Sanlam Reality ... real rewards that are easy to redeem

THE SANLAM Reality programme has upped the ante in the loyalty stakes, thanks to benefits that are easy to use and transparent to understand. Sanlam Reality offers a wealth of benefits to its members – from movies to Uber discounts, some of which are conveniently accessed in the free Sanlam Reality App. In a world where loyalty schemes are abundant, how does yours stand out from the crowd? André Larisma, the chief executive of Sanlam Reality: Our recently launched app is a first in providing effortless redemption of benefits from partners as diverse as Nu Metro, Uber, Bidvest Premier lounge, our network of over 100 independent gyms and fitness studios, and our Personal Assistant. Unlike our peers, we believe that our members have amply demonstrated their loyalty on joining Sanlam Reality, so our focus is on how we can reciprocate than rather than what more they need to do to grow their “status”. Often, customers end up signing up for a number of loyalty schemes and accumulating a whole lot of cards that clog their wallets and emails that they rarely read. How are you making being a member of your benefits scheme more convenient and easier to use? Larisma: We aim to make every benefit redemption experience as natural and effortless as that same transaction would be without our discount. So our Nu Metro movie-goers can buy tickets through a variety of digital and theatre channels, earning our Uber discounts is seamless for our app users, retail discounts are delivered through our Money Saver card without the need to swipe a separate loyalty card, etc. Our website has twice been voted best corporate website by the SA Publishers’ Forum and our new app brings next level UX to our key benefits. How easy/difficult is it to sign up? Larisma: Clients can easily join through a variety of channels including online, through

their financial planners or telephonically. What are some of the more popular benefits you are finding? Larisma: We have great demand for our discounts and other offers on Sanlam products including life cover, investment fees and personal loans. Nu Metro, Computicket, Mango and Uber are also very popular as are the gyms including Planet Fitness, Virgin Active and now our network of independents. What, for you, is the benefit of having a multi-link loyalty scheme? Larisma: True loyalty to a brand can be really powerful. We find that clients who are members of our programme are much more invested into Sanlam; they stay longer and are more likely to recommend our services to friends and family. Sanlam Reality gives us a platform to reciprocate and nurture their loyalty. What is the benefit for your members? Larisma: Members get access to exceptional offers they would not otherwise be able to access including discounts on everything from wealth products to flights, gyms, movie tickets, Uber, music streaming, grocery shopping and a lot more. Members also enjoy free personal services like tax assistance, dial-a-teacher and a really versatile concierge service. How did you select the other brands with which you partner? Larisma: We start with the client need and search for partners who can satisfy that. Ideal partners offer great standalone products, and are willing to commit commercially and strategically. We in turn need to help them grow their business within our base. We get a lot of unsolicited offers for all sorts of services from exotic dog breeding to hunting safaris, but we took a decision early on to keep the benefit offering tight and focused on mass appeal items in wealth, health, day-to-day savings, travel, entertainment and personal services. Are you able to share any information about the split of where your scheme members’ points are generated, and where their points are spent? Larisma: We believe in acknowledging existing loyalty at the outset, so clients earn points for their existing business with Sanlam, Santam, Glacier, Fedhealth, Bonitas and our other partner businesses. Online activities are also really popular; clients get rewarded for exploring topics in wealth and becoming more aware of their financial positions. Other earn categories include managing your risk through demonstrated fitness or driver behaviour improvements, and programme activities like joining Reality, taking out our Money Saver card or recommending the programme to a friend. Points are not burned per se. Members have access to “always on” benefits with generous caps. Points earned establish a member’s status on the programme which flexes the discounts they receive at our partner network. Popular choices include discounts on Sanlam life and investment products, our Nu Metro movies and refreshments offers, Planet Fitness and Virgin Active gym memberships, Mango flights, and our retail discounts through our Money Saver card. There must be a massively complex tech infrastructure backing all of this up. Can you share a little about how it works? Larisma: In many respects, we are a tech company with a complex e-commerce capability. The points you earn running a marathon in Polokwane can set the discount you get on fuel at a garage in Pofadder. All of this needs to be joined up at the back-end in a way that is seamless to the client. We take the front end development particularly seriously. Our aim is to deliver benefit redemption experiences that are at least as effortless as buying that product standalone would be, and where possible to improve on that. It’s a big undertaking. Are there any drawbacks to having a multi-link loyalty scheme? Larisma: Loyalty programmes have risks just like any other commercial undertaking. If you can get the mix right whereby your members, benefit partners, and business stakeholders all benefit through your platform, it can be very rewarding. Companies who have gotten it wrong have learned costly lessons.