Imagine this: As a customer, you go inside your favorite store and check which items you want to buy. After that, you go into the counter and the clerk asks you, "Do you have a rewards card?" You showed up your phone instead. The year is 2016, and this is now the norm for some mobile users in the country.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of the Philippines now has a smartphone, according to a GSMA Intelligence report (PDF), This means that smartphones have penetrated more than half of the country. Smartphones made us realize that there's one device for doing almost anything, and this is a big data pool for companies.

“Smartphone users are comfortable with using mobile apps and if the mobile app seems bona fide, beneficial and attractive, it will get downloaded,” said Dr. Lance Elliot of solutions provider Interactions in a Mobile Commerce Daily feature that talks about mobile commerce in this year.

With that said, the smartphone has become a tool for rewards cards - and most companies with rewards systems are tapping into the power of these devices, and those who has their rewards systems are now making the switch to smartphones from previous systems that use the short messaging service (SMS/Text Messages).

If you think you are missing out on these trends, then it's time to attend the Customer Love Fest, which caters to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Loyalty & Rewards, and Customer Experience Management industries. Last year, mobile was the talk of the town in this event, and we'll catch up with the latest on mobile as a tool for rewarding customers.

The Customer Love Fest will happen at the New World Hotel, Makati on October 20 to 21, 2016 from 9am to 5pm. This event will feature key resource speakers and the latest concepts in customer rewards. Join in on the fun and don't be left out.

This event is produced and organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation, a business organizer in the Philippines. For more information, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-38-87, mobile number 0920-981-4376 or send an email at info@exlinkevents.com. 

Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook and Twitter.