Tracking and Analyzing Key Data in the Merchant Offer Redemption Loop

As we wrote in our post last week, employing a process that leverages the right tools at key points in the offer redemption loop is the key to getting a complete picture of offer program effectiveness. The foundation for this process includes data collection at the point of offer redemption and throughout the life of the customer-merchant relationship. Additional decision factors for merchants are: ease of deployment, operational simplicity, system reliability, process predictability, data security, ease of integration, scalability and breadth of coverage (i.e., the ability to capture data from all or most transactions as opposed to transactions that were the result of promotions distributed by a specific publisher).

Card-linked programs not only ease offer redemption friction, but can help support a strategy that will lead to insights around lifetime value of customers.All three card-linked program segments listed below provide value to a merchant, but an open system offers the most flexibility and the greatest ability to collect insights across offer publishers and customer payment types for the merchant.

In an open system approach, consumers register their  payment cards with the publishers they choose, then use any registered card when redeeming the offer. When an offer is redeemed, the transaction details are tied to a particular consumer—not one particular card, publisher or loyalty program.

Merchants and marketers can integrate this data into their existing reporting to understand customer lifetime value, create campaign ROI models and make informed decisions regarding marketing spend.

This post is adapted from the First Data white paper “Going Beyond Redemption: Closing the Loop with Card-Linked Offers.” Download the white paper to learn how to improve your ability to leverage offers into lifetime customers.