or those of airlines and hotel chains. Such schemes are often used for e-CRM purposes as
follows:
Initial bonus points for sign-up to online services or initial registration;
Points for customer development or extension – more points awarded to encourage
second or third online purchase;
Additional points to encourage reactivation of online services;
Popular products are offered for a relatively low number of points to encourage repeat
purchases.If customers have lapsed in using online services, it is often necessary to contact them
by direct mail or phone to make these offers.
As well as loyalty schemes operated by retailers and their partners, there are also some
online-specific loyalty schemes which are operated independently. While early attempts
at developing the online currency Beenz (www.beenz.com) failed, others such as iPoints
(www.ipoints.co.uk) have survived. New ones are still being launched, for example, Pigs
Back has worked well in Ireland and was launched in the UK in 2005
(www.pigsback.co.uk).
APPROACHES TO IMPLEMENTING E-CRMFigure 6.14Firebox.com