Picture charge: Flickr/Swipp Inc..
Engaging customers in the world is a must for any company but can be tough for a business such as NBTY Europe, that owns Barrett & Holland and GNC in the united kingdom, that relies on its physical presence for its business.
Yet data and analysis can drive strategy and change for the two areas of a company, delivering real, business affecting change as a result. For Europe’s largest specialist health food retailer the group’s focus on electronic customer involvement with a new, more information led loyalty programme because of its Holland & Barrett store chain has led to a 40 percent growth in membership card activation, in addition to gains in sales also.
The company established a transformation project, aimed at modernising its operations and to assist it better use customer information to comprehend the behavior of its clients and decisions it should make to modernise its business both on and offline.
Part of the project saw the retailer revamp a single customer view across stations — as well as its loyalty effort with the desire to see cards were being used but to provide additional insight into the customers using them.
The loyalty scheme was created in a six month job by IT solutions and service provider ITC Infotech, who incorporated Oracle’s Siebel CRM package to create a new data management frame. This has allowed involvement that was improved through also a more flexible process for earning points, as well as allowing easier card sign-up and use and activation and time enrolment. In the very first week in April this past year, 70% per week climbed, with a 40% increase in membership card activation along with 11 million loyally cards currently issued.
Significantly that has also fed through to sales with a 62% penetration of card use in earnings and more than half (53%) of all trades seeing cards used. Voucher usage has risen with every voucher resulting in a 10% average increase in earnings and an increase of 6 to 8% in terms of overall earnings by 36%.
Chris Keen, CFO at NBTY Europe, said the company’s modernisation project was vital to not just let it sustain a market leading place except to grow and maintain markets too. “Client data plays a vital part in this strategy, enabling us to deepen engagement and enhance skills with existing customers and make powerful efforts to split into new markets and bring new regulars.”
