Multi-Channel Loyalty Platforms

(SPONSORED) This series is brought to you by HP Elite. Find out more at hp.com/elite.

In this new consulting series, three leading publishers have collaborated to identify a few fast-growing entrepreneurial businesses that are on the path to win in their market. Trend Hunter, VentureBeat and The Next Web have picked CrowdTwist, Egnyte and CloudFlare to feature this month and to provide new ideas on how to further enhance their use of technology. This introductory post is the first of the four-part series and will set the stage for some additional cutting-edge ideas to consider to further accelerate growth.

CrowdTwist, a TechStars NYC alumnus, is a leading multi-channel customer relationship and loyalty platform that helps leading brands such as Pepsi, Sony Music and the Miami Dolphins reward their fans. Their core Software-as-a-Service technology is white labeled to give marketers the complete ability to reward the aggregate engagement, social influence and spend of fans both online and offline. Simply put, CrowdTwist leverages its innovative technology platform to holistically track info on brand interactions and then rewards its fans for their loyalty.

CrowdTwist's platform technology works by tracking interactions such as purchases, check-ins, likes, follows, shares and others. Unlike most loyalty platforms, CrowdTwist tracks both online and real-life interactions, such as physical store experiences. People who opt into a loyalty program powered by the CrowdTwist platform immediately earn points for all of these brand interactions leading to a tremendous amount of business value through increased customer acquisitions, improved retention and facilitated advocacy.

Headquartered in NYC with clients all over the United States, CrowdTwist relies on several operational technology tools to make sure the whole team is in-sync to deliver an exceptional solution for each customer. In particular, its internal team uses Google Apps, Skype and JIRA religiously to ensure communication and project management are fluid. This is particularly important given CrowdTwist's team is operating out of offices in NYC, Montreal and Atlanta. Given the digital nature of the business, their client communication tools include the standard fare of a corporate blog, email, chat and multiple social media accounts.

CrowdTwist is certainly leveraging the In-Store Social Pro Trend we identified a few years back where physical retailers are making it easier for consumers to share their experiences by equipping the stores with accessible virtual displays and tablets. Identifying retailing chains already using this social technology might be a great segment to focus an immediate sales effort on, given they are highly qualified prospects. These would be chains with management support for increased brand interactions, definitive budgets for shopper experiences & loyalty programs and timely with immediate expenditures on a current related initiative. We’re looking forward to suggesting a few more ideas for them to consider that might help harvest even more success.