#6

I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings were:

1. Relationship marketing and loyalty programme
2. Public Relations and corporate social responsibility

Even though public relations is business, one should not entirely advocate it to profits. In public relations, there are two kinds of results to measure success. The tangible measure is of course the monetary aspect of it while the intangible measure are the relationships built with the client and the community.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that every project in PR is not a one off business deal. More often that not, it is sustainable over time. Building good relationships with clients and the community ensures that the business continues to strive in the future.

Personally, loyalty programmes are extremely useful if executed appropriately. It has the capacity to bind and connect the user to a specific brand of goods even if there is a spectrum of similar products in the industry. Take bubble tea for example, a once hot craze in Singapore, with many bubble tea shops springing up along the same street. Happy Cup, for one, issues loyalty cards to their customers and with every 10 cups bought, the customer is entitled to a free cup of bubble tea.

Customers are always in search for cheap deals, and such cheap thrills entice them. Loyalty cards may sway customers away from competing companies and create an aquired preference in them. In a way, it binds the customer to a certain brand and away from other competitors. I would think it works for all sorts of products, from daily necessities such as bread to restaurant meals.

Yet, as I've mentioned, a business should not entirely focus primarily on business and monetary returns per se. It is essential to give back to society, and help those in need. Not only is it a worthwhile practice, it can also improve the image of the company and because of that, clients might feel compelled to work with certain companies because of the good deeds they are doing. An example is Macdonalds where every 5cents from each Happy Meal goes to charity. Perhaps established companies might want to adopt a charity like Perfect 10 radio station adopting a different charity each year, so as to give back to society.

As such, Public relations is not merely just money money money, but aspects such as building relationships with clients and the community can also be considered.