Voila Hotel Rewards, the world’s leading loyalty program that unites more than 250 four- and five-star independent hotels and luxury brands for an innovative take on the reward program.

The reward and loyalty program announced its partnership with the Lexington Collection of hotels, inns and suites, which will enhance its nationwide presence. It also spurred a new program, the Lexington Experience Plus, which expands the number of hotels where Voila members can earn points and experience the VIP treatment.

“We are constantly striving to create a variety of initiatives to enhance our guests’ experiences,” said Bill Hanley, group president of Lexington Collection. “Lexington Experience Plus leverages VOILA’s world-class reputation and will help to differentiate a stay at a Lexington Collection hotel, inn or suite as one of the most rewarding in the United States.”
The program is expected to launch in late 2012 and will give its members the opportunity to join the program for free to start. The plan’s benefits include award nights, priority check-in, room-class upgrades and many more.
The Lexington Collection delivers a new take on the lodging experience for its guests, including personalized service in its 25 properties located across northern China in addition to more than a dozen states in the United States including Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Arizona, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Utah and more.

“We are very proud to add Lexington’s exceptional hotels to our network,” said Peter Gorla, vice president and chief marketing officer of Voila Hotel Rewards. “Our partnership with renowned hoteliers like Lexington reaffirms VOILA’s position as the world’s No. 1 loyalty program for independent hotels. VOILA members, who are passionate about finding unique experiences when they travel, now have a greater array of choices with Lexington Experience Plus.”

Many customer loyalty programs are using the internet and mobile-based web technologies to reach an ever-growing consumer base. Citi recently launched a Facebook application that allows its ThankYou reward members connect over the social network and pool their loyalty points together to purchase coveted rewards or make charitable contributions.
Learn how a loyalty program can benefit your company

The report shows that 83 percent of the sales representatives in best-in-class, top performing organizations reached their annual quota in the last year. This, compared with 51 percent of industry average firms and 22 percent within Laggard companies which reached their quota in the last measured year.

“While many organizations are seeing a recovery from the economic downturn, the distribution and pace of progress are not being enjoyed by all companies, industries or geographies,” Ostrow said. “Firms are seeking to capitalize on every available competitive edge, and the potential of higher achievements among the human capital of their sales team represents one of the most significant opportunities to grow revenue and market share by hitting quota more consistently.”
The Sales Performance Management 2012 Report also found that best-in-class companies reported a 23.1 percent average growth on a year-over-year basis in terms of corporate revenue, compared to 7.2 percent for industry average firms and a 5.9 percent decline recorded by Laggard companies.

Also, best-in-class companies succeeded with a 9.7 percent average improvement on a year-over-year basis in average deal size, compared with 1.9 percent for industry average firms and a 0.4 percent decline among Laggard companies.
“While the classic B2B sales organization may traditionally be identified with an ‘every man for himself’ mentality among reps, and even Darwinian managerial techniques – only the fittest survive – is there a more user-friendly way to hit sales targets year after year?” Ostrow wrote. “Are there ways to link lagging indicators (such as turnover) to leading performance metrics (such as revenue or sales staff development)?”

The Aberdeen Group also released new research reports on marketing effectiveness, customer management, service management, manufacturing, and retail and banking research practices. The “Enterprise Asset Management in 2012: A Data Driven Predictive Approach to Maintenance” was authored by Nuris Ismail, senior research associate for the Aberdeen Group.

Learn how rewards programs can motivate your employees

The free loyalty and rewards program for that businesses that make up the nation’s Main Streets, Swipely will offer its new merchant members a convenient way to understand, engage and retain customers by offering a customer incentive program that uses personalized rewards based on detailed data analysis in lieu of impersonal coupons and keychain cards.

“Now more than ever, small businesses need our support. Swipely provides local merchants marketing tools to strengthen relationships with customers to grow repeat business,” said Angus Davis, CEO of Swipely. “Historically these sophisticated tools were in the exclusive realm of big-box brands. We are re-imagining the credit card network from a commodity payments platform into a valuable marketing tool for Main Street, and we’re just getting started.”

Swipely’s website offers a secure registration process, which leads to consumers having the ability to shop at any participating merchant and by simply paying with an enrolled credit or debt card they’re able to earn automatic cash-back rewards with each purchase.

The company has pioneered how direct marketing and loyalty initiatives, when done right, can drive business. Swipely boosts revenue for its members by using analytics to create personalized rewards. The system uses “big data” to help members grow two metrics: repeat purchase frequency and average purchase size.

Different from Groupon and other “daily deal” sites that offer fleeting deals and coupons that only last for a limited time and only serve to boost business momentarily, Swipely uses information to create a long-term plan that works to foster brand loyalty and encourages frequent customer vists.

“In addition, we are pleased to announce new direct marketing features that give our merchant members more value, and an easier one-step card registration that makes it easier for consumers,” Davis added.

Small and mid-sized businesses alike are finding the benefits that can be gained from a well-maintained and ran customer loyalty program. They are finding that the most successful loyalty programs are built on deep, long lasting relationships between the consumer and the merchant and those relationships can’t be built on one-time deals or by fleeting savings opportunities.

Learn how a customer loyalty program can benefit your company

Geisinger Health System recently announced that beginning February 1, the clinic will no longer hire job applicants who use tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and smokeless tobacco.

“Geisinger is joining dozens of hospitals and medical organizations across the country that are encouraging healthier living, decreasing absenteeism and reducing healthcare costs by adopting strict policies that make smoking a reason to turn away job applicants,” Richard Merkle, chief human resources officer at Geisinger Health System, said in a statement.

Although to the naked eye it may seen the company is discriminating against tobacco users, Merkle added non-nicotine hiring policies are legal in 20 states, including Pennsylvania, where Geisinger Health System has a presence.

Current employees are not affected by the new policy, as the company is looking to improve the overall health and wellness of its employee base moving forward. This move is expected to lower the health system’s overall bottom line when it comes to healthcare premiums, as well as promote positive and healthy lifestyles among the workforce in an attempt to increase morale and productivity, as well as reduce the number of sick days taken.

“Smoking can be directly connected to life-threatening symptoms such as decreased oxygen to the heart, increased heart rate and blood pressure, increased blood clotting, and damage to cells that line coronary arteries,” said Thomas Isaacson, chief of cardiology at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center’s Richard & Marion Pearsall Heart Hospital. “Important, too, is that smoking can adversely affect the health of others as well. In the U.S., about 35,000 people die each year from heart disease that is linked to exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.”

Isaacson added roughly 20 percent of all heart disease can be attributed to tobacco use, and it is the leading cause of coronary artery disease, increasing a person’s risk of heart disease and heart attack with each cigarette smoked.

Learn how an employee incentive program can benefit your company

Locally owned and operated in Charlottesville, Virginia, since 1982, Tiger Fuel Company’s innovative take on the customer reward program has led to the design of the Return and Earn, which aims to save repeat customers money at the gas pump, a place where many Americans are striving to save.

The local fuel distributor is offering up to 21 cents off per gallon at the pump. The program will reward customers with 5 cents off per gallon for every $25 spent inside participating stores including the Markets at Bellair, Mill Creek, Pantops, Fifth Street and Locust Grove.

“We are very excited about this new program,” said Stuart Lowry of Tiger Fuel. “There seems to be some misinformation in the public that Tiger Fuel Company is looking to exit the convenience store business. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, we’re looking to grow our business, and by providing real, tangible rewards to our valued customers, we’re hoping to provide even more of a reason to visit our Market locations.”

Lowry added the purpose of the program is to create new business and stay competitive with larger fuel providers like Exxon. As a locally owned and operated company, Tiger Fuel does not have the resources of the larger corporations and therefore has to come up with new and creative ways to foster brand loyalty among nearby citizens and draw business away from the big guys.

This community has been good to us and we want to do what we can to help at the pump in these tough times,” Lowry said. “By that very same token, we are very much committed to the growth of all parts of our business, including our Market locations. Our Return and Earn loyalty program is just another way to thank our loyal customers for their business.”

For the past several months, Tiger Fuel Company has been offering discounts for customers who’ve paid with cash, as much as 6 cents per gallon, in addition to discounts on gasoline with the purchase of a car wash for 10 cents per gallon.

Small businesses are constantly looking for new ways to compete with larger businesses for the consumer’s dollar. Independent coffee shops in Singapore are banding together with the disloyalty card to encourage coffee drinkers in the area to sample the offerings from various small cafes and choose for themselves which option is the best. The disloyalty program is designed to help smaller cafes compete against large chain coffee shops.

Learn how a loyalty program can benefit your company

PlayWithPoints.com will benefit members of Scandinavian Airlines’ EuroBonus program, AirBaltic’s BalticMiles program, Etihad’s Etihad Guest program and Etisalat’s More Rewards program. Members will now have the ability to use their miles and points to compete in game tournaments with the opportunity to win travel and non travel-related prizes and rewards.

“Loylogic prides itself on providing our valued customers with the most robust and rewarding loyalty products and services,” said Ahmet Goemleksiz, partner manager international at Loylogic, the rewards mall provider for participating programs. “We think that the Loyalty Play Holdings’ application represents the next level of loyalty program offerings, and we are extremely excited to be one of the company’s launch partners.”

The PlayWithPoints.com launch will bring in a new era of loyalty entertainment by combining two commonly used sectors: casual online gaming and reward programs designed to attract consumers and foster brand loyalty. The result will bring more than 500 million members of the frequent flyer and loyalty program arena together to make use of their miles, points and other rewards to compete in a casual game atmosphere for attractive prizes.

“The convergence of the casual online gaming industry and the loyalty industry reflects a unique opportunity to increase entertainment value for consumers and improve efficiencies and program engagement for program sponsors,” said Justin Beckett, online tournament gaming pioneer and Loyalty Play Holdings chairman. “We are particularly pleased with the growth prospects for Loyalty Play and proud to be at the forefront of this convergent evolution.”

There are a number of travel-related incentive programs out there to draw in a growing consumer base. According to the Chicago Tribune, United Continental Holdings recently launched the MileagePlus Headliners auction program that enables Continental and United frequent fliers to use their loyalty miles to bid on experiences, including trips.

“As we welcome OnePass members to MileagePlus this year, we do so with new opportunities for our loyal customers to earn and redeem miles and to engage with our program in more ways than ever before,” said Jeff Foland, president of Mileage Plus Holdings.

Learn how a customer reward program can benefit your company

According to HR.BLR.com, the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Missouri, found that U.S. consumers are strongly influenced by the attitudes of the employees where they do business. Furthermore, successful companies understand the link that exists between customer loyalty and employee satisfaction and use it to improve the company’s bottom line.

“You might think that as an owner, you only need to pay attention to the customers, providing them with what they want,” said Christopher Groening, co-author of the study. “Yet, we found that keeping your employees satisfied with their work experience, providing them with challenges and allowing them to have a sense of ownership in the business can have a tremendous effect on customer satisfaction and loyalty.”

One way a company can improve the overall productivity and morale of its workforce is to implement an employee incentive program. But businesses that don’t have the means to offer such a program can yield positive results simply by strengthening communication with their employees.

“[Management is] not a one-way street where companies implement policies and can expect to experience gains solely through customer service,” Groening said. “The relationships among the CEO, the employees and the customers are all linked. It’s important for CEOs to know that they can have a large impact on customer service without ever talking with a customer or implementing a new customer service policy.”

Business owners looking for a more inexpensive alternative to implementing a reward or incentive program may want to consider the free National Employee Attitude Survey offered to the human resources community by Business & Legal Resources.

Those who would rather focus on customer loyalty and satisfaction rather than employee morale and productivity may want to consider three building blocks of an effective customer loyalty program detailed by BizReport. Offering what the customer needs instead of free goods or services, building loyalty from detailed data analysis, and using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook are all effective ways for any merchant to foster customer loyalty and create brand awareness.

A global business improvement company released the “Keeping up with the Joneses” article, which discusses the Hedonic Treadmill theory and its relation to annual salary increases and the lasting positive impact that non money-based rewards can have on an employee’s behavior.

“Hedonic Treadmill is a behavioral theory that states we as humans adapt surprisingly fast to circumstances, such as an increase in income,” said Tim Houlihan, vice president of the reward systems group at BI WORLDWIDE.

He added managers are learning that annual salary increases lead to momentary jubilation for employees, but that celebration is short-lived as the employee’s expectations and desires rise with their salary. Once the raise goes through and they see that first bigger paycheck, they become complacent, and their output could fall in the process.

“At the end of day, employers should realize their employees will consider nominal salary increases as non-events,” Houlihan said, “but by assigning tangible rewards to actions aligned with corporate objectives, employers can optimize employee engagement levels and realize a more effective compensation program.”

“Keeping up with the Joneses” also touches on a recent study from the University of Illinois, in addition to the Hedonic Treadmill theory. The study probed happiness and anaylzed what factors influence an employee’s level of happiness. It revealed that regardless of the wealth of the country, happiness is influenced by how people perceive their peers and compare their well-being to others.

New Directions Behavioral Health, an employee assistance and mental health management firm, recently announced plans to move its headquarters to Kansas City, Missouri. According to The Kansas City Star, more than $7 million in incentives is responsible for bringing the company to its new War Parkway site, with 170 jobs carrying an average salary of $73,000.

“It largely ties to how our company has grown over the past several years and our trajectory looking forward,” Griff Docking, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, told the newspaper. He added the company has grown from 75 employees four years ago to 170 in the Kansas City region and expects to add at least 50 employees over the next several years.