Ever wish you got more than a profile badge for your reviews? A little more than compliments for taking photos of your dining, shopping, and travel experiences and sharing them on your social media profiles?
You're not the only one. According to global market research firm Mintel, 51 percent of consumers want monetary rewards out of a loyalty program. Yet Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Foursquare give these simple rewards. Plus, 55 percent and 51 percent of consumers want it to be easier to redeem rewards and earn points, respectively.
MoPals.com Inc. (OTCQB: PALS) launched its Android and iOS loyalty and rewards app across North America last month. As a community member, you earn MoPals' digital currency, called MoCoins, for providing feedback, buying and referring offers, creating and completing polls, liking brands, social engagement, writing reviews, checking-in, making purchases, and inviting friends. Then you can spend your MoCoins on travel, merchandise, and exclusive events, unlike existing points-based programs. Sweetening the deal, MoPals uses crowdsourcing to issue big rewards like $500 for every business a member refers.
"Gamification has lost its appeal," Haditaghi said. "While Yelp, TripAdvisor, and FourSquare have built multi-billion dollar businesses collecting customer reviews, those writing them get nothing in return, except a worthless badge. MoPals appeals to this fragmented market by becoming the first loyalty program to reward its members for their feedback and social media interactions."
"Not all businesses can spend millions of dollars to integrate a loyalty program," Haditaghi explained, "but with MoPals, any business-whether it has one or 10,000 locations-has the opportunity to set up a program in less than 30 minutes and gain access to big data insights in real time."
"For example, take your local family run restaurant," said Haditaghi. "These establishments can instantly reward customers for simply sharing their experiences, tips, and photos across social media with their network of friends, family, and followers."
Despite competing with industry giants-including Tesco, Bloomingdale's, and Starbucks-MoPals was celebrated by COLLOQUY as the, "Loyalty Program to Watch," and awarded for its contributions to loyalty rewards at the 12th Annual COLLOQUY Loyalty Summit in Scottsdale, Ariz., in early October. "Our goal is to have 1 million members by spring 2015, making us one of the fastest-growing loyalty programs ever," Haditaghi said.