built a rewards mall for Clipper Magazine, known as My Clipper Rewards and can be seen at www.bsprewards.com/myclipper .
In turn Clipper coupons will be offered on all of BSP rewards sites as a value added feature. There will be no rewards given with these coupons BUT they will be instantly printable and offer great discounts at all sorts of local merchants from shoes to yogurt.
A special tab will be added to the sites that link directly to the coupon site. The Members will the be able to search for local merchants by zip code, print the coupon ad take it into the local merchant and receive their special price.
This new feature is scheduled to launch in December so be sure to visit one of the many private branded BSP malls to see it in action.
…more next week.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Additional Features
So far I have only talked about the 700+ stores in the mall and the 100+ gift card selections. There is a lot more to the BSP Rewards Mall to puff our chest about that I would like you to know about.
When we looked around at all the rewards sites we found them to be lacking in many aspects (lucky for us). Sure they all had a way to earn rewards and a way to redeem them…but only in a limited manner. They had some merchants (far fewer than BSP), and some items you could redeem for (like a limited catalog or limited stores). At many of the sites they made it almost impossible to know what you reward value was (think airline miles). These limitations showed us an opening in the market and we took advantage of it.
First of all we made it simple. At BSP Rewards every point is worth a dollar. For instance if you buy a gift card for us for Macy’s you receive 7%. Say you were going to Cousin Gene’s daughter’s wedding and purchased a Macy’s gift card for $200. You would earn $14. Easy, huh?
Next we wanted to allow for an abundant amount of choices…. over and above our over 700 merchants and gift card selection. So we researched the market and found suppliers of items that would add even more value to our mall. We already had the largest mall on the web, but that wasn’t enough for us. Sure we wanted the biggest, but we also wanted to best…for our members.
So in addition to the wide variety of national chain restaurants, we added over 7000 local restaurants. All you have to do was search by zip code and find your favorite local eatery. You can then immediately print out a coupon for a much as a 60% discount and then take it to that restaurant and use it. By the way, you get an extra 10% in points on top of the discount.
But that still wasn’t enough. We wanted more! So we sought out a supplier with a catalog of over 200,000 discounted items and added that to our mall. We found one that not only offered to vast selection, but also offered the most savings. Then we decided to give reward points on top of the discounts. Wow…we wanted to be sure that savings would be stupendous.
Oh, did I forget to mention the printable discount coupons for all sorts of great local merchants around the country...thousands in fact.
I guess I’ll tell you about that next week.
When we looked around at all the rewards sites we found them to be lacking in many aspects (lucky for us). Sure they all had a way to earn rewards and a way to redeem them…but only in a limited manner. They had some merchants (far fewer than BSP), and some items you could redeem for (like a limited catalog or limited stores). At many of the sites they made it almost impossible to know what you reward value was (think airline miles). These limitations showed us an opening in the market and we took advantage of it.
First of all we made it simple. At BSP Rewards every point is worth a dollar. For instance if you buy a gift card for us for Macy’s you receive 7%. Say you were going to Cousin Gene’s daughter’s wedding and purchased a Macy’s gift card for $200. You would earn $14. Easy, huh?
Next we wanted to allow for an abundant amount of choices…. over and above our over 700 merchants and gift card selection. So we researched the market and found suppliers of items that would add even more value to our mall. We already had the largest mall on the web, but that wasn’t enough for us. Sure we wanted the biggest, but we also wanted to best…for our members.
So in addition to the wide variety of national chain restaurants, we added over 7000 local restaurants. All you have to do was search by zip code and find your favorite local eatery. You can then immediately print out a coupon for a much as a 60% discount and then take it to that restaurant and use it. By the way, you get an extra 10% in points on top of the discount.
But that still wasn’t enough. We wanted more! So we sought out a supplier with a catalog of over 200,000 discounted items and added that to our mall. We found one that not only offered to vast selection, but also offered the most savings. Then we decided to give reward points on top of the discounts. Wow…we wanted to be sure that savings would be stupendous.
Oh, did I forget to mention the printable discount coupons for all sorts of great local merchants around the country...thousands in fact.
I guess I’ll tell you about that next week.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Common Currency
BSP Rewards is unique in that it is designed as program that allows the member to collect rewards from over seven hundred merchants as if they were a single entity.
Before I explain that lets put aside the rewards earned when you use your credit card as that is a given. Sure you earn those rewards as a start, but BSP rewards are on top of and in addition to those rewards.
Individual merchants offer rewards when you purchase form them. They then allow you to use their rewards only on their store. The bottom line is you earn slowly (only for that store) and have limited use of those rewards (only from that store).
We felt there ought to be a better way; a way to earn and redeem rewards. Our “common cash value rewards” does just that. Members earn from over 700 stores and spend them back for anything and everything at any store(s), no matter who they earned then from. In other words – earn rewards from Macy’s, Target, or Chili’s, etc., and redeem at Sear’s, Overstock.com, BP gas stations or any sore in the network.
Hence, BSP Rewards was born where Members (Membership is FREE) can shop at over 700 merchants (the web largest one stop shopping mall), accumulate common currency rewards, have an abundant number of places to spend them, including a catalog of 200,000 discounted items they can choose from - if they wish.
And if that is not enough we give them even greater choice – they can load all the points they earn as in cash onto a stored value MasterCard or Discover Card. They can then take the card, and spend their reward points, at any location in the world that honors those MasterCard and Discover (which is just about everywhere).
If they happen to spend them back in within the BSP network they can even earn points on points (Pretty neat).
So every time they earn additional point by shopping or redeeming at a participating merchant they receive points, then with a click of their mouse those points are automatically loaded to their card. (Double neat)….and they are ready to earn and spend again.
I have lots more “stuff” to tell you about. I can hardly wait to see what I have got to say.
Before I explain that lets put aside the rewards earned when you use your credit card as that is a given. Sure you earn those rewards as a start, but BSP rewards are on top of and in addition to those rewards.
Individual merchants offer rewards when you purchase form them. They then allow you to use their rewards only on their store. The bottom line is you earn slowly (only for that store) and have limited use of those rewards (only from that store).
We felt there ought to be a better way; a way to earn and redeem rewards. Our “common cash value rewards” does just that. Members earn from over 700 stores and spend them back for anything and everything at any store(s), no matter who they earned then from. In other words – earn rewards from Macy’s, Target, or Chili’s, etc., and redeem at Sear’s, Overstock.com, BP gas stations or any sore in the network.
Hence, BSP Rewards was born where Members (Membership is FREE) can shop at over 700 merchants (the web largest one stop shopping mall), accumulate common currency rewards, have an abundant number of places to spend them, including a catalog of 200,000 discounted items they can choose from - if they wish.
And if that is not enough we give them even greater choice – they can load all the points they earn as in cash onto a stored value MasterCard or Discover Card. They can then take the card, and spend their reward points, at any location in the world that honors those MasterCard and Discover (which is just about everywhere).
If they happen to spend them back in within the BSP network they can even earn points on points (Pretty neat).
So every time they earn additional point by shopping or redeeming at a participating merchant they receive points, then with a click of their mouse those points are automatically loaded to their card. (Double neat)….and they are ready to earn and spend again.
I have lots more “stuff” to tell you about. I can hardly wait to see what I have got to say.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Branded Malls and Our Customers...
Last week I wrote about customer service and concentrated on our members and how we take excellent care of them. They are 1 of the 2 aspects of our business that we can’t do without.
The others are not customers of the mall but are equally as important…and maybe a mite more. Those are the customers that we build private branded mall for, because without them we wouldn’t have the first.
We only build private branded malls - and do not build any that are marketed directly to members. In other words consumers can only join BSP Rewards through a sponsoring site. Having said that I should point out the conundrum of our business – how do you get the members without the organization? The simple answer is one at a time for most rewards companies. Since we do not try and obtain 1 member as a time our job is a lot more complex.
This is where customer service comes in. It is in the form of two parts. The first part is in regards to the client (the member provider) while the second part relates to the actual member. We covered the member last week so this week it is the clients turn.
We have a dedicated staff that handles the clients and makes sure that they are responded to quickly. It commences upon agreement at which time they receive a start up kit which shows all of the customization available. Then they are placed in the production schedule and then a go through a final check before going live.
After that it is an ongoing task to make sure that thing go smoothly and marketing materials are forwarded including as ongoing and continuing effort which includes a viral email campaign and a monthly newsletter to their entire database.
The work is coordinated by Ema who is a gem. She works directly with the production department to make sure all goes smoothly and customizes the marketing material to make sure the clients message goes out properly. To top it off she works directly with the controller and makes sure that the clients are billed on time. The truth be known, she keeps the joint jumpin”….and watch out for her when she is on a roll.
The concept is simple yet complex. A branded web mall is ordered, a member shops at over 700 participating merchant web site and earns rewards. All of the rewards accumulate as a common currency – cash- and can be spent anywhere. How they get there is more complex…but another day.
The others are not customers of the mall but are equally as important…and maybe a mite more. Those are the customers that we build private branded mall for, because without them we wouldn’t have the first.
We only build private branded malls - and do not build any that are marketed directly to members. In other words consumers can only join BSP Rewards through a sponsoring site. Having said that I should point out the conundrum of our business – how do you get the members without the organization? The simple answer is one at a time for most rewards companies. Since we do not try and obtain 1 member as a time our job is a lot more complex.
This is where customer service comes in. It is in the form of two parts. The first part is in regards to the client (the member provider) while the second part relates to the actual member. We covered the member last week so this week it is the clients turn.
We have a dedicated staff that handles the clients and makes sure that they are responded to quickly. It commences upon agreement at which time they receive a start up kit which shows all of the customization available. Then they are placed in the production schedule and then a go through a final check before going live.
After that it is an ongoing task to make sure that thing go smoothly and marketing materials are forwarded including as ongoing and continuing effort which includes a viral email campaign and a monthly newsletter to their entire database.
The work is coordinated by Ema who is a gem. She works directly with the production department to make sure all goes smoothly and customizes the marketing material to make sure the clients message goes out properly. To top it off she works directly with the controller and makes sure that the clients are billed on time. The truth be known, she keeps the joint jumpin”….and watch out for her when she is on a roll.
The concept is simple yet complex. A branded web mall is ordered, a member shops at over 700 participating merchant web site and earns rewards. All of the rewards accumulate as a common currency – cash- and can be spent anywhere. How they get there is more complex…but another day.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Our customer service personnel...
10/22/07 Last week I spoke about the “Members Only” techies group. This week we put a little pink into the blog…our customer service people.
I am not being sexist when I say “pink”. Christina, our Customer Service Manager, thinks pink. You almost have to walk past her computer wearing sunglasses. Every program from Outlook, to Customer Service records and Merchant Purchase Orders swims in hot, iridescent pink. Even her cell phone is pink.
Having said that, and at the risk of a pun, Christina is the one that keeps BSP Rewards customers feeling in the pink. Whether it is a question about an order or details relative to how the rewards mall works, she is the answer lady. When she joined us it took her all of 2 days to learn the system and on the third day she started improving it. Lucky us!
Bethany is our quiet busy bee. She is the coordinator to make sure that all gift card orders are logged in and fulfilled properly and that the shipments go out in a timely manner. I guess it is a high adrenalin position because it doesn’t matter how may vanilla cupcakes she eats, she stays wonderfully slim (Yes, I envy her metabolism).
Jan is the one that double checks and packs the orders. She is precise but processes the shipments in a short order. I must admit that I have a special place in my heart for her even though she is the one person in the organization that doesn’t fully appreciate my constant singing (Others may feel the same, but Jan is the spokesperson).
Here we are nearing the big holiday season and happily our summer time helper Brandon will be off from college and helping us with the ever increasing number of orders. The girls, women, females (to be politically correct) all love him.
The Customer Service Group fully understands, and wonderfully performs, to our 2 basic operating premises.
Our business is not that of just operating the internet’s largest most complete rewards mall. Our business is pure and simple – 110% Customer Service.
Good communication will eliminate 98% of the problems in the world.
Customer service is the center of the BSP Rewards program and they maintain a great working relationship with the other departments and that helps us maintain our “Happy Member” philosophy.
Clients are of course customers as well…but that will be the subject of next week’s blog.
I am not being sexist when I say “pink”. Christina, our Customer Service Manager, thinks pink. You almost have to walk past her computer wearing sunglasses. Every program from Outlook, to Customer Service records and Merchant Purchase Orders swims in hot, iridescent pink. Even her cell phone is pink.
Having said that, and at the risk of a pun, Christina is the one that keeps BSP Rewards customers feeling in the pink. Whether it is a question about an order or details relative to how the rewards mall works, she is the answer lady. When she joined us it took her all of 2 days to learn the system and on the third day she started improving it. Lucky us!
Bethany is our quiet busy bee. She is the coordinator to make sure that all gift card orders are logged in and fulfilled properly and that the shipments go out in a timely manner. I guess it is a high adrenalin position because it doesn’t matter how may vanilla cupcakes she eats, she stays wonderfully slim (Yes, I envy her metabolism).
Jan is the one that double checks and packs the orders. She is precise but processes the shipments in a short order. I must admit that I have a special place in my heart for her even though she is the one person in the organization that doesn’t fully appreciate my constant singing (Others may feel the same, but Jan is the spokesperson).
Here we are nearing the big holiday season and happily our summer time helper Brandon will be off from college and helping us with the ever increasing number of orders. The girls, women, females (to be politically correct) all love him.
The Customer Service Group fully understands, and wonderfully performs, to our 2 basic operating premises.
Our business is not that of just operating the internet’s largest most complete rewards mall. Our business is pure and simple – 110% Customer Service.
Good communication will eliminate 98% of the problems in the world.
Customer service is the center of the BSP Rewards program and they maintain a great working relationship with the other departments and that helps us maintain our “Happy Member” philosophy.
Clients are of course customers as well…but that will be the subject of next week’s blog.
Monday, October 15, 2007
The BSP Rewards Team...
I have been rambling on about BSP Rewards and the industry for some weeks now. Hopefully, I have given you some insight into our company, the industry, our philosophy and our growth. I guess the time has arrived to give credit where it is due.
As a coach and manager of our team I play one of the roles in our success. On the other hand, without the right players - I could coach and manage (as they say) until the cows come home and never reach our goal.
Accordingly, today and in the coming weeks, I would like to shine the spotlight on some highly talented and dedicated people. Today’s blog is about our tech team.
As I am fond of saying, “my hands were never meant for anything technical or brain surgery”. My most challenging task is to think up, and then ask for, the impossible - and then watch the techie team step up to the challenge…and then they tweak and enhance the concept to new heights.
James is our head “technoid” and the guy that developed our platform. He is not only a coder extraordinaire but also a person that understands our model; our customer profiles and the overwhelming need to expand and continuously advance the programs ahead of anyone else in our space …while focusing on the ever-evolving web user experience. Just to state that he is up for the task would really be a gross understatement.
James has been with us from day one and has been integral to helping us attain the heights we have reached. (By the way, he argues at about every one of my over the edge ideas and concepts (plus a few of his own) and then finds a way to improve on it and create the code in half the time he promises…what a guy!).
Our tech team has a “non-welcome” mat in front of their door that says “Members Only”. (Sometimes they are nice enough to give myself and other staff members a floor pass to stop in and visit). Each one of the technoids is a jewel in their own right.
James runs his group with a Velvet Revolver (his favorite band). They work extremely hard and operate as a well-oiled team – each assisting, and also relying upon, the others.
Dan is the guy that works with our web mall affiliates and merchants making sure that all transactions are accounted for and also brings in special deals and promotions for our members. He has a great disposition and handles the multitude of orders and member inquiries with a smile on his face. It is probably that smile, face (and body builder physique) that makes him so popular with the ladies of the world.
On the other hand, Rick is the quietest of the group. He is our graphics guru and has a knack for not only web graphics but is now designing a complete campaign of print marketing that will be customized and private labeled for our clients. One of the reasons he may by on the quiet side is that he just got married a few weeks ago and he is probably contemplating what a good move that was.
The fourth member of the tech team is Bruce. Sure Bruce does web design and html coding (and my personal site web designer), but he pitches in where others fear to tread. If we have a computer problem or new software to install and tweak…he is Johnny on the spot (and of course James is there if needed). Additionally, if we need to re-do a storage room, he is just as energetic about handling that as well (without James’ assistance I might add). We are now developing a new Yahoo Store program for one of our co-ventures. Who is the guy we call on? It is Bruce of course. By the way, if you ever pass by at lunch time and see someone fishing behind our offices…it is also Bruce of course.
…talk to you again next week
As a coach and manager of our team I play one of the roles in our success. On the other hand, without the right players - I could coach and manage (as they say) until the cows come home and never reach our goal.
Accordingly, today and in the coming weeks, I would like to shine the spotlight on some highly talented and dedicated people. Today’s blog is about our tech team.
As I am fond of saying, “my hands were never meant for anything technical or brain surgery”. My most challenging task is to think up, and then ask for, the impossible - and then watch the techie team step up to the challenge…and then they tweak and enhance the concept to new heights.
James is our head “technoid” and the guy that developed our platform. He is not only a coder extraordinaire but also a person that understands our model; our customer profiles and the overwhelming need to expand and continuously advance the programs ahead of anyone else in our space …while focusing on the ever-evolving web user experience. Just to state that he is up for the task would really be a gross understatement.
James has been with us from day one and has been integral to helping us attain the heights we have reached. (By the way, he argues at about every one of my over the edge ideas and concepts (plus a few of his own) and then finds a way to improve on it and create the code in half the time he promises…what a guy!).
Our tech team has a “non-welcome” mat in front of their door that says “Members Only”. (Sometimes they are nice enough to give myself and other staff members a floor pass to stop in and visit). Each one of the technoids is a jewel in their own right.
James runs his group with a Velvet Revolver (his favorite band). They work extremely hard and operate as a well-oiled team – each assisting, and also relying upon, the others.
Dan is the guy that works with our web mall affiliates and merchants making sure that all transactions are accounted for and also brings in special deals and promotions for our members. He has a great disposition and handles the multitude of orders and member inquiries with a smile on his face. It is probably that smile, face (and body builder physique) that makes him so popular with the ladies of the world.
On the other hand, Rick is the quietest of the group. He is our graphics guru and has a knack for not only web graphics but is now designing a complete campaign of print marketing that will be customized and private labeled for our clients. One of the reasons he may by on the quiet side is that he just got married a few weeks ago and he is probably contemplating what a good move that was.
The fourth member of the tech team is Bruce. Sure Bruce does web design and html coding (and my personal site web designer), but he pitches in where others fear to tread. If we have a computer problem or new software to install and tweak…he is Johnny on the spot (and of course James is there if needed). Additionally, if we need to re-do a storage room, he is just as energetic about handling that as well (without James’ assistance I might add). We are now developing a new Yahoo Store program for one of our co-ventures. Who is the guy we call on? It is Bruce of course. By the way, if you ever pass by at lunch time and see someone fishing behind our offices…it is also Bruce of course.
…talk to you again next week
Monday, October 8, 2007
BSP Rewards and the customer...
The loyalty/rewards web mall space is a crowded one so it takes a great deal of knowledge, power, creativity and uniqueness to break out of the pack.
To begin with, it helps to build the largest web mall of its kind…and we have done that. The next move is to keep expanding the mall with additional great name brand merchants and then add features and functions not available elsewhere.
As of this date, our web mall includes in excess of 700 of the nation’s finest merchants (and next month it will increase, as will the month after, and so on). The question of course is what makes one mall or loyalty program differentiate itself from another. As I mentioned previously, it comes down to building a proprietary platform that fits the needs and wish list of all participating parties….customers/members, merchants, clients and member provider organizations.
Today’s blog will review what we consider the most important element of the equation – the customer member. If they don’t shop and enjoy that experience, then no one wins.
I am about to give you a 50,000 foot, jet speed overview from the customer/member point of view. I am doing this from that height of course; to maintain a somewhat stealth mode relative to would be competitors.
So, what is on the consumer/user’s wish list? (These among others)
1. Being able to shop online at over 700 merchants with the click of a button… in an all encompassing single web mall. (While earning reward points)
2. Being able to purchase over 100 national gift cards that can be utilized right in all of the respective brick and mortar stores. (While earning reward points)
3. To shop in the mall or purchase gift cards and catalog items using any credit or debit card in their wallet and receive on top of rewards
4. The added value of earning up to 15%+ rewards on top of credit card rewards
5. The widest variety of stores to earn rewards from in order to earn faster
6. The ability to accumulate the rewards from all stores as a common currency
7. The ability to spend those rewards for anything and everything at participating merchants
8. The ability to earn additional rewards when they spend their rewards at participating merchants
9. The flexibility of spending their rewards even at non-participating merchants (utilizing a free BSP or affiliated stored value MasterCard or Discover Card)
10. The opportunity to purchase over 200,000 “discounted” items from a catalog and earn reward rebates on top of the discounts
11. The instant gratification of being able to “immediately print and use” discount coupons from tens of thousands of local restaurants and local merchants. (A great many of which include reward points)
12. Being able to earn rewards directly in-store (the beta program is launched)
Of course BSP Rewards fulfills all of these elements plus additional feature (pretty bright of us, huh!).
Well, I think you get the overview idea – our primary concern is all about offering each of our customer/members the ultimate experience, rewards and benefit when shopping through their own individual shopping mall.
Next week…more to come.
To begin with, it helps to build the largest web mall of its kind…and we have done that. The next move is to keep expanding the mall with additional great name brand merchants and then add features and functions not available elsewhere.
As of this date, our web mall includes in excess of 700 of the nation’s finest merchants (and next month it will increase, as will the month after, and so on). The question of course is what makes one mall or loyalty program differentiate itself from another. As I mentioned previously, it comes down to building a proprietary platform that fits the needs and wish list of all participating parties….customers/members, merchants, clients and member provider organizations.
Today’s blog will review what we consider the most important element of the equation – the customer member. If they don’t shop and enjoy that experience, then no one wins.
I am about to give you a 50,000 foot, jet speed overview from the customer/member point of view. I am doing this from that height of course; to maintain a somewhat stealth mode relative to would be competitors.
So, what is on the consumer/user’s wish list? (These among others)
1. Being able to shop online at over 700 merchants with the click of a button… in an all encompassing single web mall. (While earning reward points)
2. Being able to purchase over 100 national gift cards that can be utilized right in all of the respective brick and mortar stores. (While earning reward points)
3. To shop in the mall or purchase gift cards and catalog items using any credit or debit card in their wallet and receive on top of rewards
4. The added value of earning up to 15%+ rewards on top of credit card rewards
5. The widest variety of stores to earn rewards from in order to earn faster
6. The ability to accumulate the rewards from all stores as a common currency
7. The ability to spend those rewards for anything and everything at participating merchants
8. The ability to earn additional rewards when they spend their rewards at participating merchants
9. The flexibility of spending their rewards even at non-participating merchants (utilizing a free BSP or affiliated stored value MasterCard or Discover Card)
10. The opportunity to purchase over 200,000 “discounted” items from a catalog and earn reward rebates on top of the discounts
11. The instant gratification of being able to “immediately print and use” discount coupons from tens of thousands of local restaurants and local merchants. (A great many of which include reward points)
12. Being able to earn rewards directly in-store (the beta program is launched)
Of course BSP Rewards fulfills all of these elements plus additional feature (pretty bright of us, huh!).
Well, I think you get the overview idea – our primary concern is all about offering each of our customer/members the ultimate experience, rewards and benefit when shopping through their own individual shopping mall.
Next week…more to come.
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Chicago Motivation Trade Show...
I have to interrupt my historical dialog this week as I traveled to Chicago for the Motivation Trade Show and the show was interesting enough to discuss.
It was much more attention grabbing for us this year than it was in 2006….this time, almost every merchant and distributor was already doing business with us or had heard of us through the grapevine. They were anxious to discuss an initiation or expansion of gift card relationship. It was nice to know that we had reached the point of being courted.
We already have over 100 national merchant gift card in our program and the time had come for us to selectively add only those that we thought would be of interest to our expanding member base. Happily we did find a few and the additions will bring our expansive web mall to over 700 total merchants. (Boy, we have come a long way in the last year).
According to a survey by Discover Card, 58% of respondents said they would be "thrilled" to receive a gift card because they could buy what they want, and another 26% said they would be "touched" by the giver's thoughtfulness. Respondents overwhelmingly feel that gift cards are a thoughtful gift. The survey also revealed that 76% of respondents will consider giving a gift card because it ensures the recipient will ultimately get what he or she truly wants. Among the other leading reasons why gift givers will consider gift cards this year, 65% said they were easy and convenient for both the giver and the receiver, while 64% favor them because they provide the recipient with multiple purchasing options.
While we are on the subject of gift cards, I ought to mention that cards are still only a small percentage of our mall business. Although we sell the gift cards at face value (a must), we do offer points back to the members and participating non-profit member providers. Once you factor in the credit card and fulfillment costs the margins are relatively small.
So why do we do dedicate a category to gift cards? First of all, our members love them and that is of primary concern to us. It is also a marketing tool that creates increased member purchase activity in the main mall itself. And of course, the added benefit is that the purchase volume helps enhance our relationship with the merchants.
The show was very successful for us and we look forward to next year with a great deal of anticipation. Our membership base is growing very rapidly and our sales will grow even more so. Next year, we expect to be elevated to the red carpet and champagne star treatment.
…..more next week.
It was much more attention grabbing for us this year than it was in 2006….this time, almost every merchant and distributor was already doing business with us or had heard of us through the grapevine. They were anxious to discuss an initiation or expansion of gift card relationship. It was nice to know that we had reached the point of being courted.
We already have over 100 national merchant gift card in our program and the time had come for us to selectively add only those that we thought would be of interest to our expanding member base. Happily we did find a few and the additions will bring our expansive web mall to over 700 total merchants. (Boy, we have come a long way in the last year).
According to a survey by Discover Card, 58% of respondents said they would be "thrilled" to receive a gift card because they could buy what they want, and another 26% said they would be "touched" by the giver's thoughtfulness. Respondents overwhelmingly feel that gift cards are a thoughtful gift. The survey also revealed that 76% of respondents will consider giving a gift card because it ensures the recipient will ultimately get what he or she truly wants. Among the other leading reasons why gift givers will consider gift cards this year, 65% said they were easy and convenient for both the giver and the receiver, while 64% favor them because they provide the recipient with multiple purchasing options.
While we are on the subject of gift cards, I ought to mention that cards are still only a small percentage of our mall business. Although we sell the gift cards at face value (a must), we do offer points back to the members and participating non-profit member providers. Once you factor in the credit card and fulfillment costs the margins are relatively small.
So why do we do dedicate a category to gift cards? First of all, our members love them and that is of primary concern to us. It is also a marketing tool that creates increased member purchase activity in the main mall itself. And of course, the added benefit is that the purchase volume helps enhance our relationship with the merchants.
The show was very successful for us and we look forward to next year with a great deal of anticipation. Our membership base is growing very rapidly and our sales will grow even more so. Next year, we expect to be elevated to the red carpet and champagne star treatment.
…..more next week.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Merchants and Affiliates...
Retailers are continually endeavoring to understand the evolutionary metrics of their customers. The most difficult demographic and shopping profile analytics occur in the on-line space, as that arena does not have the historical data available compared to long standing, traditional brick and mortar sales and acts as a continuous moving target.
Most web merchants, and multi-channel merchants, rely heavily on Internet affiliate programs to drive traffic and sales to their sites. In this case, the debate has always been – quantity vs. quality. The old sales rule of 80-20 seems to be closer to 90-10 relative to affiliate driven traffic – with big box merchants standing on both sides of the equation.
At this point in time our branded BSP Rewards Malls are almost 100% web based (with a few test exceptions). We have researched the space extensively and it seems that we have built the largest on-line mall encompassing nearly 700 merchants, over 100 gift card merchants, over 7000 local restaurants, a catalog of over 200,000 discounted merchandise items and a soon to be launched discount coupon program that will include hundreds of thousands of in-store merchant locations.
Standard affiliates programs drive traffic and sales but we designed our model to concentrate on the high affinity (quality) programs that drive the most traffic/sales - affinity loyalty.
Our name, BSP is an acronym for Branded Service Provider. We are the engine, data base maintenance, communication, viral marketing, customer service, etc. – private branded platform for a variety of for profit and non-profit organizations. Accordingly, there is a degree of affinity that ranges from low to high depending upon the client and their organization type and their relationship with their customers and members.
We have built many private branded malls and our clients have stated a wide variety of reasons to have us do so. The reasons vary and are multiple ranging from loyalty, continuity and value added benefit to enhanced traffic, sales, awareness, continuous communication, speed to market, low cost of set up/administration and in some cases – revenue share. They particularly like the fact that our program is MERCHANT FUNDED (by the nearly 700 participating merchants) and they as a client, reap the benefits on an extremely low to even a no cost basis.
So now let’s get back to the loyalty aspect of today’s blog (as I seem to have delved deeper into the reasons rather than just the results).
Our clients have a customer and/or member base that have a varying degree of affinity and loyalty to them. We build branded programs for these clients and the clients then market the program as their own (which it is) - to their database. Accordingly, the client is in reality, our affiliate therefore brings of much higher quality to the table than if we targeted to a non-related quantity of non-interested affiliates that we could acquire through affiliate programs.
Accordingly, we are becoming a high sales producer for our participating merchants as we encompass a higher affinity, more motivated, shopper. We combine a super mall with the added incentive of giving our shoppers cash value points from every single participating merchants which of course produces- a large number of motivated shoppers. Especially when that shopper can accumulate the points from all as a “common currency” and spend them back everywhere for virtually everything they can imagine.
Our clients and merchant partners are seeing have seen industry statistics whereby the highest traffic and sales come from loyalty program members, and especially if those shoppers receive added value in the form of desired rebates.
According to the September 2007 issue of Internet Retailer Magazine, merchants benefit to a greater degree when sales are generated from loyalty sites (like the BSP Branded Malls are) as they offer something that the retailers can’t offer themselves – affinity relationships, and in our case, common currency rebates. The research proves that customers visit their loyalty sites more regularly than they do a particular merchant site and having a presence on those affinity sites is a valuable traffic driver to those merchants.
The bottom line is that loyalty sites encompass a higher-grade customer, who visits their affinity mall more often, and has a particular desire to help their organization, therefore drives a higher degree of traffic and sales to participating merchants. The results are enhanced further when the customer is automatically given a cash value added incentive with their purchase.
Hence, BSP has developed a program that sells merchant gift cards, drives sales to merchant web sites, and is advancing inroads into brick and mortar locations – therefore having the ability to add revenue for all 3 of the merchant divisions. …How sweet it is.
Staying ahead of the curve regarding content, merchants, enhanced incentives and increased member benefits is the interesting part of the game……..again that is another story for another time.
Most web merchants, and multi-channel merchants, rely heavily on Internet affiliate programs to drive traffic and sales to their sites. In this case, the debate has always been – quantity vs. quality. The old sales rule of 80-20 seems to be closer to 90-10 relative to affiliate driven traffic – with big box merchants standing on both sides of the equation.
At this point in time our branded BSP Rewards Malls are almost 100% web based (with a few test exceptions). We have researched the space extensively and it seems that we have built the largest on-line mall encompassing nearly 700 merchants, over 100 gift card merchants, over 7000 local restaurants, a catalog of over 200,000 discounted merchandise items and a soon to be launched discount coupon program that will include hundreds of thousands of in-store merchant locations.
Standard affiliates programs drive traffic and sales but we designed our model to concentrate on the high affinity (quality) programs that drive the most traffic/sales - affinity loyalty.
Our name, BSP is an acronym for Branded Service Provider. We are the engine, data base maintenance, communication, viral marketing, customer service, etc. – private branded platform for a variety of for profit and non-profit organizations. Accordingly, there is a degree of affinity that ranges from low to high depending upon the client and their organization type and their relationship with their customers and members.
We have built many private branded malls and our clients have stated a wide variety of reasons to have us do so. The reasons vary and are multiple ranging from loyalty, continuity and value added benefit to enhanced traffic, sales, awareness, continuous communication, speed to market, low cost of set up/administration and in some cases – revenue share. They particularly like the fact that our program is MERCHANT FUNDED (by the nearly 700 participating merchants) and they as a client, reap the benefits on an extremely low to even a no cost basis.
So now let’s get back to the loyalty aspect of today’s blog (as I seem to have delved deeper into the reasons rather than just the results).
Our clients have a customer and/or member base that have a varying degree of affinity and loyalty to them. We build branded programs for these clients and the clients then market the program as their own (which it is) - to their database. Accordingly, the client is in reality, our affiliate therefore brings of much higher quality to the table than if we targeted to a non-related quantity of non-interested affiliates that we could acquire through affiliate programs.
Accordingly, we are becoming a high sales producer for our participating merchants as we encompass a higher affinity, more motivated, shopper. We combine a super mall with the added incentive of giving our shoppers cash value points from every single participating merchants which of course produces- a large number of motivated shoppers. Especially when that shopper can accumulate the points from all as a “common currency” and spend them back everywhere for virtually everything they can imagine.
Our clients and merchant partners are seeing have seen industry statistics whereby the highest traffic and sales come from loyalty program members, and especially if those shoppers receive added value in the form of desired rebates.
According to the September 2007 issue of Internet Retailer Magazine, merchants benefit to a greater degree when sales are generated from loyalty sites (like the BSP Branded Malls are) as they offer something that the retailers can’t offer themselves – affinity relationships, and in our case, common currency rebates. The research proves that customers visit their loyalty sites more regularly than they do a particular merchant site and having a presence on those affinity sites is a valuable traffic driver to those merchants.
The bottom line is that loyalty sites encompass a higher-grade customer, who visits their affinity mall more often, and has a particular desire to help their organization, therefore drives a higher degree of traffic and sales to participating merchants. The results are enhanced further when the customer is automatically given a cash value added incentive with their purchase.
Hence, BSP has developed a program that sells merchant gift cards, drives sales to merchant web sites, and is advancing inroads into brick and mortar locations – therefore having the ability to add revenue for all 3 of the merchant divisions. …How sweet it is.
Staying ahead of the curve regarding content, merchants, enhanced incentives and increased member benefits is the interesting part of the game……..again that is another story for another time.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Martin Berns - Rewards Mall
We have now reached the point of how we had to design, re-design and evolve into a working model relative to the over 675 merchants in our BSP Rewards mall.
As I mentioned previously, merchants want to enhance revenue but they are reticent to offer their trademark to companies that do not fit their criteria. (Let’s change “reticent” to “overwhelmingly protective”).
They have spent many years and an enormous amount of money building their name and reputation and are justifiably hesitant to allow it to be associated with any activity that could tarnish their name. Additionally, it is not worth their effort to establish a relationship unless they can forecast justifiable economic benefit. They are presented programs everyday whereby some entrepreneur shows them pretty graphs and overwhelming projections as to the extent of business they will generate for that retailer.
The merchant has heard it all and says to himself/herself “Another lunatic who believes he will conquer the world”…. and then passes on the program. They are very particular on whom they approve and factor in aspects that go beyond concept and background – it comes down to the basic questions. “How many members do they have? How many of those members are buyers we don’t already have. Do the members match our demographic? How much revenue can they actually generate?”.
When I was young the process of approval was simple. You went to the caveman selling dinosaur meat at the bottom of the hill and got a quick yes or no as to whether or not he would also sell your wooly mammoth tusks. Today the process is multi-layered.
The main benefit to the merchants is of course the prospect of new and additional sales revenue. The BSP Rewards program added unique aspects including advertising and marketing on multiple malls with the merchant only paying for a successful sale. We also appoint the merchants as authorized redemption centers whereby they actually receive the redemption profit, increased traffic and the up-sell potential….along with a special communication element.
But let’s skip to the part whereby we had a company and a program that the merchant liked and enough members for them to test their toe in the water. This is when we learned the full evolutional extent since the caveman. The sales process to the merchant actually turned out to necessitate a series of three separate sales and we had to adjust our approach, marketing and presentation accordingly.
Each major retailer normally had at least 3 separate divisions we were interested in bringing into the program: Internet, gift cards and in-store. Not only were they disparate operations, each considered itself in competition with the other two divisions.
We were therefore placed in the position of having to prepare materials that targeted the requirement of each department….and in many instances departments were sometimes represented by organizations outside of their own company.
……..again that is another story for another time.
As I mentioned previously, merchants want to enhance revenue but they are reticent to offer their trademark to companies that do not fit their criteria. (Let’s change “reticent” to “overwhelmingly protective”).
They have spent many years and an enormous amount of money building their name and reputation and are justifiably hesitant to allow it to be associated with any activity that could tarnish their name. Additionally, it is not worth their effort to establish a relationship unless they can forecast justifiable economic benefit. They are presented programs everyday whereby some entrepreneur shows them pretty graphs and overwhelming projections as to the extent of business they will generate for that retailer.
The merchant has heard it all and says to himself/herself “Another lunatic who believes he will conquer the world”…. and then passes on the program. They are very particular on whom they approve and factor in aspects that go beyond concept and background – it comes down to the basic questions. “How many members do they have? How many of those members are buyers we don’t already have. Do the members match our demographic? How much revenue can they actually generate?”.
When I was young the process of approval was simple. You went to the caveman selling dinosaur meat at the bottom of the hill and got a quick yes or no as to whether or not he would also sell your wooly mammoth tusks. Today the process is multi-layered.
The main benefit to the merchants is of course the prospect of new and additional sales revenue. The BSP Rewards program added unique aspects including advertising and marketing on multiple malls with the merchant only paying for a successful sale. We also appoint the merchants as authorized redemption centers whereby they actually receive the redemption profit, increased traffic and the up-sell potential….along with a special communication element.
But let’s skip to the part whereby we had a company and a program that the merchant liked and enough members for them to test their toe in the water. This is when we learned the full evolutional extent since the caveman. The sales process to the merchant actually turned out to necessitate a series of three separate sales and we had to adjust our approach, marketing and presentation accordingly.
Each major retailer normally had at least 3 separate divisions we were interested in bringing into the program: Internet, gift cards and in-store. Not only were they disparate operations, each considered itself in competition with the other two divisions.
We were therefore placed in the position of having to prepare materials that targeted the requirement of each department….and in many instances departments were sometimes represented by organizations outside of their own company.
……..again that is another story for another time.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Martin Berns Rewards Mall...
I think its time for me to explain our philosophy relative to building rewards malls. The model is really simple. Define the participant groups, ask what they want…..and then build to suit.
There are literally millions of rewards and loyalty programs in the market place -Everything from credit cards, to big box merchants, to airlines to my favorite local yogurt store. Our task was to research the market, choose the aspects that worked and then add our own proprietary elements…..and unique platform to attract participants.
There are 4 basic participant groups involved in each private branded web mall that we build.
1) The individual members
2) The merchants
3) The member providers who enroll their members
…and of course the all important number 4 – the clients we build the rewards malls for.
When you are trying to build a large national rewards program you are faced with the age old question…which comes first, the chicken or the egg? The members want to be able to shop with a large number of recognized merchants before they join and the merchants require a large number of members before they participate.
A few years ago, as a startup, we had to utilize a small degree of smoke and mirrors and work a little magic….and make sure we designed a program and platform that was unique, sustainable and rapidly expandable. This meant applying our knowledge about each participating group simultaneously and quickly.
Let’s take a look behind the graphic you see above.
Members are just like you and me. We would all like something free or at least as close to it as possible. Studies show that some of the main detriments to any rewards program are:
Takes too long to earn enough points and is therefore not normally exciting
Point values are hidden so consumers don’t understand the value
Closed loop systems (earn and redeem at one particular merchant) are too limiting
Open loop systems (earn points that can be spent for products other than at the giving merchant – like air miles, catalog items or gift cards) offer limited redemption
Programs are normally based upon a breakage model (issue the points and set up blocks against using them)
As you can see in the graphic above, we set out to eliminate those objections. The additional benefit is that the member can earn and accumulate points from over 650 merchants in our mall and then spend those points like cash at any of those participating merchants for anything and everything they wish. Every point = $1.00 so it is easy to understand.
Members can even load their points onto a BSP Rewards stored value card and spend them like cash everywhere MasterCard (and soon Discover Card) are accepted. They even earn points on their points if they spend them with a participating merchant.
Now that is what is called rapid point accumulation combined with ease of spending and almost the total universe of redemption. The member spoke, and we listened.
We facilitate and encourage members to spend their points (usage model) as it makes them happy to do so and our participating merchants love it.
That brings us to the next participant group the merchants. They had their own wish list and it was even more complex.
But again, another story for another day.
There are literally millions of rewards and loyalty programs in the market place -Everything from credit cards, to big box merchants, to airlines to my favorite local yogurt store. Our task was to research the market, choose the aspects that worked and then add our own proprietary elements…..and unique platform to attract participants.
There are 4 basic participant groups involved in each private branded web mall that we build.
1) The individual members
2) The merchants
3) The member providers who enroll their members
…and of course the all important number 4 – the clients we build the rewards malls for.
When you are trying to build a large national rewards program you are faced with the age old question…which comes first, the chicken or the egg? The members want to be able to shop with a large number of recognized merchants before they join and the merchants require a large number of members before they participate.
A few years ago, as a startup, we had to utilize a small degree of smoke and mirrors and work a little magic….and make sure we designed a program and platform that was unique, sustainable and rapidly expandable. This meant applying our knowledge about each participating group simultaneously and quickly.
Let’s take a look behind the graphic you see above.
Members are just like you and me. We would all like something free or at least as close to it as possible. Studies show that some of the main detriments to any rewards program are:
Takes too long to earn enough points and is therefore not normally exciting
Point values are hidden so consumers don’t understand the value
Closed loop systems (earn and redeem at one particular merchant) are too limiting
Open loop systems (earn points that can be spent for products other than at the giving merchant – like air miles, catalog items or gift cards) offer limited redemption
Programs are normally based upon a breakage model (issue the points and set up blocks against using them)
As you can see in the graphic above, we set out to eliminate those objections. The additional benefit is that the member can earn and accumulate points from over 650 merchants in our mall and then spend those points like cash at any of those participating merchants for anything and everything they wish. Every point = $1.00 so it is easy to understand.
Members can even load their points onto a BSP Rewards stored value card and spend them like cash everywhere MasterCard (and soon Discover Card) are accepted. They even earn points on their points if they spend them with a participating merchant.
Now that is what is called rapid point accumulation combined with ease of spending and almost the total universe of redemption. The member spoke, and we listened.
We facilitate and encourage members to spend their points (usage model) as it makes them happy to do so and our participating merchants love it.
That brings us to the next participant group the merchants. They had their own wish list and it was even more complex.
But again, another story for another day.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
About Martin Berns - continued...
This blog has finally reached modern day. Wow, I covered 50 years in 2 weeks – the web is really quick.
So here we are with a web based mall of nearly 700 of the nation’s best retailers including over 100 great gift card merchants. In fact, we seem to have built the largest mall on the internet…an accomplishment we are quite proud of.
On the other hand, we at BSP Rewards also understand that we have a long way to go. Although we have built over 50 branded malls for a variety of clients; we did so following the normal rules of engagement - Start with the small and build towards the large with an eye on selling the enormous.
The small was not as easy as it sounds as even the diminutive companies ask the right questions and require answers that they feel will help them grow. Happily, our research and model were on target and sales commenced. Over the following year, we managed to get in front of some larger companies and organizations that “got it” and helped us progress to the middle of the second tier. (You can see a sampling of these branded malls at (www.bsprewards.com.) Just click on the “BSP Network” tab.
You are probably asking what I mean by the statement that we have reached the “middle of the second tier”. Of course I am going to tell you even if you were not curious. It translates to, companies and organizations of nice size that have the “potential” of producing meaningful transaction volume through the mall. Clients like ADP, AIG and member provider organizations such as the AME Church and 5 network marketing companies, additionally we are being layered onto payroll cards for companies such as Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Staffmark.
These are all great companies and organizations and are great additions to the smaller companies we work with. These programs have been, or just recently been, launched. The initial results are gratifying but a program of our magnitude takes time, marketing and seasoning to reach the results we stand on our toes for.
The wheel is now cranking and we should be seeing enhanced results by the 4th quarter of this year. When that happens, combined with the successful culmination of new agreements in the pipeline, we will have attained the top rung of the intermediate ladder. That is when the fun begins as we then shoot for the “enormous”.
But again, that is a story for another day.
So here we are with a web based mall of nearly 700 of the nation’s best retailers including over 100 great gift card merchants. In fact, we seem to have built the largest mall on the internet…an accomplishment we are quite proud of.
On the other hand, we at BSP Rewards also understand that we have a long way to go. Although we have built over 50 branded malls for a variety of clients; we did so following the normal rules of engagement - Start with the small and build towards the large with an eye on selling the enormous.
The small was not as easy as it sounds as even the diminutive companies ask the right questions and require answers that they feel will help them grow. Happily, our research and model were on target and sales commenced. Over the following year, we managed to get in front of some larger companies and organizations that “got it” and helped us progress to the middle of the second tier. (You can see a sampling of these branded malls at (www.bsprewards.com.) Just click on the “BSP Network” tab.
You are probably asking what I mean by the statement that we have reached the “middle of the second tier”. Of course I am going to tell you even if you were not curious. It translates to, companies and organizations of nice size that have the “potential” of producing meaningful transaction volume through the mall. Clients like ADP, AIG and member provider organizations such as the AME Church and 5 network marketing companies, additionally we are being layered onto payroll cards for companies such as Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Staffmark.
These are all great companies and organizations and are great additions to the smaller companies we work with. These programs have been, or just recently been, launched. The initial results are gratifying but a program of our magnitude takes time, marketing and seasoning to reach the results we stand on our toes for.
The wheel is now cranking and we should be seeing enhanced results by the 4th quarter of this year. When that happens, combined with the successful culmination of new agreements in the pipeline, we will have attained the top rung of the intermediate ladder. That is when the fun begins as we then shoot for the “enormous”.
But again, that is a story for another day.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
About Martin Berns.....continued
Before I skip to modern day, I guess I ought to fill in a few blanks of the 40 years that passed since the ‘60s.
I am proud to tell people that I am a CPA. They somehow mistake that for Certified Public Accountant but I immediately explain that CPA stands for Certified Peddlers of America. Nothing happens in this country until something gets sold and it is my lot in life to guide marketing and sales program down the path of triumph.
Being of sound mind in those days, I immediately moved due south from Chicago until I reached South Florida, where I have happily resided ever since. Chicago is still my favorite city on earth and I visit it at least 10 days a year……but never in the winter.
When I moved to Florida in 1959, I opened a Dad’s Root Beer plant with my brother and after 2 years realized that I loved the soda but disliked the life of a bottler. My love was advertising, marketing and “peddling” so I went to work at a radio station selling advertising time. You can imagine how long ago that was. Larry King was one of the local radio personalities and a member of our weekly card club.
After a few years of on the job training I took a position with a small NY advertising agency that wanted to open a branch in Miami. It was my first education into the world of “real advertising” and it was very exciting for a young, would be executive. But after a few years, my entrepreneurial spirit again rose like a Phoenix and I got the notion that I would, and could, open my own little advertising agency. I soon found out that I knew a lot about advertising and marketing but little about business. Luckily, my largest client, a large real estate developer and builder loved the job I had done for him and he asked me to roll my agency into his company and become vice-president of sales. That’s when I really received my active combat training in the world of business.
After doing my time in that industry I again had the urge to branch out on my own and into marketing consulting. Consulting was an easy business to enter if you had a briefcase and an important looking business card. So I became an independent contractor and offered my sage advice to companies involved in a variety of fields ranging from real estate to water conservation programs for rental properties, to network marketing companies, to small corporate America...and then some.
About 7years ago I was introduced to cyberspace and the world of the internet. It was (and is) the most interesting industry that I have ever been involved in. It made me excited just to get up and run to the office (I can not tell a lie, I actually drove). I started consulting and then made the decision to become corporately involved. I founded a web based company that built small (actually miniature) portals for companies who wanted to build traffic and pretend to the world that they were larger than they were. As I pointed out to them, on the web…perception is reality.
During all of that time I never lost the mental link back to the 60s and the loyalty stamp business. I fell into the natural progression of researching the state of the rewards industry and related internet based programs. So about 4 years ago we commenced our quest. We researched, studied, and dissected that which was and was not being addressed in the marketplace. We approached the task from 4 directions- (1) Consumer, (2) Merchant, (3) Membership Organizations and (4) Debit/Credit Card issuers. There were a multitude of companies in the space but no one that fulfilled all of the needs and desires of the 4 participating groups we felt would most guide the market.
We envisioned and built a proprietary platform that included the basics we saw in others, but then added a bevy of additional features and functions that others had not. We tested, tweaked, changed, tested and tweaked again over a period of 2 years. After 2 years we had developed a unique and more robust platform than any other we viewed. Additionally, we could private brand and administer the platform for a fraction of the cost of other companies in the industry. BSP Rewards was thusly born and launched in stealth mode. It was important to stay under the radar until we were in a position not only to complete, but to win the competition.
But again, that is a story for another day...
I am proud to tell people that I am a CPA. They somehow mistake that for Certified Public Accountant but I immediately explain that CPA stands for Certified Peddlers of America. Nothing happens in this country until something gets sold and it is my lot in life to guide marketing and sales program down the path of triumph.
Being of sound mind in those days, I immediately moved due south from Chicago until I reached South Florida, where I have happily resided ever since. Chicago is still my favorite city on earth and I visit it at least 10 days a year……but never in the winter.
When I moved to Florida in 1959, I opened a Dad’s Root Beer plant with my brother and after 2 years realized that I loved the soda but disliked the life of a bottler. My love was advertising, marketing and “peddling” so I went to work at a radio station selling advertising time. You can imagine how long ago that was. Larry King was one of the local radio personalities and a member of our weekly card club.
After a few years of on the job training I took a position with a small NY advertising agency that wanted to open a branch in Miami. It was my first education into the world of “real advertising” and it was very exciting for a young, would be executive. But after a few years, my entrepreneurial spirit again rose like a Phoenix and I got the notion that I would, and could, open my own little advertising agency. I soon found out that I knew a lot about advertising and marketing but little about business. Luckily, my largest client, a large real estate developer and builder loved the job I had done for him and he asked me to roll my agency into his company and become vice-president of sales. That’s when I really received my active combat training in the world of business.
After doing my time in that industry I again had the urge to branch out on my own and into marketing consulting. Consulting was an easy business to enter if you had a briefcase and an important looking business card. So I became an independent contractor and offered my sage advice to companies involved in a variety of fields ranging from real estate to water conservation programs for rental properties, to network marketing companies, to small corporate America...and then some.
About 7years ago I was introduced to cyberspace and the world of the internet. It was (and is) the most interesting industry that I have ever been involved in. It made me excited just to get up and run to the office (I can not tell a lie, I actually drove). I started consulting and then made the decision to become corporately involved. I founded a web based company that built small (actually miniature) portals for companies who wanted to build traffic and pretend to the world that they were larger than they were. As I pointed out to them, on the web…perception is reality.
During all of that time I never lost the mental link back to the 60s and the loyalty stamp business. I fell into the natural progression of researching the state of the rewards industry and related internet based programs. So about 4 years ago we commenced our quest. We researched, studied, and dissected that which was and was not being addressed in the marketplace. We approached the task from 4 directions- (1) Consumer, (2) Merchant, (3) Membership Organizations and (4) Debit/Credit Card issuers. There were a multitude of companies in the space but no one that fulfilled all of the needs and desires of the 4 participating groups we felt would most guide the market.
We envisioned and built a proprietary platform that included the basics we saw in others, but then added a bevy of additional features and functions that others had not. We tested, tweaked, changed, tested and tweaked again over a period of 2 years. After 2 years we had developed a unique and more robust platform than any other we viewed. Additionally, we could private brand and administer the platform for a fraction of the cost of other companies in the industry. BSP Rewards was thusly born and launched in stealth mode. It was important to stay under the radar until we were in a position not only to complete, but to win the competition.
But again, that is a story for another day...
Friday, August 10, 2007
Martin Berns - About
Martin Berns Blog Number 1 8/10/07
Hey, I never blogged before so this should be interesting. I will undoubtedly start out at novice 101 and after many months graduate all the way up to Beta 1.0.
I am not sure how this blog will evolve but my first thought is to just recite a little history as to how I arrived at this place known as MediaNet Group Technologies and BSP Rewards. (With the emphasis on our operating division BSP Rewards).
My family was in the soft drink business (my father was a founder of Dad’s Root Beer) so I naturally became driven to be an entrepreneur myself. Forgoing an explanation of my initial forays into business (and the lessons learned the hard way) my education lead me into the world of marketing consultancy.
Moving along to the early ‘60s I became intrigued with the rewards and loyalty industry. That was at the height of the era whereby licking and pasting stamps in books was all the rage. I was a young marketing consultant at the time looking for niches that might offer opportunity to spread my “I want o be in business” wings.
I was driving in Chicago one day when I came to an intersection that featured service stations on all 4 corners. 3 of those stations gave stamps as a reward and incentive but the one with the Dinosaur logo (Sinclair) stood alone as the sole non-participant. A friend of mine knew a top executive at the company and I asked him to try and ascertain their reasoning for not joining the trend. He came back with a very simple two word answer, “too expensive”. It seemed that they did not want to be involved in a program that was a straight cost with the only verifiable benefit going to the stamp issuer who both sold the stamps and was the redemption center that made the sale and profit. By the way, this is the same ‘upfront cost” redemption and breakage model used today by many rewards and incentive programs (think air miles and catalog/gift card providers).
I then had an epiphany (Of course in those days I had never heard of the word). I then asked my friend make an appointment for me with his oil company executive friend as I wanted to propose something to them that I thought might fit their model. He called and said he had set up the meeting and when I arrived I was shocked to find I was to present to their entire Board of Directors.
I explained the plan. They would give stamps but they would also become the redemption center where the books could be exchanged for their gas and products. They would turn the redeemed books back to us and we would pay them cash for the value of each book. In other words, they became the redemption center, made the sale (at their normal margins), benefited from the redemption traffic and of course up sold additional gas and services to the redeemers. I explained an additional feature of offering the program to local merchants surrounding their stations, again making the stations, along with the local merchants, official redemption centers.
It was the quickest sale I ever made. They immediately understood the benefits and the cost reduction – and possible new revenue and profit generating- and value of becoming a give and redeem merchant/redemption center for the program.
How that evolved into the modern BSP Rewards Mall platform is another story for another day.
Hey, I never blogged before so this should be interesting. I will undoubtedly start out at novice 101 and after many months graduate all the way up to Beta 1.0.
I am not sure how this blog will evolve but my first thought is to just recite a little history as to how I arrived at this place known as MediaNet Group Technologies and BSP Rewards. (With the emphasis on our operating division BSP Rewards).
My family was in the soft drink business (my father was a founder of Dad’s Root Beer) so I naturally became driven to be an entrepreneur myself. Forgoing an explanation of my initial forays into business (and the lessons learned the hard way) my education lead me into the world of marketing consultancy.
Moving along to the early ‘60s I became intrigued with the rewards and loyalty industry. That was at the height of the era whereby licking and pasting stamps in books was all the rage. I was a young marketing consultant at the time looking for niches that might offer opportunity to spread my “I want o be in business” wings.
I was driving in Chicago one day when I came to an intersection that featured service stations on all 4 corners. 3 of those stations gave stamps as a reward and incentive but the one with the Dinosaur logo (Sinclair) stood alone as the sole non-participant. A friend of mine knew a top executive at the company and I asked him to try and ascertain their reasoning for not joining the trend. He came back with a very simple two word answer, “too expensive”. It seemed that they did not want to be involved in a program that was a straight cost with the only verifiable benefit going to the stamp issuer who both sold the stamps and was the redemption center that made the sale and profit. By the way, this is the same ‘upfront cost” redemption and breakage model used today by many rewards and incentive programs (think air miles and catalog/gift card providers).
I then had an epiphany (Of course in those days I had never heard of the word). I then asked my friend make an appointment for me with his oil company executive friend as I wanted to propose something to them that I thought might fit their model. He called and said he had set up the meeting and when I arrived I was shocked to find I was to present to their entire Board of Directors.
I explained the plan. They would give stamps but they would also become the redemption center where the books could be exchanged for their gas and products. They would turn the redeemed books back to us and we would pay them cash for the value of each book. In other words, they became the redemption center, made the sale (at their normal margins), benefited from the redemption traffic and of course up sold additional gas and services to the redeemers. I explained an additional feature of offering the program to local merchants surrounding their stations, again making the stations, along with the local merchants, official redemption centers.
It was the quickest sale I ever made. They immediately understood the benefits and the cost reduction – and possible new revenue and profit generating- and value of becoming a give and redeem merchant/redemption center for the program.
How that evolved into the modern BSP Rewards Mall platform is another story for another day.
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