CompUSA may have a cure for triskaidekaphobia — fear of the number 13 — at least among small office/home office (SO/HO) owners.
The Dallas retailer has launched CompUSA Network for Business, a loyalty program for the SO/HO market. It awards points at a rate of 13 for every dollar spent.
The points-to-dollars ratio allows the firm to offer a high give-back rate — the value of its prizes are equal to roughly 6% of the total amount spent at CompUSA. This makes Network for Business one of the richest in the business, according to Mark P. Anderson, CompUSA's director of customer loyalty.
Begun Sept. 25, the program features a sweepstakes with a grand prize of $50,000 and “The Ultimate Networking Event,” which includes use of a corporate meeting planner and a trip on a private jet to a location of one's choice. Other prizes include American Airlines tickets and 50,000 program points. The sweeps, which was designed to give an early enrollment boost, ends Oct. 23.
Points are only a small part of Network for Business: CompUSA has enhanced it with an array of hard and soft benefits, which reward customers not only with tangible goods such as electronics, hardware and software, but also help make shopping for a small office easier.
These include MemberConnect Preference Tracking, which keeps tabs on printer cartridge, power cable and other supply preferences, allowing harried businesspeople to step into any CompUSA store and immediately know what's needed without having to carry around model numbers. And since this data can be accessed using a membership number or a phone number, participants don't have to fumble around with a member card, although cards will be available.
Network for Business also has a goodie for customers who prefer to purchase through the Internet: Ground shipping is provided at no charge.
All members receive a gift certificate offering a free annual computer optimization, a $50 value. CompUSA chose to offer it after an in-house survey showed that two-thirds of all respondents want to receive service and support at the same retailer where they made their purchase.
Network for Business participants also have access to Compusanetwork.com, a Web site offering educational content and tailored purchase recommendations, as well as the ability to preview a rewards catalog. (Besides premiums such as iPods, computers or even flat-screen televisions, participants can elect to receive gift certificates, which can be used for all CompUSA merchandise.)
The program isn't free; the introductory rate is $19.99, which at some yet-to-be-determined point will jump to $29.99. But in any case it's a one-time payment.
“We didn't feel that a customer who was giving us all his business should have to pay to renew,” Anderson said. However, participants do have to restart their membership if they let 24 months lapse without any activity.
Network for Business is the first time CompUSA has taken a serious swing at a loyalty scheme (a similar effort, aimed at consumers, is being tested in five locations). “They came to us and said ‘We're experts in selling computers, not in running loyalty programs,’” said Nicole Fleiner, a director at Dallas-based Alliance Data Systems Loyalty & Marketing Services Group, which coordinates the program.
Alliance is providing a full suite of services, including consumer research, creative development, providing the technology platform, and monitoring point accumulation, prize distribution and call center support.
Network for Business is designed to take full advantage of what Alliance calls the “Gemini effect”: A B-to-B loyalty effort should reward both the business needs of the company and the ego-related needs of the participating individual.
CompUSA is promoting the program through in-store displays, add-ons during the end of its radio commercials and e-mail blasts. It's also doing a series of mailings to 384,000 of its most-likely current customers. For now, the chain is not using any outside prospect lists to keep the program's mission pure.
“Loyalty programs aren't about acquiring somebody, but about retaining somebody,” Anderson said. “The broader advertising message is the one that gets them into the store.”
Among its current customers, CompUSA has extended the definition of a SO/HO venture to pretty much anyone with a desk and a computer. Folks on the upper end — such as office supply managers for midsize companies — may run into a barrier, though: Participants only are allowed to accumulate half a million points during a year.
Since that amounts to just under $40,000, the chance of a truly small office reaching that level is relatively small. Most SO/HO businesses spend around $5,000 during setup, and as much as $3,000 a year for maintenance.
Plans call for members to receive two e-mail statements and two traditional mail statements every year, although enrollees always will have the option of going online and checking point totals.
Given time, surveys and transaction history, these communications will be customized to each member. This will allow CompUSA to serve up dynamic Web content when members log on to check their point status. Anderson noted that his wife, a professional photographer (she took his CompUSA employee photo, which accompanies this article), might receive updates on a new Epson printer that contains special features for digital photographers.
To generate enthusiasm among employees, all CompUSA workers have been given membership in the program. The automatic enrollment will enable customer-facing staff to stay current on all promotions and marketing nuances. Additionally, the store that signs up the highest number of customers will receive enough points for break-room equipment or gift cards for all staff members.
