Paula: Welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty, an industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals.
Paula: I’m Paula Thomas, the founder and CEO of Let’s Talk Loyalty and also now Loyalty TV.
Paula: Today’s episode is hosted by Charlie Hills, Chief Strategy Officer of Mando-Connect, a UK-based agency that uses smart data to create brilliant partnerships and rewards that really work.
Paula: If you work in loyalty marketing, you can watch our latest video interviews every Thursday on www.loyalty.tv.
Paula: And of course, you can also listen to Let’s Talk Loyalty every Tuesday, every Wednesday and every Thursday to learn the latest ideas from loyalty experts around the world.
Charlie: Hello, and welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty.
Charlie: I’m Charlie Hills, the Chief Strategy Officer for Mando Connect, WPP’s Loyalty Specialist Partnerships and Rewards Agency.
Charlie: We have created a white paper in partnership with YouGov that explores loyalty membership appeal and impact across 24 European markets.
Charlie: And I’m delighted to be hosting a series of podcasts featuring European loyalty experts to help listeners better understand loyalty across Europe.
Charlie: Today I’m delighted to welcome two guests to our podcast.
Charlie: Firstly, Emily Walker, who is the Head of Media and Brand Marketing for Arnold Clark and also Hema Kukadia, a Partnerships Account Director at Mando-Connect.
Charlie: Today we’ll be talking about Arnold Clark Rewards, the new reward program for Arnold Clark customers.
Charlie: Emily has worked in Arnold Clark’s Marketing Department for seven years now, responsible for brand marketing since 2022.
Charlie: She’s worked on some brilliant projects, including Arnold Clark Sales Events, The Real Sale, numerous sponsorships including Channel 4 Drama, Talk Sport, This Morning and Scottish Rugby, the Arnold Clark Cup, and of course the new Arnold Clark Rewards program.
Charlie: Today she’s joined by Hema Kukadia, who leads the partnerships for the program.
Charlie: Hema has led partnerships programs across multiple sectors, including automotive, B2B, FMCG, telco and food delivery.
Charlie: And she absolutely loves partnerships and rewards because it gives her the opportunity to be really creative.
Charlie: She’s also a proud holder of her IPM diploma and a certified loyalty expert.
Charlie: Today, we’ll be learning about their favorite loyalty programs, how Arnold Clark Rewards is delivering for customers in the business, and all about their plans for the future.
Charlie: I really hope you enjoy our conversation today.
Charlie: So hello and welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty.
Charlie: I’m absolutely delighted to have you both on the program today.
Charlie: Thank you for joining us.
Emily: Hi, Charlie.
Emily: It’s nice to be here.
Hema: Hi, Charlie.
Hema: Hi, Emily.
Hema: It’s lovely to be here.
Charlie: It’s very exciting when there’s a group.
Charlie: I love a group chat about a loyalty program.
Charlie: It should be a really, really good episode today.
Charlie: But before we get into the detail on Arnold Clark Rewards, which I’m sure all our listeners are dying to learn about, we’re going to open up with Paula’s favorite question.
Charlie: Her favorite question is, what is your favorite loyalty program?
Charlie: I’m going to ask Emily that question first.
Charlie: Which of the programs that really inspire you?
Emily: I think there’s probably a few that first come to mind, but I think just for the size and scale, and probably one of the best done is O2 Priority.
Emily: And I’ve definitely benefited from some tickets a few times, Beyonce being one of them.
Emily: So I was definitely pleased with that one.
Emily: And I got tickets from friends and family with them being on the scheme, which is then what brought me to move over to O2 from my previous provider.
Emily: So that definitely made a difference in considering moving over.
Emily: So I think it’s really effective.
Emily: And then almost on the total flip side of that, there’s a small loyalty app.
Emily: It’s called, I think you pronounce it BRICS, B-R-Y-K-S.
Emily: And it’s used at a coffee shop down the road from me.
Emily: In Glasgow, they’ve got a few coffee shops and this place uses this one loyalty app.
Emily: So you can swipe each time you buy a bag of coffee or a coffee from them and then get a wee treat back.
Emily: And I think it’s a really great way for smaller business owners to break into that loyalty scheme.
Charlie: Yeah.
Charlie: No, it’s really nice actually.
Charlie: There’s been an explosion of those little apps, little businesses.
Charlie: We’ve got little trials going on in London near our office as well, where we’re checking them all out.
Charlie: Embargo is a really good one actually.
Charlie: Hema and my favourite Pokey place is on there, as is our favourite Mexican.
Charlie: So yeah, those apps are exploding and it’s a really nice way for small businesses to get the benefits of loyalty without those massive investments.
Charlie: So yeah, two really, really cool examples.
Charlie: I’ve had lots of guests.
Charlie: I owe to Priority as well.
Charlie: It’s such an iconic program in the British market.
Charlie: So yeah, two really good choices.
Charlie: What about you Hema?
Charlie: Those are hard acts to follow.
Hema: I was actually thinking about this again this week and it fluctuates every single week.
Hema: So obviously he’s talking to colleagues yesterday and things changed again.
Hema: But at the moment, I am absolutely obsessed with Deliveroo.
Hema: And the way it’s just evolving though, it’s not just that delivery platform anymore.
Hema: It is bringing Loyalty in.
Hema: It’s bringing in that tiering and subscriptions.
Hema: And then also those experiences as well.
Hema: They’ve got new experiences in there with dining influences.
Hema: So absolutely loving that.
Hema: And obviously taking well advantage of my 50% of groceries on a Tuesday from Co-op.
Hema: So I’m absolutely loving that as well.
Hema: The fact that it’s integrated that Co-op Loyalty program as well.
Hema: So I get my Co-op prices on Deliveroo now as well.
Hema: So I love the way that it’s evolving in lots of different ways.
Hema: And you can see that they’re trialing things like acquisition partnerships as well with Apple Rewards and things like that.
Hema: So I love that evolution of it.
Hema: And just because we’ve been all talking about it a lot recently in courses I’ve been in in the office, but Sephora, because I’m getting a little bit deeper into Sephora.
Hema: And again, just their different types of mechanics that they use.
Hema: So obviously they’re doing a lot of gamification at the moment, which is really good fun.
Hema: But it is just such a fun little app that they’ve kind of introduced, especially with the introduction of all the new stores in the UK as well.
Hema: So for two very different ones.
Hema: And it changes.
Hema: If you ask me next week, it will be different.
Charlie: I think that’s really nice, actually, for those of us that work in loyalty as well.
Charlie: There’s so much happening in the British loyalty landscape.
Charlie: There’s so many new programs.
Charlie: There’s massive programs like Beauty Insider and Sephora that are actually almost coming to Britain having been rolled out and refined in other markets.
Charlie: Yeah, it’s a really exciting time to be in loyalty at the moment, actually.
Charlie: I’m thoroughly enjoying watching what’s happening and all the changes.
Charlie: What about your background, Emily?
Charlie: What do you enjoy about working in loyalty marketing?
Charlie: You’ve had a really interesting time at Arnold Clark when we were putting together your bios.
Charlie: I was like, wow, what a breadth of experience you’ve got.
Charlie: But tell our listeners a little bit about your background and what you think about loyalty marketing.
Emily: Yeah, sure.
Emily: So my career started in media and broadcast media, and that’s where I then came into Arnold Clark working in their media team as a media buyer.
Emily: And then that kind of grew over time and broadcast media and digital media in general obviously pulls in a lot of brand marketing and long-term commitments.
Emily: So there that then built to sponsorship opportunities, media planning for the budgets, etc.
Emily: And then projects just began to come my way, which was great, gave me lots of different opportunities.
Emily: And then just recently, I’ve actually taken on the data marketing team, which is a great way to bring the brand, my brand team and the data team closer together and make sure that we use the wealth of data that Arnold Clark has to make it easier to find our customers and show them what should appeal to them.
Emily: And then when the group decided to launch a loyalty scheme with Arnold Clark Rewards, the aim of it was to grow the brand, continue to make the brand more and more appealing, so it naturally fit within the brand marketing team.
Emily: And then that’s how I was lucky enough to come into the sphere of loyalty marketing.
Charlie: The wonderful world of loyalty.
Charlie: It’s brilliant actually.
Charlie: It’s such an interesting industry.
Charlie: It’s not like in other marketing disciplines where you tend to grow up in a role.
Charlie: Actually, most of the loyalty managers and loyalty leads that I taught to have kind of come across as you have.
Charlie: And then what I love is what they each bring from those backgrounds into their approach to loyalty programs.
Charlie: It’s a really interesting sector for that, I think, actually, and the much the richer for it because it is it’s a real melting pot of talent and different types of people in it.
Charlie: You’ve talked about the launch of Arnold Clark Rewards.
Charlie: Brilliant, brilliant program.
Charlie: Obviously, we know it very well.
Charlie: Our listeners don’t.
Charlie: Do you want to tell them a bit about the program?
Charlie: You know, what does it stand for?
Charlie: What sets it apart from the rest?
Charlie: How does it work?
Charlie: What do they need to know?
Emily: Of course.
Emily: So yeah, as we’ve mentioned, it’s called Arnold Clark Rewards.
Emily: And it launched properly and about that was with one reward only though, at that point.
Emily: And then we’ve grown from there.
Emily: So pretty much all customers who buy a car with Arnold Clark have access to reward scheme.
Emily: And how we do that is they come to the scheme via our app.
Emily: And they come on to the app during the sales process.
Emily: So kind of the heavy lifting is done for them during that sales process, which is great.
Emily: So in the branch, when you’re going through your digital sales journey, a product consultant can bring it on to the app, allow you to manage all the paperwork, have everything for that process in your hand.
Emily: And then once you’ve completed that and you’ve purchased your car, you can use the app to store all your information for the car in your back pocket really.
Emily: And then on top of that, we’ve got this loyalty scheme embedded in the app that they can opt into and try and win some great prizes and take some rewards every so often.
Emily: So that’s how it works from a customer perspective.
Emily: It kind of came around because, well, Arnold Clark’s overall focus has been for the past few years has been to become a bit of a one-stop shop for our customer’s car needs.
Emily: And so, you know, you buy your car with Arnold Clark, but you can still get it serviced, you can, you know, replace a tire.
Emily: Now you can even charge your electric car with AC charge, which is hosted on the Arnold Clark app as well.
Emily: And the rewards, it’s just a great opportunity for us to give a positive touch point to our customers on a regular basis and bring them back into the Arnold Clark brand and sphere.
Emily: More regular than maybe what they would do if they were just coming back to us for a service or to change their car in three to five years’ time.
Charlie: Yeah, it’s really nice, that regular touch point and that regular communication, isn’t it?
Charlie: And that opportunity to talk to your customers about a little bit more and actually get yourself into some new moments.
Charlie: One of the things that stood out for me for the programme is how you’re using partnerships as well.
Charlie: Hema, do you want to talk a little bit about how the programme works with brand partners and what do you think other programmes should learn from that?
Hema: From a brand partnership perspective, this has been a lovely programme to work on because the opportunity and the breadth is there.
Hema: So obviously, when we had a look at Insights, for example, we understood who the customer was and what their needs are.
Hema: So it wasn’t always relevant to have a brand partnership that was related to cars.
Hema: Arnold Clark are doing that.
Hema: They’re nailing that completely.
Hema: Obviously, I’ve been through that customer journey and I’ve got my scraper and things like that.
Hema: So you guys are nailing it there.
Hema: But for us, the challenge was who is the customer and what are they looking for?
Hema: And also, what’s going to set that programme apart as well?
Hema: So looking for partners that aren’t just going to fulfill a coffee, but it’s with the right brand coffee that has the same ethos as Arnold Clark does as well.
Hema: And exploring a little bit in terms of, well, people are still feeling the pinch a little bit.
Hema: So, okay, we’ll have a look at some Argos and Sainsbury’s gift cards.
Hema: But I think the way that Arnold Clark actually position it and message it, I think that’s the relevance to the customer in terms of, go and treat yourself.
Hema: It is a bit of a pinch out there.
Hema: Go and treat yourself.
Hema: So that’s been quite interesting.
Hema: There are some brand partnerships I’m working on at the moment.
Hema: Obviously, we can’t talk about just yet, but early next year we will.
Hema: But there’s some really great fun things that we’re doing there.
Charlie: That’s really nice.
Charlie: That’s a tease for our listeners as well.
Charlie: Make sure you go download the app and go and have a look at what’s going on.
Charlie: Yes, see what the program is up to.
Charlie: It’s really nice that you’re talking about brand partners really adding breadth and relevance there, aren’t you, and a bit of variety to the story.
Charlie: Is there anything else for you, Emily, that really sets the program apart from the rest or that you think other programs should really take note of?
Emily: Yeah, I think Hema touched on it a little bit there about the opportunities that we’ve got already within Arnold Clark.
Emily: Auto Parts is one of our businesses in Arnold Clark, and the opportunity to use the products that they stock regularly and sell anyway to our customers, but to keep that car theme running through the rewards.
Emily: Getting a valley kit or getting an ice scraper, which is actually live at the moment with it being so cold.
Emily: I’m sure there’ll be a few people needing them, especially in Glasgow.
Emily: Things like that.
Emily: It’s not always the thing that you’re, maybe when you go into your petrol garage, you think, oh God, I need to spend a wee bit of money on that.
Emily: But it’s brilliant that Arnold Clark have got the opportunity to give people something to keep their car clean, keep it looking as fresh as it was when they drove away from the dealership and allow them to enjoy their car and not feel like some people might feel it can be a bit of a stressful purchase at times.
Emily: But we want them to make sure that every journey is enjoyable, it’s worthwhile, they’re getting in their car and they’re proud of the product that they’ve bought.
Emily: It’s an opportunity to show off something every time for the car.
Charlie: I think that’s a big part of the journey actually, and it’s lovely that the loyalty program can enhance that and the brand partners that you’re working with can make that more special and make that part of a lifestyle because people love their cars.
Charlie: I’ve just got a new electric car actually, and I feel it’s like a little spaceship, and I’m sort of whizzing around, and it’s still really exciting actually to get into it.
Charlie: So it’s lovely that the program can celebrate that.
Charlie: I mean, one of the things journeys you’ve been on, which is probably a bit less exciting, and a lot of us who are listening to this podcast will have done it, is building a new program.
Charlie: That’s a wonderful thing to do.
Charlie: It’s an exciting journey, but it does come with its highs and lows and its challenging moments.
Charlie: Having been through that process, Emily, what top tips would you give to others when they’re considering launching a new loyalty program?
Charlie: What have you learned?
Emily: Probably not to have too many set expectations.
Emily: Be a bit fluid with it to begin with.
Emily: See it as a way to engage with the customers.
Emily: It’s been brilliant to have our user research lead involved in the project right from the get-go.
Emily: So getting feedback from customers has been embedded since we went live with everything.
Emily: And that has definitely steered us in directions where I maybe wouldn’t have thought of myself or the team who are maybe too close to it, and just would never have come across a suggestion without a customer telling us.
Emily: So one of the things at the moment that we were trying to take note of is the feedback was female-focused rewards.
Emily: Which is funny as well because there’s females that work on the team but none of us had really thought about it in this way.
Emily: They’d said something that’s a bit more relaxing, maybe a little bit beauty-focused or oriented, which is completely different from obviously a car.
Emily: But there’s probably something down that line that we could try and make our own and give it a unique space or find a unique space, sorry, for us within there that works for our customers.
Emily: I think as well the opportunity to really build a brand and really expand the brand and a customer’s understanding is something that I’ve found has been a great high.
Emily: And probably I learned from it, which I somewhat expected, but didn’t really grasp before we kicked off with it.
Emily: So that’s been really amazing.
Emily: And one which actually I was thinking about this conversation yesterday, I was speaking with somebody else and we’re having a really successful time with the Legends Lounge at Murrayfield, which has just started to open up with the open tests this year.
Emily: And it’s an experiential opportunity for Arnold Clark Rewards members, which when we first launched, we didn’t really understand something to this level of what we could bring to the members.
Emily: But it’s just gone down a roaring success.
Emily: And it was great to be there myself, although standing in the cold, but getting all the positive feedback from everybody.
Emily: It was going in for a pie and a pint.
Emily: Not that I was jealous, but they were having a really good time at the lounge.
Emily: And it was great to see Rewards members really understanding what they were getting back from us.
Charlie: Yeah.
Charlie: And there’s nothing like it, is it?
Charlie: As a Loyalty Program Lead, you’re sitting there and you’re with a winner or somebody who’s had something really special from the program.
Charlie: It does make the day job worthwhile.
Charlie: And yeah, that’s one of the big trends that we’re seeing in the industry at the moment, actually, that rise of experiences and emotional connection within programs.
Charlie: Actually, not coming to the forefront of value, but it’s definitely right up there, actually, in terms of how you’re managing your reward portfolios, doing the really fun stuff.
Charlie: What other trends are you seeing?
Charlie: I know you keep an eye on what’s going on in the industry.
Charlie: What are the other sort of trends that you’re seeing in the loyalty industry?
Charlie: I’ll probably put that one to Hema.
Charlie: What do you reckon?
Charlie: What’s going on?
Charlie: What should we know about?
Hema: Oh, God, there’s all sorts going on at the moment.
Hema: It’s just evolution of absolutely everything right now.
Hema: One of the key things, actually, and this is something we talk about a lot with a lot of our clients and all the briefs that we start seeing coming in at the moment, is those emotional driven loyalty propositions.
Hema: So obviously, Charlie, I’m going to quote you here, but 79% of Brits are part of a loyalty programme, which is quoted in this year’s loyalty white paper.
Hema: That’s a really rich customer audience there that we should be leveraging, and we should be listening to them a little bit more.
Hema: And a lot of people seem to be listening to their customers a little bit more.
Hema: Emily, you know, with Arnold Clark as well, you guys listen to your customers on a regular basis, but actually actioning that as well.
Hema: But a lot of customers are now wanting rewards to be relevant to them.
Hema: They want that recognition that they’re part of a loyalty program now.
Hema: They want to feel valued, acknowledged as individuals as well.
Hema: So it’s a tough challenge, that personalization and profiling of customers.
Hema: It’s tough, but a lot of brands are having to do that now.
Hema: They’re having to step up.
Hema: And that is a massive trend that’s happening at the moment.
Hema: Gamification, that’s another one as well.
Hema: People want experiences, whether it’s a really short burst on their phone or whether it’s something a little bit long term, like maybe go to some VIP boxes or whatever that may be.
Hema: But we’re having to engage with our customers a little bit more on a different kind of level, which is not just an email or an SMS.
Hema: They want that surprise and delight.
Hema: They want that buzz.
Hema: So, you know, again, another stat, 85% of Brits and promotions appeal from our white paper on promotions last year.
Hema: And that seems to be rising as well.
Hema: People want to play.
Hema: They want to, you know, play for their rewards.
Hema: And that short burst of a game is so valuable to a brand now.
Hema: And we can use that data to learn more about them as well.
Hema: So again, we’re seeing a lot more of that, which is building on that personalisation and profiling of it.
Charlie: Really nice kind of trends called out there, actually.
Charlie: And some of my favourites, not that there’s a right or a wrong answer, obviously to that question, but I do love those ones, particularly around personalisation and gamification.
Charlie: Because it’s almost as fun to work on as it is to actually execute and deliver and experience it as a customer.
Charlie: What about the automotive industry as well?
Charlie: Because that’s gone through huge changes, Emily.
Charlie: What trends are you seeing on that side of the coin?
Emily: I think when it comes to loyalty, I know from our experience, it’s probably something that doesn’t fit absolutely perfectly when you first think about it.
Emily: You buy a car once every three to five years, if you’re a person that changes their car frequently.
Emily: But you’re not going to be going back and forth to the dealership or the manufacturer unless it’s then maybe a stress purchase, something like a service which could end up resulting in you spending a bit of money on your car which you didn’t first plan to.
Emily: We definitely, when we first started researching it, we’re looking at some manufacturers and other people in the automotive sphere that were doing it.
Emily: One that jumped out with me was the Inside Edge with BMW.
Emily: But that was at that point focusing anyway on company car drivers, so again, slightly different from us.
Emily: BMW have got their app, there’s a lot of link up with the product, with the car itself and the BMW app, which is so cool.
Emily: And it’s brilliant for BMW drivers.
Emily: Obviously, we don’t own the product, we’re the dealership in which you come to buy your car from.
Emily: So it didn’t, again, it wasn’t something that was easy for us to copy, but there was definitely takeaways from that.
Emily: And the more we kind of looked at it from a dealership perspective, we kind of understood that, we’re selling the experience of buying the car, the customer interaction, the product consultants, the storing and managing your documents after you’ve bought the car, making that process where you’re probably buying the second most expensive thing that you’re ever going to buy, less stressful, easily to understand, especially if you’re not a petrolhead.
Emily: If you’re just coming in to buy your next car, it can be a bit daunting.
Emily: So giving them this app where they can store everything in it, make it much easier for them when they come in, make it much easier for our staff as well, because they know, just pull up your app there and we can find everything in it.
Emily: And then giving ourselves the opportunity to have these really positive touch points with the customers again and again after they leave the dealership.
Emily: Making their journeys more enjoyable, making or giving them the opportunity to have an epic journey.
Emily: One of the things that we gave away this year was an epic road trip.
Emily: And the feedback on that was brilliant.
Emily: We got really great feedback on that.
Emily: And it tied on so nicely with the purchase and why they’d first come to AC.
Emily: So I think for us, it was probably like looking at trends, taking note, finding the ones that we should and shouldn’t lean into, and what kind of worked for us as it was a unique product and still is a unique product from a dealership.
Charlie: Yeah, I think that’s the journey that a lot of people go on actually when they’re building a new program.
Charlie: It’s actually what’s out there within our sector that actually we can learn from.
Charlie: Who inspires, who’s doing it really well, but also where are the cautionary tales.
Charlie: I think one of the things that’s been really interesting to observe in loyalty in the last probably three to five years has been the explosion and rise of loyalty in new sectors, in entertainment, for example, in QSR who would have thought three or five years ago, you did a restaurant loyalty program was just a stamp card, and now they’re so much more sophisticated.
Charlie: There’s a lot of learning cross-sector, I think, so it’s really nice to hear you go through that process actually, and then pick the best bits for Arnold Clark Rewards.
Charlie: I know one of the best bits that was picked was obviously, including brand partners in the program, really smart move, get more for less for you, but also for your members.
Charlie: Hema, do you want to talk to us a little bit more about the role that brand partners play in Arnold Clark Rewards and perhaps some of the best examples?
Hema: Partnerships, brand partnerships are very integral in the rewards program.
Hema: Obviously, Arnold Clark have some amazing sponsorships that they utilize with rugby tickets, football tickets, etc.
Hema: But those brand partnerships add that little bit of extra sparkle to the program itself.
Hema: In terms of, they basically bring a different aspect to the program.
Hema: Obviously, we talked about taking customers out of that car atmosphere a little bit.
Hema: Obviously, they’ve got loads of things that they can do to help improve their car, their journey, et cetera, through Arnold Clark products.
Hema: But again, it’s just those aspirational, everyday things that people want, like them doing their house up a little bit, or let’s go away on that epic road trip, or whatever that may be.
Hema: So trying to utilize the brands out there that have that alignment with Arnold Clark, but also that alignment with customers, what are they actually looking for again?
Hema: So it’s a bit of a tough one in terms of setting the program apart as well from the rest of those loyalty programs out there.
Hema: We know that within Automotive, there aren’t a lot of loyalty programs out there, which is fantastic for us because we can explore lots of things.
Hema: We need those partners to set Arnold Clark Rewards aside from all those other brands that are just giving away a coffee, or just giving away a voucher.
Hema: Those brands need to be very much aligned with what customers want and with Arnold Clark brand itself.
Charlie: Nice, Emily is nodding away.
Charlie: It’s probably the podcast format.
Charlie: You can’t all see what we’re doing.
Charlie: But we’re going, yes, yes, there’s a lot of agreement on this call.
Charlie: What about coming back to the world of Arnold Clark and the ecosystem of it?
Charlie: How important is the loyalty program in the business, Emily?
Emily: Well, I think firstly, we need to say that I’m probably a bit biased on this one because we work on it every day.
Emily: But I would say it’s pretty important.
Emily: It’s definitely important from a marketing perspective.
Emily: It gives us a great opportunity.
Emily: Like we said, to market something completely different that you would not expect to get from a car dealership.
Emily: It’s exciting for customers to come to Arnold Clark.
Emily: There’s a lot of expectation already underneath that umbrella of who we are as a brand, but it’s exciting for them to come and see something completely different which they didn’t expect, they’ve probably not experienced somewhere else, and begin to get to grips with it themselves and see how it would work for them.
Emily: We’ve got a large team on it that work on the project across multiple departments to be fair.
Emily: Marketing department, there’s then the digital development team that look after the app, and then there’s the communications team as well.
Emily: Sorry, I’m saying marketing, but it’s marketing and communications team that work on it day-to-day.
Emily: Then it touches customer service, it then touches the legal team.
Emily: It goes across a multitude of teams within departments within the company.
Emily: We report directly to our chief executive and group manager, Eddie Hawthorne on it.
Emily: He’s very close to the app and all the goings on with the Arnold Clark app and the development.
Emily: The loyalty scheme is there to support the app, support the customer’s use of the app, give us more data to understand what our customers enjoy, who our customers are, how we can tailor the tools on the app for those customers better.
Emily: And as we grow and as we learn how to use that data better, I think the scheme is only going to grow in importance for the group.
Charlie: Yeah, I think that’s one of the things that is a very common piece in loyalty, actually.
Charlie: It just touches all bits of the business, doesn’t it?
Charlie: And as you evolve and grow the program and it gets bigger and bigger, it becomes more integral to so many departments, like you said, from customer service, right through to the chief executive officer.
Charlie: It’s a really lovely approach, I think, to see it Arnold Clark and actually how you’ve worked that program profile across so many teams is really important.
Charlie: I mean, that in itself is a big challenge, big team, touch points across the business.
Charlie: But what are the other big challenges you faced and how are you addressing those at the live stage that the program’s at?
Emily: So I think one of the first big challenges was understanding the pace in which it was going to grow and in what in which we could sustain and keep a good level of consistency with.
Emily: I think this first year we definitely took some time to understand that.
Emily: As I mentioned, the Arnold Clark app is constantly developing and a massive project for them this year was Arnold Clark Charge.
Emily: I mean, talk about rewards touching different teams.
Emily: Arnold Clark Charge, I think, has touched absolutely everybody.
Emily: So that was a massive priority for the team and making sure that they had the time to give that the space to develop and work on it as they needed, as well as maintain a good level of rewards in the scheme as it had already launched.
Emily: Customers were beginning to interact with us more and more and more.
Emily: The engagement levels were going up.
Emily: So I think understanding how it fit into the business was probably one of the first challenges to all of us to get our head around.
Emily: Then the other part that I think we’ve still not quite nailed is the use of the data that we’re storing.
Emily: I think using that back to make the scheme more and more appealing, really listening to our customers and having the opportunity to act on what they’re telling us, will grow within the next year.
Emily: But using the data to tailor what the customers do and don’t see and how they get presented the rewards, we fundamentals like that will be brilliant when we get them nailed.
Emily: That’s definitely one of the biggest challenges I think that we’re facing.
Charlie: I think it’s great that you recognize that that’s the journey as well, actually.
Charlie: As you learn and as it evolves, it will get better and better and optimized over time.
Charlie: That would be extraordinary.
Charlie: We must record again in about three years and you’ll have to tell me the journey that you’ve been on with the program and how that’s changed.
Charlie: I mean, that’s obviously one of the biggest challenges that any loyalty program faces.
Charlie: If we sit back and think about the whole program and the whole process you’ve been through as well, is there a really important lesson that you think stands out, that you think our listeners should hear?
Charlie: I’ll ask you both that question actually, but let’s start with Emily.
Charlie: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far?
Emily: Volume rewards do heavy lifting for us, 100 percent.
Emily: I think to begin with, obviously we’re thinking about the cost of a car.
Emily: So we’re thinking those big value prizes, where there might only be five to give away, would be exciting and would bring engagement in from app users.
Emily: But really the more and more feedback is, the small everyday touch points, it just has such a positive effect on the customers.
Emily: So like an ice scraper to a coffee, something like that, that more and more people get.
Emily: And they understand, oh, right, okay, this scheme does actually give me something back.
Emily: It’s not always, you’ve missed out on something epic.
Emily: We’ve missed out on something epic, but here’s a coffee to keep the next car journey okay.
Emily: I think those are a real priority for us moving forward.
Emily: And yeah, that was definitely I think our biggest learning.
Charlie: It’s awesome when the data kind of gives you a clear insight like that as well, isn’t it?
Charlie: Because everything can be a little bit gray when you’re starting, you know, we infer, we estimate, we hypothesize based on data and on research, and then you actually get the program up and running, and then you really see what engages people.
Charlie: So that’s a lovely key insight.
Charlie: What about you Hema?
Charlie: What’s an important lesson you’ve learned so far?
Hema: Broadly, partnerships plays a really key role within this program.
Hema: So as Emily was saying, obviously we’re listening to the customers a lot more, and that volume of rewarding, that sheer volume of members who are part of the program now, and Pups is really helping us to deliver those rewards.
Hema: So as Emily was saying, we hadn’t thought about the female audience and pampering and well-being.
Hema: So we’ve heard that message, and now it’s our role to go out and find that relevant partner that’s going to deliver, but also give them that little bit of uniqueness in terms of, well, I’ve never heard of this brand before, for my well-being, I think I want to give this a go.
Hema: So I think partnerships is quite integral to this program, especially the more and more we listen to this audience as well and what they’re looking for.
Charlie: Absolutely, I think that’s really, it’s a really nice thing to think about actually as well and how you can create those new members for your, you know, those new moments for your members and actually things they wouldn’t necessarily expect from a car retailer.
Charlie: I think that’s a really nice balance actually to that everyday insight as well, that you’ve got those treat moments and then those value pieces.
Charlie: I mean, you’ve had so much success in the program, it’s growing, you’ve talked a lot to our listeners about the journey that you’ve been on, but you know, how does the business look at success?
Charlie: And what does that look like for the program?
Charlie: What sort of KPIs do you look at, Emily?
Emily: So definitely membership growth and that’s our main KPI has been this year.
Emily: It’s been great.
Emily: We’ve kind of got a good sweet spot for our monthly increases on membership growth.
Emily: And it’s really interesting to see how it really maps, obviously with sales with Arnold Clark, but also just the industry for automotive from January to December.
Emily: It’s just replicating that.
Emily: But the other thing is the active users and the engagement growth.
Emily: I think bringing the users back on and trying to encourage that behavior to think, I might as well just check on the Arnold Clark app if there is something new.
Emily: I think that’s something that we definitely need to focus on in the next year, using notifications more tactically, not for every single reward so that we are trying to build the behavior for users just to come on without being prompted, but using the notifications to encourage them to use the app for other reasons as well as rewards.
Emily: We are keen for the customers to update their mileage in there, use the MOT and service reminder so that the app becomes a tool to manage their car and how to look after that car after they’ve driven away from the dealership.
Emily: Once we begin to tie the scheme in with those tools that are on the app, I think that’s where we’ll really see a lot of success.
Emily: Definitely an aim for next year to do that.
Charlie: Nice.
Charlie: Yeah.
Charlie: That integration is so lovely.
Charlie: So many of the brands that we work with don’t have that integration or have a loyalty system that was built separate to the experience of the brand.
Charlie: It’s really awesome that in Arnold Clark Rewards, you’ve been able to have that from the get-go actually.
Charlie: Never underestimate the value of that.
Charlie: We’ve talked there about how you communicate to consumers, how you’re communicating to your members.
Charlie: How on earth do you manage that integration internally?
Charlie: How do you communicate across the world of Arnold Clark about everything that’s going on in the program, and also make sure that you’re hearing everything that you need to integrate?
Charlie: That sounds like quite a challenge.
Emily: Yeah, definitely.
Emily: So there’s obviously a massive sales staff on the ground speaking with customers every single day, and they’re the first point in which a customer will be introduced to the rewards scheme, and where it then becomes tangible for them to use it.
Emily: They might hear it on a radio advert or see it out and about, but until they’ve bought their car and they’re sitting in the dealership and they’re able to log in and become a member, and that’s when the rewards scheme will really mean something to them.
Emily: So our sales staff, like I mentioned earlier, will take them through this digital sales process, allow them to manage that process themselves on their mobile phone, and once they’ve done that, that automatically logs them into their newly built app account, which will link in their car that they’ve just purchased, and then the rewards scheme is there for them to opt in and use whenever they like.
Emily: That’s where the staff first interact with rewards and how it benefits them from a sales perspective.
Emily: Obviously, it’s a great hook to get somebody over the line.
Emily: Then we also have our own employee application, so it’s called ACE, and that’s where we host all the training videos, the updates on what reward is coming up, what rewards have just been.
Emily: Just to remind them, although a customer may have just missed out, that’s not to say this reward won’t come back again.
Emily: We give them monthly updates on the winners for when the cost of your car back, which is a monthly reward where a customer has the opportunity to win the cost of the car purchased with that back of them.
Charlie: I love that one.
Emily: Yeah, it’s a great one.
Charlie: Much better than your weekly grocery shop.
Charlie: I really like the value.
Charlie: That’s insane.
Charlie: Oh, that’s great.
Emily: 100%, definitely.
Charlie: Yeah, we’ll definitely check that one out.
Emily: Ace is probably the main tool in which we use that.
Emily: And we’ve actually got internal comms, employees that are on our weekly catch-ups with Mando, are on our weekly stand-up calls.
Emily: So they’re there all the time getting fed all that information and can take away and pass that on to the staff for us, which has been really helpful.
Charlie: Yeah, and you can’t underestimate the value of the business and the frontline staff really knowing the programme.
Charlie: I think you’ve done that brilliantly.
Charlie: Grocery often is a sector that’s held up for doing that really well as well.
Charlie: I won’t call out sectors that are less well-learned for doing it.
Charlie: What about your own sort of resources?
Charlie: You know, obviously you’re constantly evolving and optimising the programme.
Charlie: What resources do you rely on for updates on what’s going on in loyalty and new pieces of ideas as an inspiration?
Emily: Obviously, Let’s Talk Loyalty podcast.
Charlie: Excellent.
Emily: Good choice.
Charlie: Good answer.
Emily: And I’ve really found the Mando’s engine room insights helpful, especially because it’s really narrowed down.
Emily: It’s a snapshot headline information on really successful schemes.
Emily: So I found that really helpful when we get those sent through.
Emily: I’m also on a few newsletters and Loyalty and Rewards Co.
Emily: The Loop newsletters.
Emily: So I found that really interesting in the past few months now that I’ve been keeping up with that.
Emily: And then myself, I’ve got a few marketing newsletters.
Emily: It’s really interesting to see, although they’re not loyalty specific.
Emily: Loyalty trends, like you said, it’s obviously just growing in the UK.
Emily: It’s absolutely everywhere.
Emily: So it’s making its way out to all those marketing newsletters.
Emily: As and when they come through, I’m always keeping up to date with that.
Emily: And then trying to experience them as a consumer as well, and take marketing hat off, which obviously is hard sometimes, because you’re always going to be a bit biased.
Emily: But I think, you’re sat earlier, Hema, about I think it was 76% of people that are a member of Loyalty Scheme.
Emily: I’m definitely well into that 76.
Emily: I cannot even remember how many schemes I’m signed up to now.
Emily: And there’s definitely some that, you know, use second nature, really easy to just integrate into the everyday.
Emily: Like you said, supermarkets, like that’s such an easy one.
Emily: It’s properly learned behavior.
Emily: And super drug as well.
Emily: Super drug and boots, those ones are really integrated.
Emily: But trying to take my marketing glasses off sometimes and just focus on as a consumer, I think that’s actually just as helpful as reading a newsletter.
Charlie: I agree.
Charlie: The more you join and you get so much wealth of experience.
Charlie: I always love reading the welcome emails that you get as well.
Charlie: And the welcome notifications.
Charlie: I always think that’s fascinating how different programs sort of position themselves.
Charlie: In all that sort of experience that you’ve seen and all that kind of insight, are there any sort of new ideas or innovations that you thought all that’s great or something you’ve done in the program that you particularly admire?
Charlie: I’ll ask both of you actually, but let’s start with Emily and then Hema.
Charlie: You’ve got a couple of minutes to prepare.
Charlie: Any new ideas, innovations you’ve seen or proud of?
Emily: It’s definitely, it’s not new, but one that I think is just taken over, is the supermarkets having the opportunity to give you the discounted products.
Emily: For example, there’s not a Morrison’s beside me, but I was in a Morrison’s recently and every single thing I picked up, I was like, what’s that app?
Emily: Of course, I just was like, we’ll just download it then.
Emily: It was so simple and now that’s on my phone, and the likelihood of me using it again whenever I’m back in the vicinity of a Morrison’s.
Emily: It definitely brings it back into the forefront of my mind of going to that supermarket over somewhere else.
Emily: But that integration is so simple, but I just don’t think you can get away from it if you’re short.
Emily: Because I don’t know, everybody loves a bargain and I think even if it’s like 10 pence off, you get suckered in and you’re standing there downloading the app, you think, why am I doing this with 10 pence?
Emily: But still, I think that it’s just so effective.
Emily: Then the ease at which, we mentioned right at the start, some of these smaller companies are managing to jump on the loyalty schemes that are out there, that are kind of integrating with small coffee shops or little individual restaurants.
Emily: I think that’s such a great idea.
Emily: And the more and more everybody has these schemes, you’re so used to it.
Emily: It’s like it’s a great opportunity for these independent places to make the most of this new learned behavior that consumers have now got.
Hema: Yeah.
Charlie: And then get the value from it as well.
Hema: Definitely.
Charlie: That’s what’s so wonderful for them.
Charlie: Yeah, I completely agree.
Charlie: What about you, Hema?
Charlie: Anything you’ve seen or would particularly admire recently?
Hema: I’ve seen, obviously, we keep talking about how popular loyalty programs are.
Hema: And I’m like you, Emily.
Hema: Like I’ve just downloaded the Co-op app now as well, because I’ve realized that I can integrate it with my delivery app and get some savings there.
Hema: But it’s fascinating how even supermarkets are integrating lifestyle rewards within their programs.
Hema: So it’s not just about discounts of products or what product of the month is anymore.
Hema: I discovered there were Robbie Williams tickets available on Co-op the other day, of which my friend absolutely pounced on me for.
Hema: I didn’t get anything unfortunately, because I wasn’t quick enough and I wasn’t really listening to her.
Hema: But the fact that there are experiences available everywhere, I think that’s one of the nice things I’m seeing, that evolution of the kind of rewards that you’re getting.
Hema: And then also the integration of loyalty program within loyalty program.
Hema: So obviously we’ve seen it with Waitrose and Cafe Nero.
Hema: You can get your points on both sides and how Waitrose is available in Cafe Nero now and vice versa.
Hema: And I go and get my coffee.
Hema: And when I’m in Cafe Nero as well, I have a look to see if I’ve got the magazine and I can get it there as well now.
Hema: So I think that’s really lovely that we’re trying to, you know, as an agency, we’re trying to integrate that a little bit more just to explore, what does that actually look like if we integrate customers from both sides?
Hema: And what does that experience look like?
Hema: So yeah, I’m excited to see what happens with that.
Charlie: Oh, a couple of really, really good examples there and such an interesting development.
Charlie: Sort of mini coalitions that aren’t coalitions, it’s sort of program to program integration.
Charlie: I think they had some really smart examples.
Charlie: Well, we’re sort of rounding out to the end of our episode now.
Charlie: So hopefully all our listeners are still with us and also all downloading Arnold Clark Rewards and checking out.
Charlie: But at this point, is there anything else you’d like to share?
Charlie: Anything that springs to mind that you wish you’d said that you haven’t either of you?
Emily: I don’t feel like we’ve missed anything.
Emily: I feel like it was a really good in-depth conversation.
Emily: But I would say to our listeners, especially with Arnold Clark charge growing and the rewards scheme growing and growing, if you are an Arnold Clark customer, definitely download the app and get a wee nosy because there’s so much in there now.
Emily: The app guys that are developing it are great and it’s such a handy tool for managing your car and keeping on top of all those documents that you never really want to look at.
Emily: They’re at the bottom of your kitchen drawer.
Charlie: I’d lose in my case.
Charlie: Yeah, exactly.
Charlie: Then I’d have to find them in your emails.
Charlie: Yeah, I second that.
Charlie: It really is a great app, everyone.
Charlie: Do check it out.
Charlie: If any of our listeners do have any more questions, how should they reach out to you?
Charlie: What’s the best way?
Charlie: Emily first.
Emily: LinkedIn, probably the most obvious answer.
Emily: But yeah, that’s probably the best place to get me.
Charlie: Great.
Charlie: And for you, Hema?
Hema: Same.
Hema: Just find me on LinkedIn.
Hema: I’m very easy to find.
Hema: You’ll probably find a crazy picture of me.
Hema: That will be me.
Charlie: It’s a lovely photograph.
Charlie: Absolutely gorgeous.
Charlie: Both of you do.
Charlie: They’ve got lovely, lovely LinkedIn profiles, everyone.
Charlie: So we’ll pop those in the show notes as well, so that people can either look you up or just click on the link through.
Charlie: Well, all that’s left for me to say is thank you hugely.
Charlie: It’s been an absolutely brilliant episode.
Charlie: I love the program.
Charlie: I’d really like everyone to go and check it out.
Charlie: And that’s goodbye from Let’s Talk Loyalty.
Emily: Bye.
Emily: Thanks so much.
Charlie: Thank you both.
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