While a sophisticated tool internationally, loyalty marketing is still considered a tiny part of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) world in India. And working in the business of loyalty – and coalition loyalty at that — is no easy task here. Ask Rahul Rana, CEO & MD, PAYBACK India, who, over an interview with BrandWagon’s Devina Joshi, highlights the India versus the globe story, while also talking of the opportunity areas. Edited excerpts:
What are some of the biggest challenges to loyalty marketing’s proliferation here?
Indian brands and consumers are still learning the use and benefits of a loyalty program. When compared to Germany, where every eight out of 10 people know about PAYBACK and one out of three carry a PAYBACK card, India still has a long way to go. Yet the growth has been spectacular since our launch in 2012, with over 40 million customers having embraced the PAYBACK loyalty program. The science around managing customer expectations through analytics based loyalty programs is still gaining momentum. However with the advancement of technology and retail sector fast expanding and becoming more organised, the scenario is changing fast.
Loyalty coalitions have met with limited success in India. What is the potential for multi-brand coalition programs?
Coalition loyalty is being looked at as a game-changer for the retail sector in India. It offers a diverse portfolio of partner brands in-store and online, with options to earn and spend points, and avail rewards. Being a multi-partner rewards program, PAYBACK has an edge over other traditional loyalty cards—using one single card, members earn loyalty points when they shop at a wide range of different merchants and brands—offline and online. The product and services categories covered in the program account for nearly 70% of a member’s daily shopping requirements.
Moreover, loyalty programs aligned with social media and mobile commerce increasingly impact the brand experience and consumer stickiness. The advent of a large digital population and e-commerce industry, along with increased penetration of smartphones, has given coalitions a good opportunity to sign up more partners and also add more consumers to the network.
At PAYBACK, what are some of the new marketing initiatives you are undertaking to bring robustness into the programs?
We have made a number of technological investments in the last 18 months. The recent unveiling of our new web portal and the mobile application launch is a step towards providing a seamless experience to customers. Our new app offers marketing solutions to make it easier for customers to access the platform on the go.
With the launch of the new portal, we also introduced PAYBACK Bingo — an online price comparison engine. It allows consumers to compare product prices across leading online shops and purchase the product of their choice, earning PAYBACK points on purchase. We have partnered with top e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Flipkart, Jabong, etc. The portal also has a recommendation engine for customers to make better choices when purchasing a product, along with offering them real time discounts and offers.
Another feature that was revamped and launched on our web portal is our new reward catalogue ‘PAYBACK Infinity’ with an improved user experience. This not only allows members to choose from a wider range of product categories but also gives them an option to redeem with a ‘points + cash’ option. You also get points for the cash you spent to redeem your reward.
Along with the new app and portal, we have re-defined our brand marketing strategy and launched the campaign ‘Nothing is Pointless’, our new brand thought to re-emphasise ourselves in the loyalty space as the market leader.
Social media has played a significant role for us in promoting our campaign. We also had several radio spots across Delhi and Mumbai as a support for our campaign. Apart from this, we are also looking at expanding into the B2B segment and partner with brands across sectors/categories.
How does PAYBACK deal with competing loyalty programs of these partners themselves?
As the leading coalition loyalty program in India, PAYBACK has created a niche for itself in the loyalty business. As a member of the PAYBACK program, you are offered a robust loyalty solution that caters to all consumer touchpoints and offers multiple opportunities to earn and spend points. Our constant engagement with customers ensures that customer retention and repeat purchase behaviour for partner brands is continued.
Our aim is to consistently better ourselves for our partners and customers rather than focus on competing loyalty programs in the country. We work with our partner brands to improve our understanding of customers and their purchase requirements and preferences. Our analytics team makes use of scientific models to enable partners to offer deals that are more personalised for customers. With relevant insights and indicators, brands are better able to establish a relationship with their end customers.
