Points4Purpose (P4P) enables participating retailers to offer cashback as a reward.Customers can then spend their reward as they choose or support a charity of their choice. This powerful platform opens up the unique opportunity to drive renewed customer engagement and repeat purchases as well as support the many worthy causes in our community.
Director and founder of P4P, Ivan Schwartz, recognized the widespread need amongst retailers across the board to revitalize what can best be called ‘flat-lining’ loyalty programs by unlocking unredeemed points and by creating a new social exchange currency that genuinely champions customer choice. Ivan’s personal journey in responding to his son’s early autism diagnosis was another important factor in developing P4P as a micro philanthropy platform to support the many worthy causes in our community.
With the final cardlinking integration phase now completed (supported by Visa, Mastercard and American Express), P4P has been in operation in Australia for 12 months with over 500 merchants now on board and more than 2000 charities reaping the benefit derived through this powerful new fundraising channel.
Building on its Australian experience, P4P Inc, now incorporated in the US, is looking to work with local North American franchise networks to bring its breakthrough loyalty platform to the US market. Discussions have now commenced with a number of retail networks in the US through a series of pilot deployments.
So, how does P4P work? The platform is enabled simply by registering the merchant ID on your EFTPOS terminal/online payment gateway. The key benefit is that no IT integration is required! The platform enables customers to participate by simply linking their membership to their preferred payment card. Furthermore, as the solution is built on the popular E Commerce platform, Magento, it is able to be easily deployed for any retail network. The platform provides retailers with access to customer data and spend habits, enabling the management of promotions from a central point, thereby maximising store-wide impact.
In the rapidly evolving world of customer loyalty, ‘cashback is king’. A loyal customer represents a relationship for life and this is where the power of P4P is found. Ivan explains “People are tired of earning points that they find difficult to redeem. At its core is the basic principle that the easier it is for customers to redeem their rewards, the greater the chance there is to retain them to underpin retail growth” says Ivan.
Franchise networks interested in engaging their local communities can now also measure the impact that this can have in growing their bottom line! For customers, knowing that every time they shop with a particular store, they can support a cause that is personal and meaningful is a major differentiator to other loyalty programs. “It’s a win, win, win” Ivan explains. It’s very clear, redemption is retention, so why not make it easier for your valued customers?’
P4P reinforces the importance of customer retention and that’s where its true long term value can be found. “Growing the lifetime value of a customer is absolutely key for sustainable growth” says Ivan. “What we’ve found is that the vast majority of the cashback reward earned is typically spent back with the store where the customer made their original purchase. By ‘liberating’ the customers’ rewards, you actually open up opportunities to reengage with the customer – and that’s a game changer!”
The impact is measurable to the dollar. By charging what is known as the ‘Platform Fee’, P4P can establish exactly what uplift in turnover is required for breakeven – and beyond. Unlike many other marketing campaigns the success is quantifiable.
Retailers can decide who they want to include in their network and who they want to exclude, presenting a powerful platform to collaborate with other complementary businesses. This opens up cross promotional opportunities, benefiting all parties.
P4P also dovetails with current loyalty programs by enabling points to be exchanged for cash. Merging and complementing existing systems is key as it makes redemption easier, driving engagement, average basket size and frequency.
Millennials and Gen Y’ers can be actively reengaged through the P4P platform as it is these groups in particular who are motivated by a digital, easy to access cashback system – especially one through which donations can be made to a personal charity of choice. “Giving people the choice of where their hard-earned cash can be spent or donated makes a huge difference” says Ivan. Local football teams, schools and community centers can all benefit – as does your business by getting behind them!”
P4P enables customers to support their favorite cause every time they shop – enabling customers to see the results of their philanthropy in a tangible way, and in so doing, grow their engagement with participating retailers, living the P4P ethos of ‘Get more, Give More!’
To view an introduction to Points4Purpose click here
Website: https://points4purpose.com/