The widest and most diverse customer loyalty programme in Finland provides K-Plussa customers with benefits from more than 3,500 outlets and over 40 cooperation partners. Local K-retailers and the K-Group chains offer special benefits and services targeted to their K-Plussa customers. K-Plussa customers also get special benefits that are always at least 10% of the normal price. The benefit received in the form of K-Plussa points is up to 5%. In 2009, the K-Plussa customer loyalty programme gained 190,596 new customers and reached the landmark of two million households.
By concentrating their purchases, K-Plussa customers get benefits and services that are based on their needs and shopping behaviour. The K-Plussa customer loyalty system operates on three levels: benefits granted to customers are either store-specific, chain-specific or provided across the entire K-Plussa network. Targeted marketing communications and special offers as well as electronic channels gained more importance in 2009 at all three levels of the K-Plussa customer loyalty programme.
Research has shown that special benefits and services provided by stores for K-Plussa customers increase customer satisfaction and store visits.
Customer information obtained via the K-Plussa card is used in planning store-specific selections and services and in targeting the store’s marketing messages. Targeted marketing both in electronic and traditional media is more cost-efficient and often attracts more attention. For example, results obtained from special benefits and events targeted to customers have been extremely good.
At the chain level, customer information obtained via K-Plussa is leveraged in network planning and concept development, for example. Chain-level customer information is also useful when building the chains’ selections and services to meet the needs of customers as well as possible. Many chains have built loyalty schemes for their important customer groups, such as Kodin Ykkönen’s Ykkösasiakas programme.
K-Plussa offers significant benefits available for all customers: each month hundreds of topical K-Plussa offers, which always reward customers with a discount of at least 10%, provided at the checkout. By centralising their purchases in the K-Plussa network, customers receive a reward of up to 5% in the form of K-Plussa points.
A joint benefit launched for all K-Plussa customers shopping at K-food stores in 2009 is the new electronic Nutritioncode service, which enables customers to monitor, free of charge, how healthy their purchases are. The electronic service registers the purchases made by the household in K-food stores and provides the users with information and hints on the nutrition values of the groceries purchased.
The importance of targeted electronic communications continues to grow. Customers who have agreed to electronic marketing receive a K-Plussa e-newsletter once a month. K-Group chains and stores also approach their customers with personal e-mail offers. Customers can deposit their K-Plussa points into their account with any bank.
As a customer benefit, K-Plussa customers receive Pirkka, the most widely read magazine in Finland. Readership of the Pirkka magazine continued to increase in 2009 (source: the National Readership Survey).
Andiamo Club’s electronic customer loyalty card was launched in 2009. Andiamo Club members can download their electronic membership cards to their mobile phones. The card works like a normal plastic loyalty card and the customer’s personal K-Plussa data may also be combined with it. Customers can opt to receive new benefits and special offers direct to their mobile phones.
The K-Plussa network became increasingly diversified during 2009. In April, more than 100 Instrumentarium outlets throughout Finland joined the K-Plussa network. In addition to the K-stores and the K-Group chains, the K-Plussa network includes over 40 leading operators in their sectors. K-Plussa customers’ total benefits have improved considerably during the year and the number of cooperation partners will continue to grow.
2009 brought more K-Plussa card benefits for leisure activities for the whole family. Visits to all Finnish HopLop indoor adventure parks now accrue K-Plussa points. HopLop is the biggest chain of year-round children’s adventure parks in the Nordic countries.
Cooperation started between K-Plussa and Flamingo Spa. The Spa, located in the Greater Helsinki Area, comprises a large water park for the whole family and a spa & wellness world for adults. Since the beginning of 2009, customers have also been able to accrue K-Plussa points from food and beverages served by Center Inn restaurants in Helsinki.
In 2009, the K-Plussa customer loyalty programme reached the landmark figure of two million households. More than 3.6 million Finns already have a K-Plussa card. There are nearly 850,000 K-Plussa co-branding cards with OP-Pohjola and Nordea. In 2009, the K-Plussa customer loyalty programme gained 190,596 new customers.
To enable us to develop rewarding and customer programmes, we need a sufficient amount of information about customer relationships and the competence to analyse and leverage this information. K-Plus Oy collects and analyses this information in the K-Group.
Customers’ privacy protection is ensured when customer information is collected and made use of. K-Plus Oy processes customers’ purchasing data on the sum total or product group level. Anonymous receipt line level purchasing data may also be used. Customer information and programmes play a key role in business planning.
The K-Plussa network became increasingly diversified in April 2009, when consumer customers started to receive K-Plussa points from over one hundred Instrumentarium outlets throughout Finland. Thanks to this cooperation, K-Plussa benefits were extended to include wellbeing products and expertise.
