Merkle Buys Loyalty Solutions Firm 500friends

Data driven CRM firm Merkle has acquired San Francisco-based loyalty solutions provider 500friends, for an undisclosed sum.

Launched in 2009 by CEO Justin Yoshimura (pictured) and technology and social media buff Hong Hu, 500friends' SaaS lifecycle marketing suite 'LoyaltyPlus' offers a single view of all customer interactions across in-store, online and mobile. To date, the firm has raised more than $12m in venture capital from investors including Crosslink Capital, Fung Capital USA, Intel Capital and Silicon Valley Bank.

Merkle says it made the acquisition because of 500friends' ability to provide personalized customer loyalty experiences across multiple channels and devices. The deal is a first for the company in the customer loyalty sector, and will support its strategy for providing customer insight and marketing capabilities.

Merkle Chairman and CEO David Williams comments: 'We see a tremendous opportunity in the customer loyalty segment of the market as more companies are investing in loyalty as a key customer growth strategy. 500friends' interactive and analytics-based approach to the customer loyalty model allows companies the agility and insights needed to scale and optimize customer engagements over time, developing a program that is distinctive and best meets the needs of their target consumer.'

Web sites: www.merkleinc.com and www.500friends.com .