Bluerock understood our vision for the Freedom loyalty programme from its early stages, and from then on helped us to achieve it. Every complex programme is fraught with unforeseen challenges, and Bluerock helped us overcome these whilst remaining committed to the innovative nature of the scheme. They are professional, expert and dependable consultants who are continuing to help us with the next stage of the business.

Craig Ramsay
Commercial Director, Barclaycard Freedom

Cards Loyalty

In the boom years loyalty schemes thrived - evolving from rudimentary store cards through to DunnHumby's ground breaking customer behaviour analysis for Tesco Clubcard. Loyalty fast became something of a hygiene factor on the UK high street, and the same can now be said of a significant proportion of credit and other bank cards. However, the question remains whether these products actually drive loyalty, or merely encourage the user to carry multiple cards, gaining rewards from each.

The post-recession market remains wary of credit, meaning banks and other financial institutions are seeking increased business justification and ROI from loyalty ventures. A key part of this is finding the right type, ‘level' and frequency of reward for the customer base - recent research suggests that consumer preferences have shifted over the years. Using customer data in the right way will help to reduce wastage, and banks have the advantage here since they enjoy access to in-depth customer information, as well as a 'cradle to grave' relationship. However, they may still lack  sufficient brand affinity  without retail partnerships or relevant rewards.

After several years of incremental innovations, new financial technology will surely offer more radical improvements to loyalty. Mobile technology, in particular, seems to hold much promise for issuers, enabling cheaper, timely customer communications that are demographically and geographically relevant to them.

Bluerock has several years' experience in bank card loyalty schemes, developing the business case, pricing, customer proposition and managing delivery. We can  also deploy the necessary subject matter experts and skilled project managers that are essential for success in this competitive market.

For enquiries, contact Julian Sawyer

julian.sawyer@bluerock-consulting.com

020 7213 9760