Luring new customers and maintaining existing customers<\/p>\n
Burhanuddin Abe
\nContributor
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Even for purchases of basic daily needs like soap and
\ntoothpaste, Maya does not mind the longer distance to Matahari
\ndepartment store instead of a nearby mini market.<\/p>\n
The main reason is by using her Matahari Club Card (MCC) she
\nis rewarded with points that can be exchanged with free shopping
\nvouchers. "I have always loved discounts," said the 29-year-old
\nmother.<\/p>\n
The discount is in fact not very large, as it is only one
\npercent of the purchase value. So, Maya gets Rp 10,000 or US$
\n1.05 for a purchase of one million rupiah (US$ 105). But, in
\naddition to the points collected by customers to be later
\nexchanged with shopping vouchers, Matahari lures these regular
\ncustomers with periodic raffles that include attractive prizes
\nlike cellular phones, notebooks, household equipment and even a
\nluxury sedan.<\/p>\n
Almost all customers, especially women, are attracted by
\ndiscounts, vouchers, prizes and the like. The huge number of
\nmembers currently holding an MCC proves the effectiveness of this
\nparticular marketing tool.<\/p>\n
To date, PT Matahari Putera Prima Tbk, the holding company of
\nboth Matahari Department Store and Matahari Super Market, is
\nserving close to two million customers who have signed up since
\nthe launch of its promotion on October 27, 2000.<\/p>\n
Many companies agree that this type of program has a high rate
\nof success for both maintaining existing customers as well as
\nacquiring new ones. In today's cutthroat competition, any new
\nstrategy, especially one that has been proven a hit in other
\ncountries, is welcomed. In the case of major department stores
\nand supermarkets, take Matahari and Rimo department store, for
\nexample, both are well aware of consumers' fickleness and low
\nlevel of loyalty. Hence, next to enormous discounts, enter the
\nmembership cards with their points, vouchers, raffle and so
\nforth.<\/p>\n
Another advantage of membership cards is that the companies
\ncan gather consumer data and compile it into a database for
\nfurther finetuning and enhancement of their services, which, in
\nturn, are expected to create more sales. One of the marketing
\nmanagers of Matahari said that the MCC alone had boosted the
\ncompany's sales quite significantly: close to a 40 percent
\nincrease on last year's figures.<\/p>\n
The club card also helps reduce customer "turnover", which is
\nprobably due to both its tangible and intangible strengths. The
\noverly used phrases, like "free, save money, grand prizes, rock
\nbottom prices" and so forth, in the case of this marketing
\nstrategy, strangely, seem to reinforce its strength.<\/p>\n
Almost every marketer of major companies agrees on the need to
\nfocus on building long-term relationships with customers in order
\nto be competitive in today's business environment that calls for
\nmore than astuteness in providing genuine customer satisfaction.
\nVic Hunter, a marketing guru, in his book Business to business
\nmarketing, wrote that the cost of acquiring new customers is
\nabout 30 percent higher than retaining existing ones. An increase
\nof five percent of sales from existing customers can mean a
\nprofit increase of between 25 and 55 percent for the company, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Membership cards are also issued by giant-sized retailers
\nselling goods at rock-bottom prices. One of the latest issuers is
\nAlfa Hypermarket. Its membership card -- Alfa Family Club -- has
\nattracted more than 100,000 customers in less than two years.<\/p>\n
Another hypermarket, Makro, that specializes in wholesale
\ngoods, provides an additional benefit for its Makro cards. In
\nconjunction with one of the country's largest banks, the Makro
\ncards can be used for various types of payments and transactions.<\/p>\n
Other major retailers or supermarkets and department stores
\nthat offer membership cards to their customers are: Hero
\nsupermarket with its VIP card (launched in 1997); Rimo Department
\nStore with its VIP card (launched in 1998); Metro department
\nstore with the Metro Yours card (2000) and Pasaraya with Pasaraya
\nPassport (2001).<\/p>\n
Holders of Rimo's VIP cards get an extra ten percent discount
\non all items sold in any Rimo's outlet, except some cosmetics
\nproducts or those on sale. Two family members of a Rimo VIP
\ncardholder are also allowed to use the cards with the same
\nbenefits.<\/p>\n
Not only retailers, supermarkets or department stores can
\nbenefit from membership cards. Other types of businesses have
\nalso jumped on the bandwagon. For hotels, these privilege cards
\nhave for years been one of the most effective marketing tools in
\nits "arsenal".<\/p>\n
Spas have also caught the fever. Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa
\nwith its Privilege Card, for example, is another success story
\nabout membership cards.<\/p>\n
Within two weeks of its launching last year, 30 percent of its
\ncustomers signed up. Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa has two
\ncenters, one in Jakarta and another in Yogyakarta that serve more
\nthan 30 customers daily. The membership cards are available in
\nthree types: Gold card with a Rp 20 million annual fee, Silver
\ncard is for Rp 10 million and Corporate card is offered for Rp 2
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
The exclusive services of Taman Sari right from the start
\nattracted the country's upper class segment including national
\ncelebrities like star of television series Diah Permatasari,
\nfamous model Donna Harun, film actor Jeremy Thomas etc, foreign
\nambassadors and their families as well as the country's high-
\nranking officials and administrators.<\/p>\n
A number of benefits are made available for Taman Sari's
\ncardholders. Gold cardholders, for example, are given 90 hours
\nper year of free treatments, including the Royal Heritage
\nMassage, Merapi Mud Masker, Aromatherapy, Body Slimming and
\nvarious other services. The cardholder is entitled to free use of
\na number of facilities at Taman Sari, such as fitness, aerobics,
\nswimming pool and sauna. The cardholder's friend is also provided
\nwith a limited number of free services. A second friend, however,
\nis given a 25 percent discount.<\/p>\n
One of the country's marketing gurus, Rhenald Kasali, said
\nthat while membership cards are quite effective in maintaining
\ncustomer loyalty as well as attracting new customers, some
\ncompanies issue them without features that are genuine benefits
\nfor the privileged clients.<\/p>\n
"The concept of customer relationships behind the issuance of
\nmembership cards should be holistic. Creative breakthroughs in
\nmarketing are indeed the order of the day. A special kind of
\nastuteness is required so that the cards' features and benefits
\nare genuine solutions for customers' needs. Me-too products and
\nservices are in abundance, so, differentiation is also vital," he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/luring-new-customers-and-maintaining-existing-customers-1447899208",
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