Hyundai (n). A manufacturer of cars.
Abenson (n). An appliance distributor.
Unilab (n). Among the leading medicine producers in the country.

All of these three have one thing in common: They are not only looking to themselves to improve, they know better - they want to learn from other leaders at the Customer Love Fest.

This year's Customer Experience Conference is sure to be an interesting one as we have the leaders from various companies talking on stage about the latest technologies, tips, and insights on today's Customer Experience industry.


Meet distinguished speakers and learn more on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship - join the Customer Lovefest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the Tower Club Makati. 

The 6th Customer Lovefest conference on Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience welcomes Fountain Head Technologies' Managing Director James Cruz!

James Cruz has 18 years of learning and global IT management experience working for Fortune 100 companies, developing and executing strategies into operational deliverables across the areas of IT Governance, Application Delivery, Information Security, IT Outsourcing, Infrastructure management, and Next-Gen Cloud Architecture. He has considerable experience with Cloud architecture and shared services strategies while working in Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Procter&Gamble.

He is a project management practitioner with lead experience on international technology projects up to US$50 million spanning the U.S., E.M.E.A., and Asia. He was Treasurer and Board Director for ISACA Singapore Chapter for 5 years. As a technical manager in Microsoft, James helped build the shared services team, processes, and infrastructure for Microsoft’s global online services and Cloud computing platforms. James has broad experience working in the U.S., Western Europe, and most of Asia.

See James Cruz at the Customer Loyalty track of the conference on Day 1 (Thursday, October 19).


Meet distinguished speakers and learn more on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship - join the Customer Lovefest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the New World Makati Hotel. 

The 6th Customer Lovefest conference on Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience welcomes Loyalty Program Consultant Joey P. Reyes! Joey P. Reyes is a Loyalty Program Consultant with almost a decade of work experience in Sales and Consultancy.

See Joey at the Customer Loyalty track of the conference on Day 1 (Thursday, October 19).


Meet distinguished speakers and learn more on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship - join the Customer Lovefest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the New World Makati Hotel. 

The 6th Customer Lovefest conference on Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience welcomes Avail.at Business Head Bea Hernandez!

Bea Hernandez is the Business Head of Avail.at, which specializes in converting traditional performance based rewards programs, into one that is online, always-on, curated and efficient. Among Avail.at’s clients include, Ayala Land Premier, Security Bank, UCPB Rewards, Nissan, Country Bankers Insurance Corporation, iRegalo, Insightspedia and Rappler. Prior to Avail.at, she was the Marketing Manager for Ensogo, Corporate Communications Manager for GE Money Bank Philippines and a Customer Service Officer for myAyala.com.

See Bea at the Customer Loyalty track of the conference on Day 1 (Thursday, October 19).


Meet distinguished speakers and learn more on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship - join the Customer Lovefest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the New World Makati Hotel. 

The 6th Customer Lovefest conference on Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience welcomes Professional Trainer and Chief Executive Igniter of People Ignite, Inc., Ms. JV Wong!

JV Wong is the Chief Executive Igniter and Think On Your Feet® Master Trainer of People Impact, a professional training company which has served clients in the Media, Telecommunications, Financial and Pharmaceutical Industries and is partnered with the Philippine Retailers Association, Philippine Society for Training and Development Foundation, and the People Management Association of the Philippines.

See JV at the Customer Experience track of the conference on Day 2 (Friday, October 20).


Meet distinguished speakers and learn more on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship - join the Customer Lovefest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the New World Makati Hotel. 

Visit customerlovefest.com for more info or get in touch with Ex-Link at (02) 633-0153, 643-3887, 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532, info@exlinkevents.com or at @CustomerLovefest on Facebook Messenger.

The 6th Customer Lovefest conference on Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience welcomes Air21 President Reuben S.J. Pangan!

Prior to becoming the President of Airfreight 2100 (Air21), Mr. Reuben S. J. Pangan already has a career in customer service that spans two decades – from being a Front Desk Officer at the Manila Hotel just after he graduated, he became the Head of Sales and Customer Service and Assistant to the President of Air21 (1990-1995), VP for Customer Service of Globe Telecom (2001-2002), Business Unit head and CEO for Dynamic Outsource Solutions Inc. (DOS-I) (2003-2005), VP for Customer Service of Air21 (2002-2005), Vice President for Customer Relationship Management for Sun Cellular (2006-2013) and Head of Customer Care for both Sun Cellular and Smart Communications (2013-2015).

See Reuben S.J. Pangan at the Customer Experience track of the conference on Day 2 (Friday, October 20).


Meet distinguished speakers and learn more on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship - join the Customer Lovefest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the New World Makati Hotel. 

Visit customerlovefest.com for more info or get in touch with Ex-Link at (02) 633-0153, 643-3887, 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532, info@exlinkevents.com or at @CustomerLovefest on Facebook Messenger.

The 6th Customer Lovefest conference on Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience welcomes XIRUS Technologies' Edward Ng straight from Singapore!

Edward Ng is an engineering graduate, Network Specialist and Entrepreneur from Hong Kong. He is the Founder of XIRUS Technologies, a company that researches, develops and deploys proprietary applications with WiFi. Before founding XIRUS, Edward has over 20 years of experience in blue chip US Tech firms.

See Edward at the Customer Loyalty track of the conference on Day 1 (Thursday, October 19).


See Steven and other distinguished speakers, and learn more on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship - join the Customer Lovefest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the New World Makati Hotel. 

Visit customerlovefest.com for more info or get in touch with Ex-Link at (02) 633-0153, 643-3887, 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532, info@exlinkevents.com or at @CustomerLovefest on Facebook Messenger.

The 6th Customer Lovefest Conference - the pioneer conference on Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience welcomes internet rockstar Carlo Ople!

Carlo currently serves as Vice-President for Digital Marketing Strategy of the leading telco in the Philippines, PLDT.

He started his career at LEVEL UP! as Community Manager and left the company as Marketing Head for the Casual Games Division after 5 years. His journey in digital marketing went deeper as the pioneer social networking site Friendster hired him as Digital Marketing Manager in 2009.

He went on to join TV5 to put up their digital division as he assumed the role of the company’s first New Media Head. He left TV5 to be a partner and Managing Director for the newly created digital agency of the most awarded agency in the Philippines, DM9 JaymeSyfu. After 4 years he sold his shares and exited after it was bought by the largest single branded agency in the world, Dentsu.

As a digital entrepreneur, he founded several web properties with the latest one being recognized as one of the top tech and gadget sites in the country, Unbox.ph. He is also very active in the local digital industry.

It is his 3rd year as a Director for the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) where he currently serves as Vice-President for External affairs. He is also currently the Treasurer for the Ad Standards Council (ASC) of the Philippines.



See Carlo and other distinguished speakers from various industries; and know more about Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship at the Customer Love Fest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the New World Makati Hotel. 


Visit customerlovefest.com for more info or get in touch with Ex-Link at (02) 633-0153, 643-3887, 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532, info@exlinkevents.com or at @CustomerLoveFest on Facebook Messenger.

The 6th Customer Lovefest Conference welcomes Aimia, Inc. Lead Business Loyalty Consultant Steven Ladd straight from Singapore!

Steven works as a consulting project manager across multiple sectors through consulting engagements from Hospitality & Travel, Pharma, Energy, to Retail to unlock their customer engagement potential.

We're now in the time where customers are relying on their smartphones for almost everything, and Steven will be sharing how companies can take advantage of today's mobile-first economy at the Customer Loyalty track of the conference on Day 1 (Thursday, October 19).


See Steven and other distinguished speakers, and learn more on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship - join the Customer Lovefest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at the New World Makati Hotel. 

Visit customerlovefest.com for more info or get in touch with Ex-Link at (02) 633-0153, 643-3887, 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532, info@exlinkevents.com or at @CustomerLovefest on Facebook Messenger.

We're now in the connected age - and most Loyalty Programs are also connected online. If your program is the one that should be always online, and there's no way to record the data offline for uploading as soon as the internet's on, then we have a problem.

There are times that a customer shows up his/her loyalty card to the counter, everything looks good and fine until the internet connection broke. This is a headache for you and the customer-loyalist.
It's already one thing if the customer wants to see his/her data updated instantaneously, but this one is worse. Consider asking your provider to add an option to save the record offline. In short, the data needs a backup in the store first, and this is already a standard among providers.

Let's pay attention to the effort of the loyal customers who drop by your store, trying to earn points so they can get the gift or discount they want. In that way, they will know you care for them as much as they care for you.


Continue your education on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship, join the Customer Love Fest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at Tower Club Makati. 


Visit customerlovefest.com for more info or get in touch with Ex-Link at (02) 633-0153, 643-3887, 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532, info@exlinkevents.com or at @CustomerLoveFest on Facebook Messenger.

There was a time where managing customers' relationship with the brand or business is referred to as "Customer Relationship Management," but a new term rose above: "Customer Experience." The latter sounds better, simpler and broader; while the former gives a rather technical feel.

The question is this: Which term is much preferred online?

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Comparing the results from Google Trends, "Customer Experience" is the commonly-used term worldwide, but in the Philippines, the case is different: "Customer Relationship" is still common.

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On a global scale, most of the world prefer to use "Customer Experience" whereas some countries in the Southeast Asian region, India and Africa still prefer "Customer Relationship."

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With all these said and done, should we follow the rest of the world in using "Customer Experience" instead of "Customer Relationship?" Share your thoughts in the comments below.


If you are looking to continue your education on Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship, join the Customer Love Fest 2017 this October 19-20, 2017 at Tower Club Makati. 

Visit customerlovefest.com for more info or get in touch with Ex-Link at (02) 633-0153, 643-3887, 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532, info@exlinkevents.com or at @CustomerLoveFest on Facebook Messenger.

Customer Support has changed over time, with new innovations and technologies helping it evolve to what it is now. Here's just some of the things that we need to realize:

1. Customers send their support tickets through social media. This is already happening, actually: We are already in a time where there's lots of support-related Twitter accounts from various brands. This allows your customers reply faster than calling the hotline and waiting in queue for long.
2. Bots are helping to sort out the important tickets from the not-so-important ones. So, how can bots notify you, especially in places where data connections are not that stable? SMS. 
3. Visual Demonstration is much, much better. In a world where almost everyone has short attention spans, words are not enough - they only pass through one ear and go to the other, or else. It's best to be brief, concise, and most of all, visual.

The ghost month this year is said to begin today, August 22, and will continue until September 19, where evil spirits from hell are released to the world (according to Chinese legend). By this time, you boss who believes in feng shui should be lying low on projects.

How about you? How's things are going on your end? Do you feel that this month's going to be awry? Here's one tip: Forget that there is a ghost month and just go hustle your way out. Do not let this dictate your targets. Though if you can't move on from this belief, it is recommended to target not just one audience, like how Warren Buffet puts his investments in "baskets."

Here's the thing: If you're in the Customer Experience industry, this should not stop you at all, since Customer Experience is round-the-clock, every day. Customers, regardless of whether they believe in this or not, will still be there, waiting to be introduced to the experience that you are offering. This should not stop you in approaching your target.

Business is half-theory, half-application; but overall, it's the effort that counts. In order to increase your chances of good luck, you need to increase your efforts. Hustle, friend, for the world will not stop for the so-called "ghost month."

While we're at it, the Customer Love Fest will happen at Tower Club Makati on October 19 to 20, featuring key personalities in the Customer Experience, Customer Relationship Management and Customer Loyalty industries. 

Visit customerlovefest.com for more info or get in touch with Ex-Link at (02) 633-0153, 643-3887, 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532, info@exlinkevents.com or at @CustomerLoveFest on Facebook Messenger.

The two-day 2016 Customer Lovefest held at the New World Makati Hotel held last October 20-21, 2016 is attended by around 100 participants who want to learn from key resource speakers and interact with fellow professionals on how everyone can improve their relationships and experiences with their customers in the fields of Customer Loyalty & Rewards, Customer Relationship Management and Customer Experience.

Among the highlights of the event are the Brain Date, where they exchanged ideas on customer experience improvement with a select "date"; Quicknet, where delegates exchanged contacts with one another; and the Workshops, in which everyone shared their challenges and solutions in their respective fields.

These are aside from the valuable insights and outlooks from speakers Mr. Alex Araneta (Catalyst360 Training and Consultancy), Ms. Yayu Javier (AVANZA), Ms. Brie Caces (SM Hotels and Conventions), Mr. Paul Malcolm (Vivid Engagement), Ms. Pauline Pangan (AllFamous Digital), Mr. Darrel Wisbey, Ms. Cynthia Mamon (Enchanted Kingdom), Mr. Philipp Kristian Diekhöner (Die Denkfabrik), Mr. JJ Sison (AudioWAV Media), Dr. Nick Fontanilla (I-Metrics Asia Pacific), Mr. Bobby Horrigan (Enderun Management Consultancy) and Ms. Matec Villanueva (formerly of Publicis Manila) who shared their time with the delegates.

Th event capped off with a quick raffle to thank the delegates for their time well-spent. Overall, the 2016 Customer Lovefest is a resounding success despite bad weather conditions.

Ex-Link Events is certainly looking forward to next year's Customer Lovefest with a planned new look and set of speakers that will delight customer professionals.


The Customer Lovefest would like to thank New World Makati Hotel as its venue; the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP), Avolution, Grab for Work, Pag-IBIG Fund, Brother Philippines, Citibank and Avail.at as its major sponsors; Jade Pacific Residences, Nestea, Faber-Castell, Dinsmor Promo, Azumi Boutique Hotel, Organique Acai, MobileMINDS, Inc., Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Dee's Gourmet Popcorn, TagCash, Avanza, Catalyst 360 Training and Consultancy, Enchanted Kingdom, Primo Loyalty and Rewards, AllFamous Digital, Vivid Engagement, Enderun Management Consultancy, AudioWAV Media, Inc., and I-Metrics Asia Pacific Corporation as its event partners; and media partners Malaya Business Insight, BusinessWorld, BusinessMirror, Manila Bulletin, Inquirer.net, Azrael's Merryland and Wish 107.5.

The Customer Lovefest is organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, contact (02) 633-01-53, 643-38-87, SMS 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532 or email info@exlinkevents.com.

The 2016 Customer Love Fest will come in just three days, and to give you a sneak peek at this year's event, we would like to share to you a few words that can sum this up:

• Personal Image. How personal image can affect Customer Loyalty and Rewards?
• Implementation. What are the best practices in Customer Loyalty and Rewards?
• Competition. Check your Customer Loyalty and Rewards program to see if it still stands out
• Transformation. What are the benefits of Customer Loyalty, Rewards and Engagement programs for your business? 
• Age of Customer. How do you keep up in today's age where Customer Loyalty and Rewards are much valuable as ever? 
• Customer Expectations. What do you need to know about Customer Expectations and how it should bring up your company's next program?

Business owners, imagine this: You or your employees are using Grab for your work tasks (some of you might even ask them to use it), like going to a specific place for meetings, delivery of goods, so on and so forth. Chances are, your employees are required to submit their proof of their ride to be submitted to your company's HR department.

With this in mind, Grab wanted to remove the hassle of documenting every trip your employees take, and thus they offer their Grab for Work service.

• Save time by reducing paperwork - Grab for Work integrates to your HR so your employees won't think of sending receipts to HR; instead, it will be automatically sent to HR itself. Less hassle, less worries!
• Full flexibility with multiple payment options - Credit cards, debit cards, cash or even through a monthly direct billing plan, Grab for Work works with these payment options.
• Increase savings with affordable rides - Grab's competitive prices with their transparent fixed fare guarantee, will maximize your company's cost savings.
• Stay in control for better cost management - You can set your company's transportation fare limits

Considering these benefits that we mentioned, you know you want to get a grasp of Grab for Work. For more information, go to https://www.grab.com/ph/work/.

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Grab for Work is among the sponsors of the 2016 Customer Love Fest happening at the New World Makati Hotel this October 20-21, Thursday and Friday. Learn from local and international speakers how to step up your loyalty, brand and marketing approaches for the customers of now.

The Customer Love Fest is produced and organized by Ex-Link Events. For more information, call 633-0153 or 633-0088, SMS 0920-981-4376, 0920-924-2532 or email info@exlinkevents.com. 

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There's a lot of games that are available to play on smartphones, from the casual to the hardcore - and each of these games have their own following. We take on for example two trending games that are hit with the anime-loving youth: The LoveLive! School idol festival and Mystic Messenger.

LoveLive! SIF is part of the multimedia LoveLive! School idol project franchise that produced the eighth best-selling musical act in Japan of the year 2015, two anime titles, a full-length movie, so on and so forth. It is a rhythm game where you can collect cards of various designs of its different characters, depending on the seasonal campaigns that are constantly being conceptualized.

On the other hand, the newcomer Mystic Messenger published by Cheritz in South Korea last June is a game wherein you talk to pretty guys and get into different situations. Heck, the game will even "call" or "message" you all of a sudden - even at 3 in the morning, as some players have mentioned.

What these games have in common? Both are available on the two common mobile OS platforms Android and iOS, both have in-app payments ("lovecas" or gems in SIF, "hourglasses" in MM), and both provide rewarding experiences to its players (the character cards are the things players look forward to in SIF, while MM players - mostly female - are looking forward to gush on their in-game crushes).

Now, the smartphone is an all-purpose device - we've told you before that your smartphone is a rewards card, and now we've shown you another aspect of the smartphone (as well as mobile computing on its own) - it's no longer reserved for the ones in business like in the 90's, and consumers are really into it more than the TV. With that said, smartphones are no longer a buzzword but a household name.

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If you are a Customer Loyalty professional, check out the 5th Customer Loyalty Conference and Expo featuring key resource speakers, fellow customer experience professionals, and a great environment to share concepts on Customer Experience.

The 5th Customer Loyalty Conference and Expo is part of the Customer Love Fest 2016, happening at the New World Makati Hotel on October 20 to 21. For reservations and other inquiries, contact 633-0153, SMS 0920 981 4376 or 0920 924 2532, or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.