Moving Targets program rewards loyal customers via e-mail

By last April, Loriann Sorce, chef-owner of Mount Arlington, N.J.-based Pomodoro's, was ready to throw in the marketing towel. Newspaper ads weren't working. Direct mail pieces were difficult to track. But there was one hot-off-the-press program she hadn't tried: the Loyal Rewards program (www.loyalrewards.com) developed by Moving Targets.

 

"We started using the program in May, and by June our sales grew 28 percent as a direct result," Sorce said. "Sales have been going up and up ever since."

 

The program's simplicity is attractive to both operator and customer. Customers who want to be notified via e-mail about upcoming specials are handed certificates resembling currency on the front and space on the back for a name and e-mail address. Operators then send completed certificates to Loyal Rewards, which sends coupon e-mails to the store's list. Sorce, whose list of 300-plus customers is e-mailed every other week, sees a reliable 14- to 15-percent response.

 

"We don't inundate them with offers every day or every week," Sorce said. "We do different percentage discounts, sometimes 10, sometimes 15. It's amazing. You see sales spike right after we send the offers out."

 

With no long-term contract, operators only pay 4.5 cents for each e-mail address serviced. There's a $97 yearly fee for the service, and a $25 minimum broadcast fee. To Moving Targets co-founder Jay Siff, this pay-as-you-go arrangement makes more sense than monthly fees, particularly for pizza operators who may not need the service during certain periods.

 

"People can use this program for a fraction of the cost of direct mail," Siff said. "Also, the fact that someone is first asking the customer if they would like to receive offers, then getting their information at that time, face to face, is a personal approach you just can't get elsewhere."

 

Siff considered placing posters and POP materials in the stores when first rolling out the program. But he learned that for the program to work effectively, a person needed to place the form in customers' hands.

 

"Because it's an opt-in, people receive the e-mail offers because they want it," Siff said. "That's part of the reason why we have such a low opt-out rate, which is less than half a percent."The e-mail is also very simple on the customers' end for quick download. We have found that the simpler the e-mail the better. Some people try to click to a Web site from an e-mail and get hung up, or something else happens trying to access the site, and that drives up frustration and opt-out rates."

 

There's also an anti-spam element built in. A privacy clause printed on the back of the sign-up form assures users that their name and e-mail will not be given to outside parties.

 

The program is also beneficial for branding efforts. Top-of-mind brand awareness is critical, especially, Siff said, in the afternoon, when people are contemplating dinner options. Receiving an e-mail with a store's logo, location, phone number and offer at just the right moment can translate easily into sales.

 

"What really makes this program tick is how quickly you can get an offer to your customers," Siff said. "An operator can call us – or e-mail us or fax us – and the offer can be mass e-mailed within 15 minutes. Try that with other types of direct mail."