The Post-Bulletin–an afternoon daily newspaper based in Rochester, MN, launched a new customer loyalty program late last year and just eclipsed 5,000 members.
The number might not sound like that of a big retail loyalty program, but for the Post-Bulletin, it’s a phenomenal result.
The Post-Bulletin’s loyalty program is called Inner Circle. Inner Circle offers dozens of discounts and unique prizes, hundreds of dollars in savings on products and services, and invitations to special members-only events. Post-Bulletin subscribers can sign up for the program at: www.pbinnercircle.com.
Kristy Mintz, Brand Marketing Manager for the Post-Bulletin, participated in a scintillating Q&A with Loyalty360 to discuss the program’s success.
What does reaching the 5,000-member plateau mean to the Post-Bulletin?
It allows us to connect with a significant portion of our readers in a more meaningful and engaging way.
Why do you think it has gained this success ahead of your schedule, and what factors have played an engagement role?
Consistent promotion, social media, and the word-of-mouth buzz created after each event and contest helped us move ahead faster than planned. Our business partners really came out big and provided us with giveaways and contests that made it very enticing for subscribers to sign up. For example, a local burger joint gave out a big bag of fresh, skin on, french fries free to everyone in the Inner Circle, a local florist gave away free roses and also sponsored two free round-trip airline tickets anywhere in the continental U.S., and a local bank donated $500 in cash.
We have also scored hundreds of free movie tickets, concert tickets, and live theatre tickets and this is just the tip of the iceberg. We not only give away tickets to most events, but we greet winners at will call, buy them snacks and drinks, give them goodie bags, post pics on Facebook and make them feel truly special and valued.
Is social media used at all in the loyalty program?
Social media is an integral part of the program. Our loyalty marketing coordinator, Brianna Pickett, specifically uses Facebook and Twitter for Inner Circle to connect with our members. She says: “It’s our way to reach out and start a conversation, letting members know what's new to the program, who the winners are, and share photos and information from our events.”
How do you consistently engage customers with new and fresh ideas?
We have a team of three (myself included) dedicated to connecting with local businesses and continually brainstorming fun events and promos. We recently gave away a series of Free Happy Hour Patio Parties. Winners get to bring four friends to enjoy free food and drink at some of our finest watering holes.
We regularly engage members with e-blasts touting the newest discounts and giveaways. Social media posts from events help drive excitement and keep people looking ahead for what is coming next.
How do you define customer loyalty and has that definition changed in recent years?
With our long-time customers, loyalty is summed up by readers that take the paper year in and year out regardless of pricing increases, online metering, or other changes. They consider our newspaper a crucial part of staying connected in our community and cannot go a day without. In the new media age with many more options available for news and data gathering, loyalty in the newspaper game is evolving like never before. We still see customers that subscribe, whether in print or online, and stay with us year after year, the biggest indicator of loyalty, but now we also look at how many people are active on Inner Circle, how many readers show up at our community events and the volume of comments and shares on our social media platform to gauge our level of brand loyalty.
Regarding the loyalty program, what challenges keep you up at night as you move ahead?
How to get every subscriber of the Post-Bulletin to activate their Inner Circle membership and to sign on frequently. How to keep offers and giveaways fresh and exciting. How to keep innovating and thinking bigger. There are lots of things depending on the day, but I think the biggest is, that at the end of another year, we see that subscribers, who are members of the Inner Circle have higher retention rates than non-members. We are already starting to see this happen, but we want the retention to increase exponentially over time. That is our real goal and will be the real key to whether we are successful or not.
How has or will technology play a role in the program?
The foundation of our Inner Circle program is our website. All offers from business partners are loaded there and it is where members interact and enter to win prizes and print coupons. We also have extensive behind the scenes, data measurements so we can track retention rates of members vs non-members, monitor which discounts and contests are more popular, to track open rates of e-blasts and more. Social media platforms are a crucial piece of our program as well.