Loyalty Lab, Harte-Hanks Reach CRM Deal

Loyalty Lab, a vendor of on-demand CRM for consumer brands, and Harte-Hanks, a direct and targeted marketing company, have announced a relationship designed to "expand the range of loyalty and relationship marketing capabilities available to marketers, particularly in retail markets," according to Loyalty officials.

"By aligning with Loyalty Lab, we will be able to anchor our extensive portfolio of loyalty program services using Loyalty Lab's Customer Relationship Manager software," said Frank Harvey, corporate officer and vice president, Harte-Hanks.

In time, Harte-Hanks also may choose to integrate its Postfuture e-mail, data management and Allink suite of database marketing products with Loyalty Lab to provide a platform for marketers to "identify best customers, communicate with them using integrated, multichannel messaging, and manage loyalty campaign activity," Loyalty officials say.

"Harte-Hanks is a recognized leader in loyalty marketing and CRM, with long-standing relationships with many on the nation's top retailers," said Mark H. Goldstein, CEO of Loyalty Lab.

In June Loyalty Lab announced that Rockler Woodworking and Hardware, a woodworking supplies retailer, enlisted Loyalty Lab to host a best customer program.

Rockler, which operates 33 stores, a Web site and a 156-page catalog, will use Loyalty Lab's Web-based Customer Relationship Management platform to "manage all aspects of its new retail loyalty and customer management initiative," according to Loyalty Lab officials.

Scott Ekman, Rockler's Vice President of Marketing, said the Loyalty Lab products are expected to spare the 53-year old retailer "the financial strain of a major software overhaul," and to help get them "on the right path for best customer management."

In hosting the program, the Loyalty Lab platform will manage shopper enrollments, transaction processing, rewards and accruals. Loyalty Lab also enables integrated marketing and retail loyalty and campaign management, serving as the central core of e-mail, Web-based and POS communications drawing from a single database.

Loyalty Lab's flagship Customer Relationship Manager Suite provides retailers and service companies with integrated and on-demand loyalty program management, e-mail, campaign management, and incentives from a single desktop. Clients include New York and Company, Brookstone, 1-800-Flowers.com, Bally Total Fitness and others.

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David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.