CLO

Card Linked Offers

CLO is the acronym for Card Linked Offers.

A type of digital marketing and loyalty program that is linked directly to a consumer’s debit or credit card. Here’s how they generally work:

Consumers enroll in the program and link their debit or credit card to the program.
The program then provides personalized offers or discounts based on the consumer’s past purchasing behavior. This could be discounts at their favorite restaurant, cash back on certain purchases, or points towards a loyalty program.
The offer is automatically applied when the consumer uses their linked card at the specified retailer or for the specified product. The consumer does not need to show a coupon or enter a code at checkout.
The consumer typically receives confirmation of the redeemed offer, usually via an email or a notification from a mobile app.
The discount, cash back, or points are applied to the consumer’s account.

This type of program benefits both consumers and businesses. Consumers get personalized offers that save them money, and companies get valuable data on consumer behavior, increased customer loyalty, and potentially increased sales.

Abbreviation: CLO

It all started as a book club.

Yes, I’m serious. I started my work on the web more than two decades ago. My first site was Helping Hand, which curated the best sites from around the web to help people with their computers and navigate resources on the Internet. Years later, I sold the domain to a company that helped folks quit smoking, one of my first big contracts.

I began blogging on Blogger and waxed poetic about everything from politics to Internet tools. I was all over the place and mostly wrote for myself – without much of an audience. I belonged to a Marketing Book club in Indianapolis that quickly grew out of control. Over time, I discovered that more and more of the group were coming to me for technology advice. The combination of my technology background and my business and marketing acumen was in high demand as the Internet rapidly changed the industry.

After reading Naked Conversations, I was motivated to better brand and control the content on the site. I also wanted more control over the look and feel of my blog, so I moved to my domain in 2006 and built my first WordPress site. Since I was focused on marketing technology, I didn’t want the domain with my name to get in the way, so I moved the site (painfully) to its new domain in 2008 where it’s grown ever since.

The Martech Zone is owned and operated by DK New Media, LLC, a company I started in 2009. After working with virtually every major online marketing department in my tenure at ExactTarget and launching Compendium, I knew there was a great demand for my expertise and guidance within such a complex industry.

DK New Media is my company overseeing my publications, podcasts, workshops, webinars, and speaking gigs. Highbridge is my agency with two other partners that help companies maximize their investment in sales, marketing, and related products. We offer integration, migration, training, strategic consulting, and custom development.

Thank you so much for your support over the years!

Douglas Karr
CEO, DK New Media
VP, Highbridge