Giant ATM fraud highlights need to accelerate EMV standards in US - A few weeks ago, we chronicled the progression of EMV implementation in the US. In our post, we patted Richard Sanders on the back for predicting the chip-card development path in the US over 8 years before it has come to be a reality. One interesting note in the story was substantiated in the news last [...]... More →
Amazon, Starbucks imagine new options for customer loyalty - I was sharing thoughts on current trends in loyalty marketing with a group of bankers attending ASUG, the America’s SAP User Group yesterday. We talked about how the word Loyalty can be a distracting term by itself, and that focusing on the measurable results of customer behavior change from a data-driven customer strategy proves the [...]... More →
Customer Loyalty Conference - London June 12th 2013 - Mike Atkin is chairing the 2013 Customer Loyalty Conference in London on June 12th and CSN Website readers... More →
Customer Loyalty Master Class - Auckland July 3rd and 4th 2013 - Mike Atkin is conducting the first Loyalty Masterclass in Australasia based on his worldwide loyalty training... More →
CEO Interview with Peter Vogel Plink.com - As the league of digital loyalty players expands almost weekly, it can be a challenge to stay on top of all the emerging competitors. My solution to stay out front is to go straight to the source, and I was fortunate to get a few minutes with Plink CEO and Founder Peter Vogel to learn [...]... More →

Technology Selection Tools

Methodology

Customer Strategy Network use a tested methodology for loyalty and rewards platform evaluation and selection. The identification, evaluation, and scoring of suppliers offering comprehensive outsourcing of the services needed to operate a loyalty programme is based on the following Key Decision Factors:

Requirements
- Gather and document full requirements to meet existing operational needs of the programme sponsor and anticipate additional requirements driven by strategy evolution.
Scan to Fit
Match requirements set against known capabilities of leading solutions providers based on historical benchmarking criteria
Filter candidates based on additional factors including PCI compliance, database standards, and preferred operational models (license, hosted, SaaS)
Capability
- Ensure that candidate suppliers have capabilities to meet requirements
- Distinguish between core expertise and any areas “to be developed”
- Document and categorise characteristics which set each supplier apar
Execution
- Evaluate the ability of each supplier to deliver on the capabilities promised
- Confirm interest in supporting diverse markets and existence of infrastructure to provide expected levels of operational suppor
Reward Delivery Model
- If required, prioritise candidates by reward and ancillary services offered
- Evaluate benefits of alternative models for reward currency and programme liability management.
Pricing Model & Economics
- Decipher and compare pricing models based on transactions, accounts, activity levels, subscription fees
- Compare componenets of start-up and implementation costs
- Forecast longer term cost of ownership for Client
- Prepare quantitative evaluation of all points based on proposals receive

Process & Deliverables

The process for evaluation will include the following steps:

Gather and categorise the processing requirements for Client across its operating footprint
Anticipate additional needs based on the rewards strategy evolution to complement existing requirements
Compare the requirements set to the leading loyalty processing platforms and document a short list of available solutions that most closely map to the requirements set
Document gaps between requirements and market offerings for inclusion in RFP document
Recommend 3 or more providers meeting requirements based on evaluation criteria
Conduct product demonstrations with candidate providers, review product documentation and support and service level agreements
Complete scoring matrix to evaluate candidates and deliver a recommendation of the top 1-2 suppliers, more if needed
Prepare Request for Proposal document as needed to solicit provider proposals
Review responses, score and recommend preferred solution
Project Management assistance is available upon request to ensure implementation and configuration of selected provider solution is completed as agreed and to meet Client requirements.