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Although companies have various technologies in their infrastructures that are in place to perform complementary and sometimes overlapping functions, there is real value to integrating technologies that aim to improve the customer experience and streamline business operations. Here's what to consider.

Loyalty practitioners are increasingly focused on evolving strategies to smaller segments of customers, treating each customer uniquely by deploying the right mix of motivators based on relevant indicators. The good news is these indicators are data fields derived from elements residing in your marketing database.

Unlike a card sitting unseen in a purse or wallet, and unlike sales offers that come through the post or email, a mobile loyalty program can deliver incentives to consumers wherever they are, targeting them for timely promotions and, in the future, even reaching them when they are in physical proximity to a retail location.

Email has long been considered a primary tool for customer retention, but it’s actually an equally powerful tool for lead generation as well. Beyond cultivating new leads from your existing email database, strategic placement of calls-to-action for email sign-up can be a very effective way to encourage dialog in order to engage potential prospects.