The Importance of Loyalty To A World-Leading CMO - Spur Corporation (#809)

Paula: Hello, and welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty and Loyalty TV, a show for loyalty marketing professionals.

Paula: I’m Paula Thomas, the founder and CEO of Let’s Talk Loyalty and Loyalty TV, where we feature insightful conversations with loyalty professionals from the world’s leading brands.

Paula: If you work in loyalty marketing, join us every week to hear the latest ideas and insights for loyalty marketing specialists around the world.

Amanda: Welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty and Loyalty TV, showcasing loyalty professionals’ insightful conversations.

Amanda: I am Amanda Cromhout.

Amanda: I’m the founder of Truth Loyalty and the author of Blind Loyalty.

Amanda: Our guest today is Vuyo Henda.

Amanda: She is the CMO and an executive board member of Spur Corp.

Amanda: Spur Corp is one of the most established brands, Spur itself, most established brands on the African continent.

Amanda: For its amazing restaurant experience, for family experiences.

Amanda: But in terms of loyalty prowess, it is the winner of the South African Loyalty Awards category for restaurants.

Amanda: And the Spur Family Card features in the top 10 most used loyalty programs in South Africa.

Amanda: And in fact, it’s the only brand outside of a retailer that features in the top 10.

Amanda: If you work in marketing, join us weekly for the latest ideas around loyalty.

Amanda: So, Vuyo, welcome, welcome to the Let’s Talk Loyalty show, Loyalty TV.

Amanda: And before I formally let you launch into chatting to the audience of Loyalty TV, huge congratulations.

Amanda: You’ve had an enormous year, enormous years before that, but announced as an executive board member at Spur Corp, and awards galore.

Amanda: And I’m just going to mention one or two, but nominated as one of the top 100 CMOs in Africa.

Amanda: We’ve celebrated you as South African Loyalty Talent, and you are of course one of our judges on the South African Loyalty Awards.

Amanda: So to speak to you today is such an honor.

Amanda: Thank you for joining us.

Vuyokazi: Thank you, Amanda.

Vuyokazi: I’m delighted to be here.

Amanda: We will unpack the enormity and brand presence that Spur Corp and Spur has in the South African and African market.

Amanda: But before we do this traditional first question, we love to ask our guests on Let’s Talk Loyalty, Loyalty TV.

Amanda: What is your favorite business read or business book or things you like to listen to?

Amanda: What really like engages you?

Vuyokazi: At the moment, it’s a classic.

Vuyokazi: It’s by an author called Richard Remelt, and it’s called Good Strategy, Bad Strategy.

Vuyokazi: It’s quite a refreshing read because the author really unpacks what makes for good strategy and what doesn’t.

Vuyokazi: He really challenges some of the fluff that he’s encountered in corporate and the ambiguity.

Vuyokazi: I think for me, it’s given a lot of value and impetus to being very concise and clear about where we need to operate, but also the actions that will actually turn our strategies into impact.

Vuyokazi: So I can highly recommend it for anyone who loves understanding businesses that win and understanding what good strategy looks like.

Vuyokazi: I think there are a lot of valuable principles out of that book that you can apply to what you do.

Amanda: I always tease Paula and the other guest hosts on Let’s Talk Loyalty because I end up spending absolute fortune because I hear so many amazing recommendations and that’s obviously going to be one of them.

Amanda: So off I go to Amazon to spend more money on the recommendation.

Amanda: Vuyo, you and I know each other really well and it’s a real honor to work with you in the South African and the African marketplace.

Amanda: But as you know, the audience of Let’s Talk Loyalty and Loyalty TV aren’t just based in South Africa.

Amanda: They’re a global audience and I really want them to get to know you as well.

Amanda: So tell us a little bit more about you.

Amanda: You are the CMO of Spur Corp, of an executive board member.

Amanda: It’s a real, real honor to have someone of your seniority on this show.

Amanda: But let’s understand a little bit more.

Amanda: What got you to where you are now?

Vuyokazi: It’s always a hard question to answer because I think there’s always a measure of luck and good fortune along the way.

Vuyokazi: But I actually originally had big plans to be an accountant or an investment banker.

Vuyokazi: Luckily, I was redirected when I was preparing to enter into the world of work.

Vuyokazi: I did an internship at one of the leading fast moving consumer goods companies, which is Unilever, and I really fell in love with the organization.

Vuyokazi: I thought, actually, I do not want to be an accountant.

Vuyokazi: I don’t want to be in banking.

Vuyokazi: I’d rather be in the manufacturing sector, but really understanding what makes businesses successful, and also be involved in actually executing the strategies that deliver the value for customers and all the people that are in the ecosystem of an organization.

Vuyokazi: I pivoted and I went into a trade and sales type of function, which exposed me a lot in, it exposed me to retail and understanding how big retailers operated the commercial story that actually drove their entities, which is a superb foundation because actually I was applying what I’d learned in school with my business oriented qualification.

Vuyokazi: And then I actually got an opportunity to go into marketing and that was basically like, love at first sight, I think it was like, oh my gosh, I found my place.

Vuyokazi: And it went wonderful to really get to hear about how you build great brands and actually to practice the art and the science of marketing, which really made me happy.

Vuyokazi: And I pursued that wholeheartedly working on local food brands and within the fast moving consumer goods space.

Vuyokazi: That journey took me to working in London, which was amazing.

Vuyokazi: I got to work across different markets.

Vuyokazi: And that was really a life changing experience for me because I got to work with people from all over the world and learn from how they do business.

Vuyokazi: And it really just prepared me for what I would end up doing.

Vuyokazi: And I really think that that experience is vital for anyone who’s building a career just to challenge yourself in a different marketplace or in a different geography.

Vuyokazi: But the love for Africa is real in me and I couldn’t stay away for too long before the call to come home became pronounced in my, in my spirit.

Vuyokazi: And so in 2018, 2019, I decided to come back home.

Vuyokazi: And I was looking after the Southern African foods business for, for Unilever South Africa, which was amazing and really started to operate across different functions as I had and a big value creation task and had responsibility for the popular and last generation of that entity.

Vuyokazi: And really had to stretch my leadership ability across a bigger scope.

Vuyokazi: And that was fantastic.

Vuyokazi: And really showed me the role that marketers play.

Vuyokazi: Not only in building great customer propositions, but also driving growth for an organization.

Vuyokazi: And yeah, I had a lot of fun doing that.

Vuyokazi: And eventually, the Spur opportunity came towards me and came to my doorstep and I absolutely couldn’t resist.

Vuyokazi: It was a company that was undergoing massive change.

Vuyokazi: It was actually just in the throes of the pandemic.

Vuyokazi: And I think a few people looked at me like I was crazy.

Amanda: Yeah, a difficult time to join a restaurant.

Vuyokazi: It didn’t really make sense on paper, but I looked at it as this opportunity of a lifetime.

Vuyokazi: This is a brand I grew up with.

Amanda: Yeah.

Vuyokazi: Or one of the company had one of the brands that I loved so much growing up, which is Spur.

Vuyokazi: I knew that it had this big share of heart in the population of South Africa and some of the markets we’re in and the rest of the continent.

Vuyokazi: I couldn’t resist this chance to be part of a group of people that were going to be working on building this and having an impact on all the people that are involved in the franchise ecosystem.

Vuyokazi: I took the plunge and it’s been amazing.

Amanda: Thank you for sharing your story.

Amanda: I mean, what a pivot from an accountant to marketing.

Amanda: It reminds me of an interview I did with Rob Pope, who at the time was head of Loyalty or head of customer for Maya 1 in Australia.

Amanda: He started off as a lawyer or trained, well, not even trained, educationally qualified as a lawyer.

Amanda: And then like you did an internship in Loyalty, you did an internship in marketing and he never looked back.

Amanda: And a great brand to get your pedigree with effectively, your marketing pedigree as in Unilever.

Amanda: So Spur is, well, I think, yeah, Spur is lucky to have you and you’re lucky to have Spur.

Amanda: As you say, it’s in the heart and soul of Africa and you came home to it.

Amanda: So that’s a beautiful story.

Amanda: Before we move into understanding more about Spur, because that is really actually very important that the audience understand the impact it has on the lives of its customers and just that place in the heart of so many customers.

Amanda: You are a CMO, you’re not head of loyalty, so it’s a real honor to have someone of your seniority talking to us.

Amanda: Let’s understand from you before we unpack the Spur program and the Spur Corp opportunities in loyalty, the role of loyalty for a CMO.

Amanda: You have a broader portfolio and you could spend all your time and money on advertising and acquisition, but and yet you’re leading a very powerful loyalty brand.

Vuyokazi: I think it’s absolutely essential.

Vuyokazi: Loyalty is a significant part of our arsenal.

Vuyokazi: We recognize at Spur Corp that for us, it’s about building relationships with our customers and our loyalty and rewards program allows us to really cultivate that relationship and keep it alive in ways that are meaningful for the customer.

Vuyokazi: We’re in the business of service and hospitality and there’s nothing more rewarding than being able to delight those that come into our restaurants and provide them with that meaningfulness of experience because they’re choosing some of their most cherished moments to come and dine with us and to celebrate with those that are closest and beloved in their lives.

Vuyokazi: And so we have a responsibility really and the rewards program gives us an opportunity to give them as much as they give back to, they give to us and to really make sure that we understand them, we can delight them and we can anticipate them hopefully in future.

Vuyokazi: So for us, it’s vital.

Vuyokazi: And I think, you know, there’s so much distraction, there’s so many options and people have such a wide array of choices that for any brand that wants to succeed in future, having a direct relationship with your customer, I think is going to be very important.

Vuyokazi: I think it’s also going to be a way of preserving trust, right?

Vuyokazi: Because I think we’ve seen the rise of fake news and a lot of distortion in the marketplace, because sometimes brands don’t have full control of what people are doing and saying with their brand and with their identity.

Vuyokazi: But through a rewards program, you can actually have a direct line to the person that is actually fundamental to how your business performs.

Vuyokazi: So for us, it is important and for us, energy will continue to be put there because we think it’s going to be the determining factor for a brand that thrives in future.

Amanda: Yeah, stunning.

Amanda: Great.

Amanda: It’s just wonderful to hear.

Amanda: So obviously, when we normally talk to loyalty leaders, they’re obsessed with loyalty, but you have a choice in terms of where to spend your energy, and yet there’s still this absolute acute focus on it, which is very powerful.

Amanda: So let’s introduce the magnificent brand of Spur, and then the broader Spur Corp group.

Amanda: But I think anyone outside of South Africa or Africa really won’t understand the power of the brand Spur in the lives of its consumer markets and its audience.

Amanda: So please talk us through the story of Spur, and then the broader growth for Spur Corp.

Vuyokazi: Well, it’s actually quite an important time in the history of the Spur Corporation because it was founded in 1967.

Vuyokazi: So next year, the company and the main brand, the foundation brand-

Vuyokazi: We’re becoming more wiser and more distinguished, I think.

Vuyokazi: We turned 60 and it’s really incredible because we are a family, a business that has a lot of family brands and a family orientation.

Vuyokazi: I think when Spur Steak Ranch was founded, it was because there was a bit of a lack of dining opportunities or dining options for families.

Vuyokazi: I think there was a lot of formality and the founder was really keen to create a space where everyone was welcome, kids included and everyone could be relaxed.

Vuyokazi: They didn’t have to really put on a specific look or be a specific way.

Vuyokazi: They could come as they were and I think that was an amazing thing to start.

Vuyokazi: We’ve been blessed.

Vuyokazi: We’ve got a portfolio now that includes the likes of Hussar Grill, which is our grill house offering.

Vuyokazi: We’ve got Doppio Zero, which is a more Mediterranean, sophisticated upmarket cafe brand.

Vuyokazi: We’ve got a pizza brand, we’ve got a smash burger brand in Rocamama’s.

Vuyokazi: So we’ve built a portfolio with nine brands and our virtual kitchens as well.

Vuyokazi: We’ve got over 750 stores across the continent.

Vuyokazi: And we’ve had such an amazing growth trajectory in the last five years.

Vuyokazi: There’s been a lot of disruption, of course, namely with the COVID pandemic that really challenged our industry.

Vuyokazi: And some players unfortunately couldn’t survive that shock, but we’ve seen our whole company really experience a sort of renaissance of growth.

Vuyokazi: And thanks to our customers and our franchisees, who’ve really been instrumental in driving the turnaround of the organization.

Vuyokazi: As a franchise business, we innovate a lot with our franchisees at the forefront of that.

Vuyokazi: So our restaurants offer a lot of play experiences.

Vuyokazi: We’ve just launched an amazing restaurant in Pretoria, which is basically a play wonderland for Spur.

Vuyokazi: Our pizza brand is experiencing double digit growth as casual dining and sit down pizza occasions start to become a key part of our customers’ repertoire when it comes to dining out.

Vuyokazi: And we’ve seen a lot of growth in our footprint and the rest of the continent as well, with a lot of our brands like Spur and Rocko Mamas really starting to gain the favor in countries across Southern Africa, but also in Western East Africa.

Vuyokazi: So it’s been a lovely time to be part of the organization.

Vuyokazi: And yeah, I feel very fortunate to be part of the team that’s involved in making all of this happen.

Amanda: And it’s wonderful to hear from you around the history of how it started because your emphasis very much was on family and a place where you can come with your kids, you can be comfortable.

Amanda: And I think that’s what, if I go back to the Spur brand amongst your nine brands, it’s what you are so famous for is, I mean, I don’t know anyone who’s got kids who hasn’t taken their kids to Spur and that’s the go-to restaurant.

Amanda: So that leads us nicely into actually unpacking the loyalty proposition of Spur.

Amanda: I’m going to focus a little bit of conversation around the Spur brand and it’s called the Family Card.

Amanda: So you’ve recently been awarded the best South African loyalty program in the restaurant category.

Amanda: So congratulations for taking it back.

Amanda: You had won it previously and then there was a blip for you and another brand managed to beat you to the finish line.

Amanda: But I know how much it meant to you and your team when they successfully and rightfully so were awarded that this year.

Amanda: So congratulations first of all.

Amanda: And tell us a little bit around the family card.

Amanda: You know, this absolute focus on family.

Amanda: But what is the value proposition?

Amanda: Like if I come into your store and sign up for the family card, what do I get?

Amanda: How does it work?

Vuyokazi: So for us, we want every meal to feel like a win.

Vuyokazi: We want to feel like a win, not just for the person paying the bill, but for the whole family.

Vuyokazi: So you earn points every time you come.

Vuyokazi: I think the way to the effort of filling in application form is that operational managers would collect and we’d confirm in writing that they were part of the club.

Vuyokazi: Something quite special.

Vuyokazi: We’ll talk about how analog that process was.

Vuyokazi: But that’s really the start, and we basically give 5% back in value to the customer.

Vuyokazi: They get it in the form of vouchers that they can accumulate, and it’s absolutely free in terms of what they can spend it on.

Vuyokazi: There’s no real limitation.

Vuyokazi: They can spend it on whatever to the.

Vuyokazi: event, and we want to feel like we’re the ones that they like, because we respect their preferences, especially when it comes to food.

Vuyokazi: We are big celebrations.

Vuyokazi: So for us, the birthday is sacred, and we want to reward every, someone at least once a year on their birthday, at the very least, because of course, that’s the day that people made their debut on this planet.

Vuyokazi: And so for us, that cannot go unrecognized.

Vuyokazi: And even in our insta experience, that’s probably the highlight.

Vuyokazi: Every time I’m in store, we actually have to go join the singing for someone’s birthday as people who work for the business.

Vuyokazi: And whether the person is three years old, or whether they 60 years old, the eyes lighting up and the delight is just priceless.

Vuyokazi: So that’s what we hope to try and deliver without our rewards and benefits.

Vuyokazi: We also look at rewarding the children.

Vuyokazi: So making sure that they get a free meal on their birthday, a free beverage when they come with their parents.

Vuyokazi: It is all about ensuring that the whole family unit gets a good feeling every time they are with us.

Vuyokazi: And that’s something we hope to build on into the next year as well in terms of value and the proposition.

Amanda: Thank you.

Amanda: I think the mention of Spur’s birthday can’t not be re-mentioned by myself, so to speak.

Amanda: So I know for a fact those who don’t understand the Spur brand would, when you visit Spur every time, you will see a table surrounded by the entire restaurant staff and the head office staff celebrating someone’s birthday.

Amanda: And it’s a real brand identity for you.

Amanda: It’s very, very special whether you’re a loyalty program member or not.

Amanda: And actually, I forgot to mention earlier, Spur Family Card is the only brand that breaks into the top 10 most used loyalty programs in South Africa outside of retail.

Amanda: So traditionally, it’s dominated by retail.

Amanda: And we’ve seen over the 10 years that we’ve been operating, we’ve been writing the white paper that Spur has, the Family Card brand has risen up the ranks and now is very much within the top 10 of most actively used loyalty programs.

Amanda: It’s just incredibly impressive because I don’t need to go to a restaurant every day, but typically I go to retailers much more frequently.

Amanda: So again, well done to your team.

Amanda: We’ve really seen that sort of momentum build.

Amanda: So Vuyo, you touched on children.

Amanda: And I think let’s just unpack that a little bit more because it’s not just we recognize children and they’re part of the DNA and they’re important to us.

Amanda: But you actually have another name for the loyalty relationship.

Amanda: So tell us more about the Secret Tribe.

Vuyokazi: So the Secret Tribe is really an acknowledgement that children have their own world of play and adventure.

Vuyokazi: And that’s something we wanted to lean into.

Vuyokazi: And that’s from the brand’s inception.

Vuyokazi: There would be activities for them in store to keep them preoccupied, but more from a creative point of view.

Vuyokazi: We’ve got play worlds and play areas with attendants to look after them and to really facilitate a safe playing environment.

Vuyokazi: So kids are fundamental to what we offer the family and they are a very treasured and valued part of our customer audience.

Vuyokazi: The Secret Tribe is really designed and geared to speak to the children.

Vuyokazi: It is meant to speak to them in a way that resonates with them.

Vuyokazi: So we regularly have focus groups with them to figure out the toys and the treats that they want to have.

Vuyokazi: We view them as very important and they also have to have a seat at the table.

Vuyokazi: We’re very delighted that we can offer them their vouchers and the little treats that come with celebrating them and their milestones as they grow up.

Vuyokazi: I think in the very beginning of the Brand’s journey, everyone remembered that when you signed up as a Secret Tribe member, you got a little wallet.

Vuyokazi: A lot of the millennials now still talk about getting a wallet and I think they had a little card because I think every time young people look at what adults do, they have this desire to also emulate it.

Vuyokazi: Those are the kind of psychological things we tap into, that desire for kids to be seen and heard.

Vuyokazi: Through the Secret Tribe, we seek to do that and we’re quite excited because the whole space of children and children’s entertainment, age-retainment is an interesting space.

Vuyokazi: We’ve just relaunched out characters that are inviting leadership values, we call them the brave buddies and they’re inspired by different animals, but each animal is symbolic of a leadership trait that we’re hoping can help build the character of the children that come into our world and that Secret Tribe and the reward program will seek to amplify that with some great activities that will also help families bond and connect in a more meaningful way and not just in the restaurant, outside as well through our apps as well.

Amanda: What an incredible story.

Amanda: I’ve actually not heard you in the past explain it in that way.

Amanda: That was really delightful.

Amanda: I think you said we try and make the children feel important.

Amanda: If they’re sitting around a focus group, having an input into a loyalty program, I’m pretty sure they feel very, very important.

Amanda: It’s a very special approach.

Vuyokazi: Absolutely.

Amanda: If we look at the broader, either the group of Spur Core or Spur Family Card, what are the KPIs that you hold yourself and your team accountable for?

Vuyokazi: Well, for us, it’s important that we have the right level of participation, and that’s something we’ve been tracking quite closely.

Vuyokazi: We did go through a period where we wanted to drive acquisition because we’d realized that we had a very stable active member base, but they weren’t necessarily participating as much.

Vuyokazi: I think in the last five years or three to five years, actually, we’ve seen a 10 to 15% increase in the participation rate, and that’s with a concerted effort to drive the right conversation from our Waitrons to customers in store.

Vuyokazi: We’ve done a lot to lift the profile of the rewards program because typically, we wouldn’t advertise it as aggressively.

Vuyokazi: We’ve had some amazing campaigns like Winokar, where we’ve seen a massive acquisition of customers.

Vuyokazi: The great thing is that post the competition, we’ve retained 60 percent of them.

Vuyokazi: You can see that once we get them activated within a six-week window, the chances of keeping them in our program and active increase significantly.

Vuyokazi: We also have a segmentation model that we use to help us bucket the kind of audiences that are active within our club.

Vuyokazi: We track specific metrics around frequency, how often they’re coming, how much they’re spending, and really how recent their visits have been.

Vuyokazi: But we really locked in and honed in on the fact that if we can get them coming more often, then that relationship actually has a greater propensity of unlocking greater lifetime value from that customer.

Vuyokazi: So for us, those are the things we measure.

Vuyokazi: We’re also fortunate because our top customers in particular come the most frequently, and we also look at what they purchase, which really helps inform our product and promotional strategy.

Vuyokazi: And the key day pods and key product lines that are absolutely essential for this program and its members.

Vuyokazi: And we know, for instance, like from a frequency point of view, breakfast is a very big, big deal.

Vuyokazi: And we will therefore always make sure that our offering day is compelling because it plays a key role in keeping people in the program and in love with what they get from us in terms of benefits.

Vuyokazi: Yeah, so those are some of the things we look at.

Amanda: So, I’ve heard you definitely make a very strong correlation between frequency and customer lifetime value and your top segments really driving that higher frequency and therefore much more valuable for you.

Amanda: So I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone, but it’s great to hear it actually play out in a brand such as yours.

Amanda: And then I love the reference.

Amanda: I’m glad you referenced the breakfast, because I know it’s something we’ve chatted to you about in the background.

Amanda: But I just think that’s so special for everyone listening.

Amanda: You’re actually not necessarily originally a destination for breakfast, and yet as a steakhouse, it’s become one of the most prominent meals of your top customers.

Amanda: So what an incredible growth to drive that frequency that I need to come in before lunch and then hopefully later in the day to enjoy the restaurant with my family.

Vuyokazi: Absolutely.

Vuyokazi: And I think to add, by understanding this customer’s preference, who is the loyal customer in this instance, we actually also get insight into what is going to build the brand’s credibility.

Vuyokazi: So it’s actually quite cool to watch that the emphasis we putting on breakfast because our loyal customers love it so much actually ends up translating into brand power and brand strength in the marketplace.

Vuyokazi: And the best part, and again to go back to my earlier point about how significant loyalty is in building compelling brands, the best part is when you go into social media and you hear people debating the brand, is to actually hear customers play back the value they derive from the brand from the lens of the loyalty benefits.

Vuyokazi: So I think there’s this beautiful interaction between the insight we get from our loyal members as fuel to actually build compelling brand propositions that can be amplified and build the brand across the marketplace, not just with the people or the cohort of people that have said, yes, I want to be in a relationship with this brand.

Amanda: Yeah, 100%.

Amanda: So I’ve actually very recently just come from a retailer talking about how they’re using or not using their data to drive those business decisions.

Amanda: And here you are saying, yep, we collect the data, we analyze the data and it is used for the entire business, not just for our loyalty program.

Amanda: And we know that’s right in customer centricity terms, but so few brands actually manage to get it right.

Amanda: And that obviously resonates with why Spur Corp is doing it.

Amanda: The loyalty program stands out for the work that you’re doing.

Amanda: But to do that, you’ve got to be driven by a solid technology strategy.

Amanda: So one of the conversations we’ve had is around, you’ve made the choice to actually get a bespoke build for your technology in-house with a provider who’s helped you rather than one of the traditional vendors.

Amanda: I think that’s an interesting discussion for people to understand.

Amanda: Why did you go that route?

Vuyokazi: So in the beginning, we actually had a very manual process and then we had an off-shelf solution that we pivoted away from.

Vuyokazi: When I think the business realized how big an asset loyalty and reward programs can be for growth.

Vuyokazi: We opted for bespoke, I think because we needed more flexibility.

Vuyokazi: I think in our sector, we move very, very fast.

Vuyokazi: It’s exciting and exhilarating, but it can be nerve-wracking at the same time.

Vuyokazi: We wanted a partner who would be devoted to us and our needs, and who could really help us build what we needed in real time.

Vuyokazi: We love experimentation.

Vuyokazi: Sometimes we think we want to go in one direction, but something happens based on customer feedback, based on franchisee feedback, and we didn’t want to be encumbered by bureaucratic processes, and being one of many customers.

Vuyokazi: We’re a medium-sized company, and sometimes that puts us at a disadvantage in terms of clouds to really influence some of the big providers in terms of our needs.

Vuyokazi: We worked with a local partner to help us build something that we could perfect over time, but also co-create with our customers based on the insight that we derived from our operations in the restaurant.

Vuyokazi: So that’s been a lot of fun.

Vuyokazi: Obviously, we miss out on some of the best practice at times, but we know we’re building a solution that’s fit for what we’re requiring.

Vuyokazi: And as one of the first brands to do this in our sector, I think we’ve actually accumulated a lot of learning in the process.

Vuyokazi: And we hope to bring that to bear in some of the work that we’re going to be doing for the future.

Vuyokazi: So it’s got its positives as with anything that’s got its downsides.

Vuyokazi: But I think it overall has been a good decision for us based on our flexibility and speed.

Amanda: Right.

Amanda: Thank you for sharing.

Amanda: It’s a good balance for you because we often hear about the other approach, which is to sign up with one of the reputable vendors, all of which have credibility.

Amanda: Not say all of them, but those who do, you know, it’s great to see brands partner with great vendors, but it’s also interesting to hear a different approach.

Amanda: So thank you for sharing.

Amanda: I’m sure lots of people out there will be thinking that through.

Amanda: What actually then, if we’ve talked about KPIs, we’ve talked about the value proposition, the place of loyalty in marketing, we’ve talked about the actual secret tribe and the secret source with the secret tribe.

Amanda: But what are the hard parts?

Amanda: It can’t all just be fun and games.

Amanda: What are the hard parts of running loyalty in organizations such as Spur Corp?

Vuyokazi: I think for us, it’s really making sure that our operations are geared to fulfill the promises we make to our customer.

Vuyokazi: Nothing is as devastating for us, I speak for myself and a lot of my colleagues, then missing the mark.

Vuyokazi: I’m promising someone a great experience, I’m promising them that they’ll have a voucher or they’ll be able to claim a reward and that not being fulfilled in the restaurant.

Vuyokazi: Remember, we’re franchised, so we have to scale the experience, but with different entrepreneurs effectively at the front line, and a host of waitrons that aren’t our direct employees.

Vuyokazi: This becomes a constant balancing act of ensuring that there’s freedom to act in the system, that we live up to what we’re promising.

Vuyokazi: I think being in a franchise system also demines us to have a high level of accountability to our franchisees, who are owners and entrepreneurs, and ultimately their businesses have to thrive, and that’s the promise and the commitment we enter into when they sign that franchise agreement.

Vuyokazi: And so whenever they’re bad actors in the context of things like fraudulent and misuse of the rewards program, and circumventing our governance processes, we have to act very fast, and that’s been a challenge.

Vuyokazi: I think people who are looking to break the rules are also very innovative and quite nimble.

Vuyokazi: And so we have to constantly be checking and guarding against bad actors.

Vuyokazi: We have to be looking at ways of being more cutting edge our detection, prevention, mitigation strategies.

Vuyokazi: And it’s been a great learning curve, but thanks to our franchisees for not allowing us to be complacent when it comes to that.

Vuyokazi: But essentially it’s honouring our promises and staying true to what we tell people we’re going to do, and making sure we protect the interests of our franchisees and our customers along the way.

Amanda: Yeah, very, very interesting, especially obviously on the hard discussions like fraud, which can sometimes bring loyalty operators to their knees.

Amanda: How you manage that with your franchisees whilst keeping them excited and motivated around the program value proposition.

Amanda: So it’s balancing, as you say, the seriousness of it, and yet the excitement to keep the customer really excited.

Vuyokazi: Absolutely.

Vuyokazi: And I think the last point on that is, in a weird way though, it is a signal of desirability.

Vuyokazi: I don’t think anyone is trying to attain something fraudulently or otherwise, unless there’s some value that they see that is attractive.

Vuyokazi: So as much as it’s challenging, it does point to there’s something good and something attractive, even if it’s people who shouldn’t be deriving that benefit that are trying to get at it.

Vuyokazi: So that’s the small consolation price for some of the difficulties.

Amanda: Yeah, what a lovely way of turning fraud on its head, really.

Amanda: So well, we’ve obviously got a great program because people want part of it.

Amanda: I love it.

Amanda: Vuyo, we could talk all day because I know there’s so much insight behind.

Amanda: You’ve also got the group of programs, but we just focus on Spur Family Card simply because of its prominence in the marketplace, its success being awarded at the South African Loyalty Awards.

Amanda: My final question to you is, outside of loyalty, outside of the Spur Family Card, what advice would you give to youngsters entering either in the marketing world or the loyalty world as they embark upon their career?

Vuyokazi: I would say to those embarking into loyalty as a career, your time is now.

Vuyokazi: I think marketers across the board are grappling with how they will maintain meaningful connections and relationships with their customers and audiences.

Vuyokazi: There’s so many intermediaries, be it your big social media platforms, be it other media owners, and loyalty is the fastest, most authentic way to actually build that intimacy.

Vuyokazi: So, I would encourage all those seeking to go into that loyalty space as specialists that they immerse themselves in understanding how to actually add and create value for businesses, particularly on the continent and in some of the industries that are emerging, that are grappling with how to build relevance and are ignoring the potential that loyalty and reward programs possess.

Vuyokazi: I think the airlines got it pretty quickly.

Vuyokazi: I think the banks got it pretty quickly, but I think what the industry of loyalty experts have been working on is going to have increasing relevance in this AI and tech-driven world.

Vuyokazi: I think for marketers, overall, my message is to really challenge yourself to add value, and to have tangible examples of how you actually have helped businesses and brands grow.

Vuyokazi: I think the time for pretty pictures and lip service has come to an end, and I think that’s part of the disruption that we’ve seen marketing professionals experience is the rise of skepticism and cynicism when it comes to marketing that’s not grounded in data, that’s not grounded in actual execution of great ideas.

Vuyokazi: So yes, I think if we lean into the expertise from our technology partners, our loyalty partners and other experts, we really can bring our marketing to be on customers in a way that is compelling, in a way that’s desirable and in a way that can actually unlock growth that is sustainable and tangible even in tough times.

Vuyokazi: Yeah, that’s what I want to say.

Amanda: Vuyo, you really are an absolute inspiration.

Amanda: I mean, you’re leading an incredible brand from a marketing point of view.

Amanda: You’re leading an incredible team of loyalty professionals, and it’s a real honor to have you on Let’s Talk Loyalty and Loyalty TV.

Amanda: So thank you for sharing your insights.

Amanda: We’re going to share in the show notes a link to some of the information about Spur, and if it’s okay with you, your LinkedIn profile, I’m sure individuals would love to know a little bit more about you.

Amanda: So thank you very much for joining us.

Amanda: It’s been such an honor to talk to you, and thanks for sharing all your stories with Loyalty TV and Let’s Talk Loyalty.

Vuyokazi: Thank you, Amanda.

Vuyokazi: It’s been awesome.

Paula: This show is sponsored by Wise Marketeer Group, operating the Wise Marketeer and Loyalty Academy.

Paula: For nearly 25 years, the Wise Marketeer is the industry’s longest-serving publication and source for news, information and insights, which now includes its own branded industry research, insights and advice.

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Paula: The Loyalty Academy sets a global industry standard for Loyalty Education, with its Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional or CLMP designation, which has created a community of more than 1,200 marketing executives and professionals across more than 50 countries.

Paula: Learn more about global loyalty education for individuals or corporate training at loyaltyacademy.org.

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