P n P are pick of the bunch

I WAS having an interesting conversation with senior people at First National Bank (FNB) about the success of their e-Bucks customer loyalty system, which is by far the biggest in the country.

There are about 4 million FNB customers using it and apparently (I say apparently because I am not an FNB user myself) consumers have made it part of their lives – and part of their budgeting.

This is quite a contrast to “loyalty” programmes like Avios from British Airways and South African Airways’ Voyager, which only seem to generate negative feedback from their users… again I say seem because I am not a member of either scheme.

Loyalty is not something which enters my head, in reality. I do get, I suppose, some Greenbacks from time to time through Nedbank but, because the bulk of finances are handled through my wife and her account (which has been Greenbacks-enabled) it seldom pops up on my radar.

A year or so ago, the local Spar was offering a special offer on kitchen knives but I worked out what you would actually have to spend (multiple thousands to get a utensil worth just over R400) that I quickly chucked away the coupons and card.

However, some time ago, my wife joined Pick n Pay’s customer loyalty programme (no, I don’t do shopping – so sue me for not being a Snag – Sensitive New Age Guy).

And a couple of times a year she has earned enough points to pay for the regular grocer shop. And that is a very real, monetary benefit. You spend with P n P, you get something back.

So, guess what? P n P is where our grocery money goes (the bulk of it, anyway).

It’s been around a while now, but for something which is great marketing, you get an Orchid from me, Pick n Pay. And thanks… Years ago, when the kids were small, we went looking for a new car. Toyota had just launched the Tazz and it was just the ticket for our young family. I will never forget popping in to Darrenwood Toyota in Joburg to see if we could look at one or take away a brochure. The salesman did not even move his butt out of his chair: “We’ve run out of brochures!” he screamed across the showroom floor.

Really? Ten minutes later we were sitting in Imperial Toyota with a charming salesman who offered us tea and biscuits – and took our order. Needless to say, we’ve never darkened the door of Darrenwood Toyota again and I hope Imperial Randburg benefited from our small bit of business…

These days, of course, brochures are playing less and less of a role in research for new-car buyers. Everything is – or should be – up on the internet.

You’d be surprised how many motor manufacturers have sloppy websites, incorrect pictures, incorrect available colours, even incorrect specifications and prices. And – that applies to a number of them, so I won’t go into detail.

Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much when I went on to www.toyota.co.za to do some research on a test vehicle I had.

But – what a revelation! It was clearly and concisely laid out, pictures were correct, prices were also correct and the site was a pleasure to navigate. If you can please a cynical hack like me, Toyota, then doubtless you are making the process of buying your cars much easier for your customers.

And that is good marketing – so you get Orchid Number Two. Pay attention the rest of you out there.

Sometimes you can have such a clever marketing tagline that when you get something wrong it bites you in the rear end.

Such is the case with a company called Colony, a data company which boasts this motto: Turning interaction into intelligence.

The problem is that, in the list of its rates, it twice uses the word “umlimited”…

Did no one check this, which is actually your shop window? Um… no.

Would I worry about the intelligence of a company which didn’t choose its words as carefully as its data? Um…yes. Chances of me using it: Um… limited. An Onion to you people at Colony and as my clever friend, who pointed this out to me, said: “They need to get an editor for their site…”