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.
