Last Tuesday on our "Love thy Customer" series, we talked about the Starbucks Philippines Planner and how they made use of the brand's experience to reward their loyal customers. As promised, we'll talk about another planner that made full use of its experience to build a community - ladies and gentlemen (especially ladies), we'll talk about the Belle de Jour Power Planner.

Ten years ago, Viviamo, Inc. released the first BDJ Power Planner which aims to help women conquer the world. Included in it are full-color pages filled with inspiration, spaces to jot on, and coupons from different brands. The Power Planner's users love it, and with their support, Viviamo set up websites such as www.ilovebdj.com and www.bdjbox.com. They even have their own series of events like the BDJ Fair!

What should brands take note of about the BDJ Power Planner? In the case of Starbucks, the planner is more of a reward for staying to drink; but in the case of the Belle de Jour Power Planner, the planner is more of a benefit to those who got one.

Vivamo focused on targeting its market of passionate women through it and then expanded it further through below-the-line activities (such as events). They've reinvented "Customer Experience" further.

This is the second part of our "Love thy Customer" series as part of the preparations leading to the 2016 Customer Love Fest. This series will look back at the best customer relationship, rewards, loyalty and experience practices done by various businesses over the years. There's more case studies to reminisce to, and we'll be talking more about it in the next few weeks.

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 loyalty, rewards and experience. 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, Twitter and Instagram.

This is the third part on our Road to PBEX 2016 series. Our Google+ Page will be showing all posts from this series of features.

Do you remember the time when you are trying to register your business and you've had a hard time processing papers just to make your business official? Fortunately, those days were gone, as Republic Act 10644 is signed in 2014.

What does this Act mean? The development of Negosyo Centers in the country. What makes Negosyo Centers interesting? Will it be able to help budding micro, small and medium enterprises to do business in the country easier? On this segment, we will point out five (5) things you need to know in a Negosyo Center.

Who made the Negosyo Centers possible?

The RA 10644 or "AN ACT PROMOTING JOB GENERATION AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES" (also referred to as the "Go Negosyo Act of 2013") has Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV as its sponsor, and it was filed by various house committes to the First Regular Session of the 16th Philippine Congress in December 2013.

It was then co-sponsored by majority of the Philippine Senate the following year, and was then signed by President Aquino III in July 2014. The process took around seven (7) months from the Senate to the President's table.

What are the models of the Negosyo Centers?

According to the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (which also refers itself to "Go Negosyo," its brand), the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has set four types of Negosyo Centers with different features:

• Model A: A facility ideal for provinces, cities, and first-class municipalities with 3 to 5 business counselors plus support staff. Facility includes a reception area (receiving counter, PBR kiosk, computers, lounge, and library), consultation and meeting room, working area, and a training room
• Model B: A facility ideal for second-class municipalities with 2 to 3 business counselors plus support staff. Facility includes a reception area, consultation and meeting room, and working area.
• Model C: A facility ideal for third- to fourth-class municipalities with 2 business counselors plus support staff. Facility includes reception area and 3 desks.
• Model D: A facility ideal for fifth to sixth class municipalities with 1 desk officer LGUs and the private sector are encouraged to assign personnel to support the Negosyo Centers. They are also allowed to host the facility should they have available space that is accessible to more entrepreneurs.

Does it help in making business in the Philippines better?

Where are they located?

The DTI website has a directory of Negosyo Centers around the country - in Metro Manila, there are Negosyo Centers in Manila, Mandaluyong Parañaque, Makati and Pasay cities. The DTI has just opened 155 centers all over the country, and they are planning to add 144 more, according to the Manila Bulletin. If you know an existing DTI Business Assistance Center, it must have been converted into a Negosyo Center as well.

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If you want to know more about doing business in the Philippines, come to the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Planners. These are the things that scatterbrains need in order to keep standing. These include the tasks that you jot, the things needed to take note of, and the important dates which you should not miss - well, it's you who will mark these out. Brands can take advantage of planners by adding their touch to it.

There are lots of planners available today, but we'll be showing two examples of how brand leveraged the planner into something more than just what it looks like - we're going head first with the Starbucks Philippines Planner.

Starbucks Philippines started this concept in 2003 with these words: "[...] we’ve thought of creating something to keep you company as you begin your day with a fresh cup of coffee, something to plan your day with or cherish your moments with. Something that will tell our story. And keep yours as well."

They've been doing this before the year ends, and there's been widespread positive and negative reaction about this. Even Fitz Villafuerte, an influential blogger on personal finance, has stated his advice to those who would like to get it; not to mention the satirical news website "So, What's News?" shed humor into this.

What seems to be appeal of the Starbucks planner? Let's get back to what they've said before: It's about Experience. Starbucks has positioned itself as the "third home," and part of this positioning is the look and feel of their stores.

This also rubs off on the planners that they are giving away in exchange of their continued visits to Starbucks stores. In this case, they've used Customer Experience and Loyalty methods, and they've improved this over time by partnering with notable brand Moleskine last year.

In the next post, we'll talk about another brand which leveraged the planner not just as a tool but also as a gateway to building a community.


This post starts our "Love thy Customer" series as part of the preparations leading to the 2016 Customer Love Fest. This series will look back at the best customer relationship, rewards, loyalty and experience practices done by various businesses over the years.

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, Twitter and Instagram.

"No man is an island." "Walang sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang. (Nobody lives only for himself)" These messages imply that one cannot do anything alone, so everyone has to find pathways to make sure they will be seen.

Trade fairs are pathways to let your business be seen by your potential customers, clients or partners - and the Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo is one of them. If you're part of the Small and Medium Enterprise industry, you are very much welcome here.


The video we've shown you in this post comes from the previous PBEXs at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall from 2014 and 2015. On its 7th year, we are planning to widen the path for SMEs to gain everyone's attention. With that said, we need your help.

We are looking for successful Small and Medium Enterprises all over the metro and nearby areas that will showcase what they do and what they have, and we will feature them as part of the "Road to PBEX 2016" series on the Ex-Link Events Blog and our new YouTube channel.

We are looking forward to your cooperation, and we hope that your business will be selected to be part of our Road to PBEX 2016 series!




The 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo will happen this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

In every business, there are two parties: The customer/client and the businessmen. In every deal with both parties, the customer/client needs something that the businessmen provides. This was how simple deals are done.

Through the years, we see three things that are related to doing business: Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience (CX). Yes, these are related to each other, but what's the difference between them?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The resource website SearchCRM of TechTarget defines CRM as "a term that refers to practices, strategies and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, with the goal of improving business relationships with customers, assisting in customer retention and driving sales growth." (Emphasis ours)

A great example of implementing a CRM is Amazon.com, in which they have your details and the list of purchases that you bought from them. They, in turn, can recommend you the things you might want to add to that shopping card of yours.

Customer Loyalty (and Rewards)

According to UK-based Customer Experience consultancy and training company Beyond Philosophy, "Customer loyalty is the result of consistently positive emotional experience, physical attribute-based satisfaction and perceived value of an experience, which includes the product or services." (Emphases ours)

Think of it this way: You're using your preferred brand of detergent because it cleans better than the other brands as if it's brand new. You kept using it for that reason, and it consistently gives you the same great effects that made you love the said product.

If your company makes that detergent brand, then you have a loyal customer. Now what if your business is a grocery store? How can we apply customer loyalty in that case?

Imagine this: Your customer has been buying fresh vegetables from your store for so long, and you want to reward him for coming back to your store - then you decided to give him a little extra - a bottle of Hundred Island dressing to complement the packs of Lolla Rosa lettuce that he bought.

The next day, another customer bought three tubs of ice cream for a party, and as a reward, you gave him a pack of wafer cones. The next customer who followed him bought packs of sausages and you gave a bonus pack of barbecue sticks.

Rewarding your customers consistently gives them the feeling being welcomed always, and that is where we go into the last part,

Customer Experience

According to a market insight published by US-based SAS Institute, "Customer experience is defined as your customers’ perceptions – both conscious and subconscious – of their relationship with your brand resulting from all their interactions with your brand during the customer life cycle." (Emphasis ours)

From the earlier part, we can see that the customer enjoys his/her experience at the grocery, and they will recommend their friends to come to your store. Customers who refer their friends to come to your store have become advocates for your store, serving as a guide of sorts for those who have no idea what your store looks like, what you offer and how do you fare well with them.

Now that you have a grasp of what CRM, Customer Loyalty and CX means, let's simplify it further by going back to the grocery store that we've talked about earlier:

By rewarding your customers (Customer Loyalty), you are creating your own ecosystem to track the customers who deserved to be rewarded (Customer Relationship Management) and by doing so, you think of a special way to reward them (Customer Experience).

If you want to know the latest in CRM, Customer Loyalty and Customer Experience, attend the Customer Love Fest, which caters to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Loyalty & Rewards, and Customer Experience Management industries.

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.

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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, Twitter and Instagram.

This is the second part on our Road to PBEX 2016 series. Our Google+ Page will be showing all posts from this feature series starting this week until the week of the event.

The Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo is on its 7th year already, and a lot of things have happened in those 7 years of the event's existence. While a lot of things have changed, the PBEX is still in its location and with the primary objective intact: To help the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) industry.

Imagine this - You've just established your business (Congratulations!), and you've been flocked by your loyal customers, but time has passed and you're thinking, "How about if I expand my business?" You take a good look at yourself, at your business and your customers right now. You tell yourself, "Looks like there's more room for my business to grow," thinking confidently.

Then you thought of the challenges that you will face - of course, you need to think of the risks or else it won't be fair to your business if you took only the positive side of it - and you got a bit stressed out. Good news: We're here to help.

Why your business should be at the PBEX?

1. Six thousand (6,000) visitors will come inside the PBEX - and most of them are established businessmen and budding entrepreneurs who would like to learn the latest trends in the SME industry or get ready to kickstart their business lives.
2. Regardless of which kind of business you have, there's hundreds of booths to choose from. Your potential business partners will sure to see you easily as the PBEX is divided into different dedicated zones.
3. Maximizing your business' sales is hard to do alone, so joining expos such as the PBEX will not only help you increase your leads, but also lead you to future partnerships with other companies.

By the time you've read this, you should be thinking of the opportunities that the PBEX will bring to you as a brand; so what are you waiting for,


The 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo will happen this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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.

Most of you have heard the term "ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)," which is the attempt of the Association of South East Asian Nations to build an single market which has the potential to be one of the largest in the world. You will probably be confused with the technical matters included in it, so we'll help you imagine what the AEC aims to be.

Let's start with a story. There's this one village by the name of ASEAN, and in that village we have Juan, Ahmad, Kong, Kevin, Singh, Farah, Thant, Ryan, Natcha and Minh. All of them have their own businesses - in the case of Juan, he has his own sari-sari store.

While they are successful in their own businesses, Juan and his fellow businessmen seek to expand their businesses and their customer base, but there are two things that they need to consider:

• They are not the only ones who want to expand, as they've heard from their customers that other businesses are expanding their business nearby the ASEAN Village.
• They need a place to start growing, but they don't know where to do so.

One day, they decided to talk about creating their own space where they can integrate with each other's businesses, and the plan was drafted at Ryan's house. They agreed to share their knowledge, ideas and concepts with each other. Some slightly disagree, as they will have to share their resources with others, but that is exactly the purpose of their discussion: To share the resources in order to build a bigger community.

The story is far from over, as countries are preparing for this transition. This ASEAN Economic community does not just involves governments from its member-states, but also the people doing businesses in those states. Because of that, we are being educated to prepare for the incoming tweaks that will take effect in the next few years.

If you would like to read further, the Asian Development Bank has listed 12 things that everyone needs to take note of about the AEC, including:

• The center of global economic gravity is shifting toward Asia
• The ASEAN Economic Community will allow the free flow of goods, services, investments, and skilled labor, and the freer movement of capital across the region.
• ASEAN's potential market is larger than the European Union or North America
• ASEAN is one of the most open economic regions in the world

As local businesses get a larger audience, they need to globalize it in order to not get left behind. This is why the Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo is all about, as we will gather resource persons to discuss how can business grasp the idea of going global.

The 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo will happen at the Megatrade Hall 2, 5th Level, Building B of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City this August 26 to 28.


This event is organized by Ex-link Management and Marketing Services Corp, a Business Events Organizer in the Philippines. For partnerships, call tel. no. 633-0153, 643-3887, or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook and Twitter.

This is where the 2016 Customer LoveFest comes in. As the first of its kind in the country, the Customer LoveFest is divided into two parts - the Customer Experience Management Conference and the Customer Loyalty Conference and Expo. This event is a learning opportunity for those who are in the fields of customer service and customer experience.

There are three simple reasons why you need to take part of this annual conference:

1. Meet like-minded professionals who are working in the field of customer service and related fields, as well as executives from various companies. This event gathers businesses who are seeking to improve their systems and methods in retaining customers and building brand loyalty.
2. Know the best practices in running Customer Loyalty Programs and Customer Experience Management. From branding to the digital economy, new innovations in customer love are popping up, so as a business, you need to gain knowledge on how brands have implemented effective strategies to keep your current and incoming customers happy.
3. Be ahead of everyone else. There are companies in the retail industry who have implemented their customer loyalty systems thanks to the knowledge they got form the Customer Love Fest.

Take a look at the highlights of last year's LoveFest:


The Customer Love Fest will happen at the New World Makati Hotel this October 21 to 22, 2016.

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.

The second leg of the Tourism Lifestyle & Business Expo at the Glorietta Activity Center held last May 9 to 11 is as successful as the first one held last April. If you missed the encore, don't fret - we are here to tell you more about it.


The first day, held on the Election holiday, kicked off with resource speakers Rejj Sibayan, Kaye Rey and Vanessa Galang sharing their tips on how to make travels worthwhile - from how to capture the best moments through the lens of the camera and through online blogging; and how to travel smarter.


The second day went traditional as the candidates and reigning queens of Miss Tourism Philippines showed their Filipiniana gowns at their Flores de Mayo show. Ms. Asmen Razul of Palawan, Ms. Aeriel Bartolome of Marikina City, Ms. Marlyn Dela Merced of Guinto, Marilao-Bulacan and Ms. Sheena Mae Zaldivar of Dapitan City got the Best in Flores de Mayo awards.

The Philippine Red Cross Rizal Chapter Makati Branch shared their safety tips in the scorching hot summer season, and the winner of the Snapshots Online Photo Contest was awarded. Camille Quiambao won the best photo, a portrait of her sitting at the top of a cliff, as selected by the Ex-Link Events staff.

A photo posted by Camille Quiambao (@camgavino) on Apr 24, 2016 at 8:08pm PDT

On the final day, resource speakers Coach Dave Aguila and exhibitors Jade Pacific, Ezywipe and VIA.com Philippines shared what they do in front of the Glorietta audience, followed by the circle of talents of the Center for Pop Music Philippines and dance group Dee Girls.

With three days of educating and entertaining the audience - not to mention, showcase the latest products and services that are being offered today - the 2nd Tourism Lifestyle & Business Expo is surely enjoyed by everyone who came there. To those who joined us at the 2nd TLB Expo, thank you very much for participating.

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The 2nd Tourism Lifestyle & Business Expo is presented by Glorietta, Ayala Center, Miss Tourism Philippines and Ex-Link Events. Citibank, Center for Pop Music Philippines and Azumi Boutique Hotel are the event sponsors. This event is for the benefit of the Dumagat children and youth of Brgy. Calawis, Antipolo City.

This event is organized by Ex-link Management and Marketing Services Corp, a Business Events Organizer in the Philippines. For partnerships, call tel. no. 633-0153, 643-3887, or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook and Twitter.