Silver Spring Networks, a leading networking platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks, today announced a new version of its CustomerIQ customer engagement platform, enhancing utilities' ability to empower and connect with their residential, small and medium business, and commercial and industrial customers. CustomerIQ 3.0 enables utilities to deliver actionable energy usage information to customers with multiple metered locations, supports the growing Green Button application ecosystem, expands international capabilities, enables an optimized mobile experience, and provides a consumer feedback module for improved products and services.

"Our updated CustomerIQ platform delivers a more dynamic and personalized experience for end-users and helps utilities better understand how their customers are using this energy information," said Matt Smith, senior director of the demand-side management business at Silver Spring. "Silver Spring's end-to-end customer engagement platform includes an interactive web portal, email notifications, an enhanced mobile site, printed home energy reports, and robust customer service tools. This multi-channel platform, coupled with the ability to support multiple metered devices, creates a strong foundation for expanded demand response, energy efficiency, electric vehicle charging, and distributed-generation applications across both residential and commercial customers."

CFI Group, a provider of customer experience management (CEM) solutions, today announced the official rollout of its new Document Management Module. The module is fully integrated with CFI Group's Customer Feedback Insights (CFI) Platform.

The CFI Platform offers customers a robust enterprise feedback management (EFM) system that provides them with the right tools to measure the customer experience across multiple channels. As part of the CFI Platform's Workflow suite, the Document Management Module is a cloud-based storage system that organizes all of your program files in a central location.

Seventy-four per cent of all retailers – and 88% of online only retailers – are prioritising investment in customer loyalty and retention programmes this year – but, if retailers think they can buy loyalty, they are missing the point, argues Steve Rivers.

* Steve Rivers is the Managing Director of Intelligent Reach, and a founding member of Eccomplished.*

Recent research by Eccomplished of 100 of the UK’s top multi-channel and online only retailers highlights customer loyalty as the highest priority investment for growth.

This begs the question, how do you build a loyal customer base? It may not be a perfect example, but I think Tesco’s loyalty scheme illustrates a central point very well.

The Clubcard gave Tesco a huge advantage over its competitors. But not because it created loyalty in its own right – rather it gave Tesco the ability to gather and act upon copious customer insight. That insight was applied to everything from in-store promotions and store layout, to pricing, customer communications and much, much more.

Punchcard, a local shopping app that lets you earn personalized rewards everywhere you shop, announced today that the company is partnering with Wipit ( www.wipit.me ), a mobile payment service available for web, Android or iOS smart phone applications, to further deepen the relationship between buyers and sellers. Through the partnership, business owners can create loyalty and rewards programs for consumers who use cash as their preferred method of payment, an audience that represents over 60 million adults in the U.S. and approximately 25% of all U.S. households. These programs attract new customers, while creating incentives for existing customers to return again and again.

Instead of "checking in," Punchcard works at the "checkout" giving users rewards for frequenting their favorite businesses and replaces the stacks of individual loyalty cards people have been expected to carry in their wallet and have available at the time of purchase. Punchcard is easy to use: simply shop at any one of the 15 million local retail businesses where Punchcard works, take a photo of your receipt with the Punchcard app to verify your purchase and earn "punches" on a punch card for that business. Rack up the punches and earn free rewards or cash back for being a loyal customer of that business.

Confirmit, the leading global solutions provider for Customer Experience, Employee Engagement and Market Research has announced the launch of Confirmit Voices™, a Voice of the Customer (VoC) engagement model which enables companies to build successful Voice of the Customer programmes that drive business change and generate Return on Investment.

The model is built around a six-stage process: define, design, implement, analyse, act and review. It helps organisations to develop clear objectives and design a tailored VoC programme mapped to the customer journey. At its heart is the Confirmit Horizons™ platform which provides multichannel data collection, including web, mobile, telephone and paper, as well as analysis and reporting tools that deliver actionable insight across the business.