Newsweek

Lenovo Grows Customer Connection­s With Oracle Crowdtwist

-

Lenovo, the Fortune Global 500 tech company behind the popular Thinkpad laptops, knows that people don’t buy a new PC, mobile device or gaming console every few months. The typical three- to four-year sales cycle for such products poses a challenge to keeping the Lenovo name front of mind.

“Lenovo has the same challenge as other makers of high-value products—staying engaged with customers over that elongated cycle,” acknowledg­ed Carlo Savino, the company’s vice president of e-commerce, Americas.

Even as the world’s largest PC manufactur­er, added Savino. Lenovo remains commiʊed to building upon the brand loyalty it has fostered with passionate consumers and small businesses, and to crosspromo­ting the breadth of solutions and services the company oƭers.

The Mylenovo Rewards program, which Savino helped launch in the U.S. three years ago, is making members aware of Lenovo’s other products and services via promotions, sweepstake­s and just plain old communicat­ion. The program awards points for purchases, of course, but it also oƭers incentives for members who review products, answer questions, share their birthdays or other personal informatio­n, and provide feedback.

Mylenovo Rewards program is making members aware of Lenovo’s other products and services via promotions, sweepstake­s and just plain old communicat­ion.

One popular contest was the Hybrid Work Bundle Sweepstake­s. It oƭered a $1,200 package consisting of a Lenovo Yoga Tab 13, a Logitech MX Keys Mini for Business (in Graphite), an STM Goods Myth backpack (notebook size), a Jabra Panacast 20 camera, a Jabra Evolve2 65 stereo headset (without charging stand), a Lenovo Go Tech Accessorie­s Organizer and a Lenovo Go USB-C Wireless Mouse (in Thunder Black). The loyalty team saw a 55 percent increase in entries for this sweepstake over prior quarter sweepstake­s.

“We are investing to make this a world-class program, and being world-class requires that we adapt to a constantly evolving landscape.” Carlo Savino, vice president of e-commerce, Americas

Keeping customers engaged and happy

After an extensive search process involving multiple vendors, Lenovo chose a cloud-based applicatio­n called Oracle Crowdtwist Loyalty fand Engagement to run the program. Savino was especially impressed with how one Oracle Crowdtwist customer, a maker of hightech beds, used the cloud technology to keep its customers close throughout an even longer sales cycle—eight to 10 years. His thinking was, If Oracle Crowdtwist can keep those consumers involved over that long stretch, it probably could do the same for Lenovo. And it has.

Lenovo’s initial tactical goal was to sign up one million members in North America, something the company will achieve by the end of its latest ƭscal year. But it also aims to bring more members aboard while keeping current customers connected and happy. And it also wants to collect and use member feedback to build beʊer products and services.

“We do the traditiona­l things to drive conversati­on at the point of sale,” Savino explained. “But we also want to keep people engaged after the purchase, to reward them for ƭlling out monthly surveys, for referring new customers and for providing feedback.”

Lenovo acts on much of that input. “Customers told us that knowing when they will get a product at their door is very important,” Savino said. “That was actionable, so we put expedited delivery on our roadmap, and we recently added two-day delivery for all our members—completely free.” ANXIETY Customers also said they want to use rewards points on things other than products— to be able to donate accrued points to support community groups and philanthro­pies. That capability, too, is coming to Mylenovo Rewards.

Adapting to change

The program has evolved in other ways since its launch three years ago. It has expanded from the U.S. to Canada, and from being consumeron­ly to including small- and medium-size businesses in both countries. This evolution will continue as the team eyes expansion to new countries and continues its eƭorts to build communitie­s of small-business owners, students, gaming enthusiast­s and, of course, loyal customers.

These eƭorts are intended to facilitate communicat­ion not only with Lenovo but also with one another. The company is also drawing on member feedback, looking to add experience­s such as in-person concerts or other performanc­es to the list of rewards for which they can obtain Mylenovo points.

“We are investing to make this a world-class program, and being world-class requires that we adapt to a constantly evolving landscape,” Savino explained. Lenovo’s use of Oracle Crowdtwist, itself a constantly evolving platform, is an important part of that ongoing process.

 ?? ??
 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States