qiibee: Bringing Loyalty to the blockchain

Any frequent flier that collects miles from airlines can tell you about the hassles involved in redeeming points. At the end, one doesn’t use them, and they eventually get wasted. Perhaps, even if I couldn't be bothered anymore, I could as well have passed it on to family, or liquidated it. At least, that was and is still an issue for me. I got the feeling that I couldn’t be bothered, and also felt that I was being treated unfairly.
I think a lot of customers/consumers can relate to this experience in different industries-be it at your favourite deli, hotel or coffee shop.
There is the general feeling that things could be handled a lot more better. I wasn’t surprised, when I read this report by Bond Band Loyalty, which stated that $100b worth of loyalty points are being left unclaimed.

Interestingly, this affects the brands in question too, because it leads to problems balancing their books. Points users gain and don’t redeem for one reason or the other are liabilities, financially.

REAL WORLD PROBLEMS FACED BY BRANDS AND CUSTOMERS
Friction in the loyalty market is a big issue, and we will see how this affects users in a bit.

Brands want to be able to gain customers without obscene acquisition costs. Also, they would expect that these customers are returning customers, and are profitable for the foreseeable future. They also experience the problem of low engagement, which is cause by a number of factors, some of which I have highlighted. High operational risks, such as the risk of losing customer data, or misuse by a team member is real (see Facebook). Having servers and managing them in one location is also risky, and tends to take businesses away from their focus.

source: pixabay.com
On the other hand, users are faced by the problem of not having a seamless process of accessing loyalty program information-generally about a program, or following up with number of points they have accumulated. There is clearly no way to exit. Customers are actually locked in. There's a multitude of options to choose from, and this can be an overwhelming and tiring process. These are all downsides of a fragmented system.

I wasn’t satisfied with the service I was getting for my loyalty, so I decided to find a solution that could keep me happy and hopefully, I won’t have to try to remember 25 different login credentials, keep checking through all these one after the other, or even bother about multiple logins.
Look at what I found!

qiibee(pronounced key-bee) got into the loyalty business in 2015. They have run a successful off chain application, partnered with more than 900 brands locally and internationally, and gained more than 100,000 active users within a 12 month timeframe!

qiibee builds loyalty in a more efficient and secure way on the Ethereum blockchain. The decentralised ecosystem created, enables brands to run their loyalty programs on the blockchain, and also be in total control of everything. Essentially, it connects brands on the one hand, to customers on the other. Customers such as myself are given the attention and freedom we have been craving.

How qiibee changes the way we interact with loyalty programs

Suddenly, we have access to more options and can make comparisons, before making a decision. With the qiibee app in the fray, I discovered that users do not need to open multiple accounts. Seeing all brands are connected in a way via qiibee, users can view all loyalty tokens in the “Overview” section. Essentially, loyalty tokens gotten from different brands can be stored in one place, and users can decide to exchange, gift or trade loyalty tokens for other cryptos or their local currencies via third parties. Seeing blockchain technology is used, this ensures that there is better protection for users and brands.
Due to the fact tnat users can also carry out free exchanges between different loyalty programs, users would end up getting more involved by using the products/services of brands more, as they can easily accumulate what they have earned, and they will no longer have to bother about handling each and every one, separately. Ease of usage is key to keeping users happy and longer, on any platform.

These would definitely improve engagement, drive in more users, and it will get a lot of users excited, just like I am right now.

Using the easy to use developer kit provided by qiibee, new and existing loyalty programs can connect to the API and tokenise their loyalty systems.

How it works
There are two sides to the loyalty program on the qiibee ecosystem: Reward and redemption. The rewards aspect has to do with the brand setting up what rewards users would receive, and when they will receive it for performing specific actions. Whereas, redemption on the other hand deals with how customers can get loyalty tokens from the brand in question and cash in, if they so choose.

The steps for customers to redeem their bonuses and for brands to create campaigns are very straighforward.

For Brands:

Brands set a fixed budget for a loyalty campaign. Based on this, they purchase QBX tokens. These are then sent to qiibee, who goes ahead to create loyalty tokens and send them back to the brand in question. Brands then determine specific actions users have to take, to be able to get loyalty tokens, which they can then go on to redeem.

For Customers:

After the campaign has been created, and the brand has determined what their fixed redemption budget will be, interested customers can perform specific actions, such as buying a specific number of lattes. When these customers meet the specified criteria, they can redeem their tokens for programme gifts. These loyalty tokens then return back to the brands, and they can start the process all over again when they choose to.
Seeing the qiibee ecosystem is already populated with customers looking for loyalty programs that suit them, brands can leverage this to promote their goods and services to customers, via loyalty campaigns.

Ethereum blockchain is fraught with challenges, such as slow transactions speed (15 transactions per secs) and high transaction fees (fees aren’t set in stone. Sometimes, fees are so high that one looks for alternatives).
For qiibee to be a success, they can’t play by those rules, which is why they created a private blockchain that coexists with the Ethereum blockchain to cater to these issues. Thus, transaction speed is no longer questionable, and costs are greatly reduced-almost zero costs.
Loyalty tokens only exist on the private blockchain, whereas QBX tokens are deployed on the public blockchain (they back loyalty tokens generated).
The value of loyalty tokens always match the value of frozen QBX tokens on the public Ethereum blockchain. Brands will also be able to set fix exchange rates for their loyalty tokens relative to QBX prior to creation by qiibee.
The private chain also defines the ecosystem.

The API which is part of the developer kit connects the qiibee wallet and the qiibee platform.

CONCLUSION
To scale rapidly, qiibee partnered with major marketing agencies locally and internationally. This will create more awareness and bring in more users. As more brands adopt this more efficient, safer, and cheaper alternative, the value of QBX tokens would grow. This would be welcome, seeing this would lead to stability and more added value.

qiibee solves all the problems users and brands face, that were highlighted earlier. Just as they waded through the waters of slow transaction speeds and high transaction speeds, qiibee needs to keep on listening to the needs of their users, to keep on evolving in the right direction.

qiibee has evolved since inception, and hopefully this doesn’t stop. Fingers crossed, they will be able to accommodate more users after the initial testing phase with Lattesso, Sausalitos and the third player in the mix. Not achieving this might lead to a loss of interest and potentially deprive millions of a solution to an ever present problem.

Expansion to other parts of Europe and Asia soon, is also a welcome development.
However, I think it’s also a good idea for qiibee to begin to identify key partners in Africa, North, and South America, as well as looking into how their solution can be applied in those markets.
It’s not just about the bottom-line anymore, it’s about solving real world problems and adding value to millions(possibly billions) of lives around the globe.
Innovation never ends.

Thankfully, qiibee actually understands this.

TEAM
the team has over 16 years experience in the loyalty sector.
ROADMAP

qiibee IN THE NEWS
If you think it's all hype and no substance, perhaps you should have a look at these.

As reported by Forbes. 5 Blockchain Opportunities No Company Can Afford to Miss

StartupTicker: Qiibee closes seed round with over $3 million

Strategy Online. Is blockchain the future of loyalty programs?

NOTES

• Tokens will be distributed around August 2018
• Talks are ongoing with different exchanges. Supported exchanges would be communicated ASAP.
• Soft cap is 20 million.
• No KYC is needed for the airdrop, which is currently on (11 days left!). More information below.
• qiibee is currently recruiting. To find out positions available, kindly use this link
• Seed round has been concluded (Jan 29). However, the private sale is ongoing. Kindly get in touch with qiibee via [email protected].
  
  MORE INFORMATION & RESOURCES:

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qiibee Airdrop & Steemit Special!

qiibee is doing an Airdrop!

There are two ways to join:
Option 1: qiibee airdrop page
Go to the qiibee airdrop page, hit "join aidrop", and just follow the steps to earn up 300 QBX!

Option 2: Steemit Aidrop!
qiibee has also kindly offered a special Steemit airdrop! This is a bonus on top of the normal airdrop, to the tune of 50 QBX for up to 2,500 people.

To take part:

Message @bountyworks with your Telegram username as well as your ETH address in the memo!
Join qiibee's Telegram Group and stay there.

This is how the memo to @bountyworks should be formatted.

Limit of 1 ETH address per person! To take part in the airdrop you do not need to participate in the contest. Just send a memo with your ETH address to @bountyworks!

Please note everyone will be able to see the ETH address you send in the memo. So make a new ETH address or use one that you are okay with being public! Do NOT accidentally send a private key or any other personal information! For more information on the airdrop go here

To get the @bountyworks airdrop, send your ETH address before May 30th! On May 30th the ETH addresses for the drop will be handed over to the team at qiibee!

Thanks to the qiibee team for doing the Steemit special!

https://steemit.com/crypto/@originalworks/350-steem-60-bonuses-airdrop-sponsored-writing-contest-qiibee

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