Customer loyalty programs are a dime a dozen these days. Most loyalty programs offer perksvia points-based systems an airline gives miles to frequent fliers, a hotel gives points toward a stay, a retail chain offers points that can be converted to cash.
The Ayala Group is redefining the customer loyalty landscape as we know it with Ayala Rewards Circle (ARC), its premier conglomerate-wide, cross-industry customer rewards program. It elevates customer rewards to the next level by offering not just perks and privileges, but also experiences.
John Philip S. Orbeta, ARC Vice Chairman, explains how Ayala approaches customer loyalty with a broader view. “To us, it is important that our customers feel that they are not just customers of BPI, or Ayala Land, or Globe or Ayala Auto. They are valued customers of Ayala,” he said.
According to Orbeta, ARC ultimately addresses the need for a program where the service and treatment for a premium customer is the same across the Ayala companies and not just limited to the Ayala company they are affiliated with.
“ARC as a conglomerate-wide program is a prime example of how we in Ayala emphasize synergy across the group, in this case, working together with the common goal of serving our most valued clients better,” added Orbeta.
Having a conglomerate-wide rewards program also gives Ayala an opportunity to learn more about their loyal customers and helpsto anticipate products and services best suited to their lifestyle and needs. “With our insight on our members’ profile and behavior, we are able to bundle products and services that are more responsive to their needs thereby increasing their level of satisfaction with our different companies and with the group as a whole,” said Orbeta.
This creates a relationship between loyal customers and the conglomerate, not just to the brand that they are a customer of.
ARC is taking a unique approach as a loyalty program by going beyond just points. It creates a convenient experience for the customer, one that customers want to use by offering a mobile app and a Concierge service that can be accessed 24/7 both domestically and internationally.
ARC’s Concierge and mobile app go a step further to delight, create, and retain valued customers by looking to solve customers’ problems and create one-of-a-kind customer experiences. The Concierge is the exclusive portal of members to be able to access everything that ARC has to offer. It can arrange a member’s travel, hotel, and dining reservations, as well as bookings to iconic events such as the Singapore Grand Prix, the PGA Master’s Tournament, Wimbledon, and London Fashion Week.
And of course, ARC offers a breadth of privileges across the various Ayala companies in different industries that no other program can offer.
Rewards though are just the tip of the iceberg; ARC offers convenience through the different channels it makes available to its members: website, mobile app, Facebook, email, sms and the Concierge. It’s human nature to stay with a company that is easy to do business with. The added feature of a consistent and personalized experience creates delight and confidence. By making Ayala customers’ lives easier and making sure each engagement satisfies, ARC is able to cultivate true customer loyalty.
“Being able to touch their lives through the various life stages, in many different aspects, is a rare opportunity and we want to make sure that we serve them right that we delight them throughout this journey,” added Orbeta. “It is thus important that we listen to our customers continuously, and we hope that they provide us with suggestions and other feedback so that we can make ARC an authentic rewards program.”
The principle of most loyalty programs encourage spend, and then the people who spend the most are rewarded.
Orbeta offers another perspective. “Some of our brands actually have their own loyalty programs and are already rewarding their customers in their own way. With ARC, I’d like to think that rather than confining the rewarding to a select few, we are even democratizing it by recognizing a much larger group of our most loyal customers. It is an innovation we wanted to try and though ARC currently targets premium customers, eventually I think we will be creating programs that address a wider base as we apply the learnings from ARC.”