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Brands go bang to pamper loyals
Economics
Times - Bangalore, April 13, 2004. Actual
Published Format |
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| Sonya Balasubramanyam |
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| Customer loyalty is utopia for any
brand, especially in the current overcrowded brand
market. Brands are going all out not just to woo
new customers but also to keep the old ones coming
back. Most often, because of their top-of-the-mind
recall, loyalty programmes have been associated
only with frequent flyer miles and credit card points.
This trend is changing as diverse service and product
providers ranging from apparel brands to builders
are leveraging technology and finding innovative
methods to ensure customers stay devoted. |
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| But loyalty programmes, says Mr.
Praphul Misra, director & CEO, NetCarrots Loyalty
Services, is not just about retaining customers.
"Primarily loyalty programmes are used to gain
consumer insight and to accumulate accurate data
to map consumer preferences," he says. NetCarrots
specialises in the construction design, conceptualisation
and management of loyalty programmes for companies. |
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| For builders Puravankara Projects,
a loyalty programme is certainly a first - not just
for them but perhaps for this genre. Owners and
residents of Puravanakara properties are offered
a bouquet of tangible and intangible services and
benefits for various needs ranging from home improvement
to movie ticket delivery and restaurant services
available through a dedicated hotline. |
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| Apart from this, a referral programme
allows a privilege member to avail of a reward
by referring another person to buy a Purvankara
property. For instance, a Rs.25 lakh product will
reward the person making the recommendation with
Rs.25,000, 50% of which can be encashed and the
remaining availed of through their various tie-ups
with manufacturers, stores, restaurants et al. At
present, the company has about 5,000 families as
privilege members and hopes to raise it to
about 15,000 - 25,000 over the next year. |
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| "Through this we can create
a larger marketing network and also leverage the
company's good-will," says Mr Girish Puravankara,
director Puravankara Projects. In the past couple
of months, he says, the company has sold over 50
apartments just through owner recommendations. Currently,
the company spends about Rs.50 lakh on running this
loyalty programme and in the coming year expects
to increase it by 20-30%. |
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| Terming them "programming devices"
to elicit desired behaviour from customers, Mr.
Misra says such programmes are sometimes used to
activate customers. Just like in the case of the
Rs.408 crore Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Flyway built
by the Noida Toll Bridge Company (NTBCL). At present,
the flyway has about 55,000 - 60,000 vehicles traversing
over the Yamuna everyday, of which about 37% are
prepaid toll users (that is about 20,000 people
with silver or gold pre-paid cards), who avail of
as much as 8% discount on toll fees for being members.
"Although the awareness level is still low
we expect the number of users to stabilise at about
50% of total DND flyway users in a little over two
years," says Mr. Pradeep Puri, managing director,
NTBCL. At present, the company earns about Rs.8
lakh a day though toll and other fees. DND
privilege miles are earned by DND members every
time they use the DND Flyway. These points can be
redeemed at programme partner outlets. |
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| As homogeneity cements itself in
the marketplace, this trend to create allegiance
among customers in innovative and "privileged"
ways will continue to find more outlets and has
even transcended geographic boundaries. |
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| Loyalty
Programs :: Relationship
Programs :: Technology |
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