khaleej times / ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
SUNday, August 31, 2014
Building bonds Rewards and loyalty cards offer great flexibility for consumers Sadiq Shaban
W
Businesses are increasingly responding to customers’ requests for greater control and flexibility as the trend of reward cards go up. No wonder loyalty cards reward cardholders, who often pay with plastic at different types of merchants including specific retailers and online purchases.
hether it is about retaining existing customers or attracting new ones, businesses have a new mantra: Reward and loyalty cards. Besides providing a realistic reason for continuing to associate with a business or brand, these cards help accumulate points, usually towards a reward, future redemption or higher levels of service. Moreover, it helps brands gather useful information about the clientele, paving way for a more efficient and effective service. Businesses are increasingly responding to customers’ requests for greater control and flexibility as the trend of reward cards go up. No wonder loyalty cards reward cardholders, who often pay with plastic at different types of merchants including specific retailers and online purchases. As it showcases a push toward greater flexibility, these programmes allow cardholders the option to choose between rewards in the form of cash or points. Most brand loyalty cards come with zero annual fees, besides providing a number of benefits when used to make any purchase. Dubbed as a point card, advantage card, reward card or club card, loyalty cards are visually similar to
a credit card or debit card that identify the cardholder as a member in a loyalty programme. Often issued by a retail establishment to a consumer who can then use it as a form of identification when dealing with that retailer, loyalty cards entitle a holder to a discount on the current purchase, or an allot-
ment of points that can be used for future purchases. As it promotes customer touch points and understands the value of being agile and flexible, cashback rewards and loyalty programmes have gained immense popularity. Market watchers and analysts note that customers are
first and foremost looking for the most beneficial cards and programmes to utilise in their daily lives. While people want valueadded benefits and perks, they usually dislike the limitations that credit cards typically come with. United Arab Bank (UAB), one of the fastest growing banks in the
Middle East, recently emerged as the winner of the ‘Best Customer Loyalty Programme’ for the second year consecutively in the prestigious Banker Middle East UAE Product Awards 2014. UAB, with its Rewards Programme, is the only bank to win this prestigious accolade two years in a row, and impressively, in less than two years since its introduction. The programme, which is linked to a range of UAB products, has rapidly evolved, expanding from previously offering a handful of airline redemption options to over now more than 900 airlines, 200,000 hotels worldwide, 150 global rent a car destinations, over 2,000 electronic and lifestyle items, and official FC Barcelona merchandise. Reward and loyalty cards help build a relationship between a business and the customer. It is a two-way traffic in terms of improved behavioural loyalty from the customer and increased bottom-line profits for the brand. In fact, various studies carried out on consumer behaviour conclude that customers are more likely to be loyal if they have a sense of association with a brand. This association creates advocates for business as well. A personal recommendation is often considered more convincing than business promotion. A programme that entwines loyalty and a sense of affiliation is a winner all the way. —sadiq@khaleejtimes.com
Safe online shopping actually read a privacy policy? If you’ve shopped without reading, you’re certainly not alone. While 97 per cent of websites have a privacy policy, those documents average nearly 2,500 words. It would take the average person at least 10 minutes to read that, and not too many online shoppers want to spend that much time. However, reading the privacy policy will give you the details about what a site is doing to keep your information safe.
ENABLING LOYALTY ON PAYMENT CARDS through our terminals at retails across the UAE
2. Adjust your privacy settings. With a bit of tweaking, you can adjust your cookies and make your computer more protected and cut down on inadvertent data leakage. However, be prepared to spend some time doing this, and remember that each browser is different. If you use multiple browsers on multiple computers, you’ll need to configure them all to your preferences. If making those changes is beyond the scope of your technological knowledge, you can try asking for help from a savvy friend or family member, or an electronics store employee might be able to help.
There’s no need to shy away from purchases off the net if you are wellprotected
Click with confidence: Three tips to protect your privacy when shopping online.
If growing online shopping statistics from the past few years have been any indication, buyers will again be flocking to online retailers this holiday season — perhaps in larger numbers than ever before. However, as people become increasingly savvier as Web shoppers, awareness and concerns about online privacy and safety have also grown. As many as 91 per cent of consumers say that they’re concerned about privacy when shopping online. Frequent news stories about consumer information being sold or mishandled have helped contribute to an atmosphere of mistrust, and more than half of consumers say they don’t trust businesses with their personal information. For those who love the convenience and choice that come along with online shopping, there are a few ways to ensure that your information is kept safe and private: 1. Read privacy policies. You’ve probably seen them countless times, but how often have you
3. Look for privacy verification seals. Perhaps the easiest, quickest way to ensure that an online retailer is trustworthy is to look for seals and logos certifying a website’s privacy practices, such as the green TRUSTe Certified Privacy Seal. It’s an easy at-aglance way to get an idea of how dedicated a retailer is to protecting its customers, but keep in mind that if you want to learn more, you can click on the seal to get more detailed information about the sites privacy practices. There are also browser add-ons that can help you find e-commerce sites that carry the seals, and an online directory of participating websites that you can browse. You can shop with more confidence if you know that your personal information is safe. As retailers learn that consumers demand more privacy measures, they will respond to it by making their policies more easily available. — BPT
T +971 4 451 0012 www.rfmloyaltyco.ae iqbal@rfmloyaltyco.ae
RFM owns and operates a network of credit card terminals (POS terminals) at retails across UAE processing AED 5 billion payment card transactions in 2013 through NBAD Bank. Issuer banks can enable loyalty through our terminals by using our loyalty host XLS from Welcome Realtime (www.welcome-rt.com), France.