Man vs. Brand – A Maritz Blog

Man Vs. Brand welcomes Fred Bendaña and Bob Konsewicz as guest bloggers today.

We often hear a common question from our clients, “Why should I reward customers that are already loyal to my brand?” 

 

The question usually surfaces after recommending a surprise & delight strategy that consists of a brand giving something of value to a customer just for being one of their best.  A great example of the impact such a strategy can have is with a recent promotion we co-created with the Embassy Suites brand marketing team.  This effort was the first comprehensive “brand relationship marketing” test in the brand’s history and its goal was to ensure that Embassy Suites fully understood how to best make a difference with its target customers.

 

The Embassy Suites promotion was designed to measure how direct interaction with the brand affects stay behavior and ultimately the degree in which it helps to drive and maintain loyalty.   One group of loyal guests was “surprised” with a gift offering that they could choose from a tailored selection of awards. The gift was positioned as a “thank you” and the guests were not required to book a reservation. 

 

Test groups within this loyal segment were offered different gift values.  One test group was linked to an online game experience where they were educated on the brands values and in the process they played their way towards their own selection of gifts. The interactive game was designed in collaboration with Maritz’ partner, Brandmovers.  According to Christian Kuhn, director of brand marketing at Embassy Suites, “By playing the game, guests automatically received a thank you gift and we (Embassy Suites) were able to reinforce our brand pillars and create a meaningful interaction with our best guests.”

 

And the results speak for themselves.   The email open rate for surprise and delight segments had a 53 percent average and the guests that received this unique treatment increased their stays by 10 percent over the control group.  They also spent nine percent more during the promotion period.  Remember, there was no requirement to book a room, but it occurred at a higher rate and with guests that were already loyal to the brand.  Overall, the promotion generated a 246 percent ROI and we, ourselves, were “surprised and delighted” as these loyal guests responded by bringing a greater portion of their wallet share to the brand.  The online game strategy was a hit, generating our highest response rate by utilizing a fun and engaging way to educate guests about the Embassy Suites brand.

 

 

Fred has over 10 years of experience supporting clients with customer marketing and employee engagement endeavors.   He received his BS in Business Administration from Saint Louis University and his MBA from Washington University. Prior to Maritz, Fred worked at Solutia and Monsanto in various product management and market development capacities.

 

Bob has nearly a decade of loyalty and database marketing experience and acts as a market strategy consultant for Maritz Loyalty & Motivation and Brandmovers.  He has a BSBA from the University of Missouri and is a licensed CPA.