Harris Interactive has hired Michael Lowenstein as VP and senior consultant in its customer loyalty management research practice. The appointment took effect Feb. 6.

Fred Reichheld stunned marketers in 1996 when he argued in The Loyalty Effect that a 5% improvement in retention can boost profits by up to 100%. Now he is about to shock them again.

In a truly integrated marketing plan, every ingredient plays a vital role. The fact that you can’t directly attribute a sale to every e-mail message doesn’t mean the e-mails aren’t working.

Best Western International and MasterCard International have teamed up to send a loyalty program member and a guest to Germany this summer for the 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, and a special meeting with Hall of Fame soccer superstar, Pelé.

Differentiated service levels are the hallmark of every customer loyalty program under the sun. Reward loyal customers by showering them with perks and prizes. Penalize disloyal customers by withholding special privileges. Simple. Right?

Harris Interactive has hired Michael Lowenstein to serve as vice president and senior consultant with the Customer Loyalty Management team. Lowenstein was most recently senior vices president of the Customer Management Center of Excellence at GfK NOP.

U.K. grocer Tesco is coming to the U.S. next year with a chain of convenience stores on the West Coast.

Podcasting has finally come of age in the world of business-to-business marketing. A growing number of firms have adopted podcasts as a way to inform and educate their target audience, strengthen their brand, and promote their products and services.

When you deal with customer loyalty metrics as we do, shifts in customer values always identify important changes that are coming down the road, usually 12-18 months before they show up on traditional research radar screens. So you can be pretty confident in your prognoses.

For the first time, Best Western International is rolling out its popular travel card in retail stores.