Keeping customers for life

Written by AdMix / Marjorie Teresa R. Perez (joyetteperez@yahoo.com)

Monday, 09 February 2009 22:43

Today’s smart companies do not see themselves as selling products; they see themselves as creating profitable customers. They not only want to create customers, they want to “own” them for life. That does not mean the customer wants to be owned. In fact, he wants to keep his options open. Nevertheless, the marketer wants to own the customer, to “loyalize” him. It goes further. The marketer wants to increase his share of the customer’s business constantly. He wants not only to be the sole supplier of a particular product but to supply more of whatever the buyer buys. That becomes the pursuing share of customers. Banks, for example, want to increase their share of the customer’s “wallet.” Supermarkets want to increase their share of the customer’s “stomach.” Today Sun Life Financial offers not only financial packages but solutions to counter the negative sentiments of many Filipinos brought about by current market uncertainties. We might say that Sun Life wants to create and own a “customer lifestyle.” To further “loyalize” clients, the firm has launched a market education campaign meant to remind the market of their basic financial needs, propose solutions for each of their needs, give them the ability to make their future brighter by acting with urgency and reinforcing the brand. “Research tells us that personal health, children’s welfare and financial liberation are still at the heart of what matters most in our lives. These are the basic financial concerns that we could help our clients address when they meet you. And this is where the launch of the ‘Secrets of the Sun’ plays a critical role,” said Gregory S. Martin, chief strategic marketing officer. Apart from enhancing Sun Life’s brand awareness, this too will underscore the strength and stability of the company, unbowed by today’s financial challenges. Beginning January 23, the Secrets of the Sun booth toured the malls. In Metro Manila, each new business office will be assigned a day to man it. There, clients and prospects will be engaged in a financial awareness program that will help them kick off a more comprehensive financial discussion as well as present Sun Life solutions. “It is in these challenging times that our clients need our advice the most. Now more than ever, they will appreciate our efforts to reach out to them and continue to hold their hand,” Martin stressed. The recent mall tour at Shangri-La Plaza (January 23-February 1) and Glorietta 4 (February 2-8) documented 500 new prospects to date. Some made an outright purchase by paying in cash right there and then at the booth. Because customers with longer tenure are more profitable to the company, Sun Life often treats them in a special way. “We have made the raffle component even more exciting this time by including midpromo, monthly draws,” he added. A trip for two to Planetario di Firenze, Florence, Italy, inclusive of round-trip economy airfare and four days/three nights stay with hotel accommodation awaits the grand winner. Minor prizes include trip for two to Singapore’s Science Center and trip for two to the Beijing Planetarium. The Secrets of the Sun will unlock the secret decoder in the following mall schedules: Robinsons Place Manila (February 13-15), SM North Edsa (February 20-22), SM City Lipa (February 27-March 1) and SM City Pampanga (March 6-8). Partnering is more readily seen in business-to-business relations than in mass consumer markets. What is the difference? First, Sun Life knows much more about its clients. Second, it devotes more time to helping and satisfying clients. Third, its relation to the client is more continuous and leads to more familiarity and empathy. All of the hard work and deep dialogue around the needs of the clients’ concerns began to pay off, as the Secret of the Sun became a resounding success in a short period of time. The company does more than educate the mass market on financial planning; it understand its center of gravity as a brand so well that it actually helps in rallying people of financial freedom such as when is the time to save/invest, how much, dangerous emotions in investing, understanding risk, financial strategies, professional guidance and more. Like Sun Life, companies that can successfully communicate their own center of gravity are usually industry leaders. Think about your industry. Does your company understand itself, the marketplace and its customers so well that it dominates the competition? “Innovation is always an act of courage, conviction and passion. Having a firm grasp on your center of gravity and the internal alignment of your team will help engender these essential traits,” Martin concluded. PAL picks Leo Burnett JAIME BAUTISTA, PAL president and CEO (sixth from right), and Raymond Arrastia, Leo Burnett managing director (seventh from left). Philippine Airlines, the country’s primary flag center, has appointed Leo Burnett Manila to handle creative duties for the airline, following a pitch that included BBDO and O&M. Leo Burnett will develop through-the-line communication solutions that will focus on the extraordinary competitive advantage that PAL currently enjoys. As PAL’s creative partner, Leo Burnett is expected to address the airline’s challenge of finding a compelling, unique and differentiating space in the minds of air travel consumers. Jaime J. Bautista, PAL president and COO, said: “We are excited to partner with Leo Burnett as we retool our marketing strategy to emphasize the truth—PAL gives the consumer so much more value for the same prize. We were impressed by the agency’s deep understanding of the air traveler and the consumer environment we are in right now.” On joining the select agency roster of PAL, Raymond Arrastia, Leo Burnett managing director, said: “The strategic thinking we presented was anchored on our new Humankind philosophy. We developed communications solutions always with the human purpose in mind.” Philippine Airlines, Asia’s first airline, has a 68-year history steeped in tradition and modernity. As the national flag carrier of the Philippines, PAL exudes the best of Filipino hospitality—warm smiles, attentive service and sincere friendship. PAL serves 54 destinations—30 domestic and 24 international points in 13 countries and territories, and has code-share arrangements with nine regional airlines to allow it to link Manila and Cebu with 16 domestic and 11 international points. PAL operates one of the youngest and best-maintained fleets in the region with a total fleet of 47 Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier aircraft. In May 2008, PAL broke new ground when it launched a sub-brand for the first time in its history: PAL Express. The new unit flies a fleet of eight Bombardier Q400 and Q300 turbo-props to mostly island destinations and secondary routes throughout the Philippines. Today’s PAL’s service had been enhanced to an even higher level. Passengers can look forward to reliable schedule punctuality, thoughtful inflight service, award-winning cuisine, and one of the industry’s most generous frequent-flyer programs in Mabuhay Miles. Philippine Airlines looks back at a proud legacy of service to the nation and to a future where it will soar once more among the leading airlines of Asia. Changing of guard The Advertising Board of the Philippines elected its 2009 officers and board of directors during its annual general membership meeting recently held at the Mandarin Hotel in Makati City. Charmaine Canillas of Petron Corp. (Pana) was reelected as AdBoard chairman while Nandy Villar from McCann Erickson (4As) was voted as this year’s vice chairman. Treasurer post was passed on to Pepito Olarte of Philippine Daily Inquirer (UPMG) while Tessie Celestino-Howard of Airtime Marketing (IBA) remained as corporate secretary. Elected as PR & information officer was Rick Hawthorne from Roadrunner Network (Asap). This year’s board of directors includes Allen Velez of Events Pool (Asap), Isabel Santillan of BBDO Guerrero (4As), Raymond Arrastia of Leo Burnett, Miguel Ramos of Aspac Law (4As), Jose Sy of Film-Ads (CAAP), Alden Castañeda of Mister Donut (MORES), Frank Abueva of Advertising Associates (OAAP), Margot Torres of Golden Arches Development Corp. (Pana), Charlie Manio of Cebu Pacific (Pana), Sandra Puno of Nestlé Phils. (Pana) and Lucien Dytioco of Philippine Star (UPMG). The 2009 AdBoard officers and directors will be inducted on February 25. Doing it right In a number of office buildings in Metro Manila, people at work are discovering a food haven that serves up a different dining experience from those offered by typical cafeterias. Picture this: a generous selection of Filipino and continental dishes, with nothing repeated until after 10 weeks; a cozy ambiance of tasteful up-to-date interiors that comes with pleasant piped-in music; and value-for-money prices. Too good to be true? DELL’S Restaurant Associates Inc. president Karla Campos Not at Dell’s Foodhall. With its tag of “Great food. Great value,” cafeteria dining has been given a whole new spin, raising it on a par with restaurants. In fact, Dell’s Foodhall, the first premium cafeteria chain in the Philippines, serves really good value-for-money food in a welcoming environment. This means no cold, greasy food, no unimaginative selection of dishes, and no more perfunctory dining experience. “The ambiance is not just the draw here,” said Dell’s Restaurant Associates Inc. president Karla Campos. “In Dell’s Foodhall, our customers have come to know that we deliver a more high-end dining experience at affordable prices. Our people go through proper training and orientation and make sure customers get what they are looking for. Add to that, all meals are prepared fresh and cooked from scratch daily. Customers are served healthy, quality meals at all times.” For Campos, Dell’s Foodhall is her way of providing Manila’s office crowd that “same, pleasant dining experience that I became accustomed to, while working in New York.” Campos lived and worked in Manhattan in the ’90s and enjoyed the food scene there. Upon returning to Manila, she ventured in the food business and operated her first cafeteria in 1995. Then again, the business runs in her blood, since both her grandmother and mother were pioneers in the business. In fact, Dell’s is in honor of her mother Adelfa. However, for many Dell’s regulars, it has come to mean “Dell-icious,” too. Hot and fast Showbiz inside scoop as it happens is now delivered fresh on the Internet, drawing Pinoys lurking in the corners and waiting for their quick fix for some juicy entertainment bits. Brandishing “entertainment news as it happens,” STIR.ph (acronym for “Showbiz Talk + Intriguing Reports”) was recently launched and becomes the most recent local site dishing out off-the-grill showbiz reports, star sightings, blind items, and even user-generated content such as candid celebrity photos. Powered by top Filipino online portal Yehey.com, STIR prides in its speed in delivering entertainment tidbits to its readers online. “Pinoys take entertainment news with a sense of urgency, with all showbiz developments—even unconfirmed ones—spreading like wildfire on the Web,” said Kankan Ramos, STIR channels manager. She said STIR revealed “local entertainment news as they unfold, a far cry from other gossip magazines that may be delivering already-stale news once published.” Ramos added, however, that STIR not only “plays by the rule of speed in the Internet.” Accordingly, the site also encourages “a healthy dose of paparazzo in the Pinoy fanatic” with interactive features, its content enriched by registered users sharing the latest, most titillating bits of gossip on the discussion board Talking Point and posting the newest celebrity profiles and snapshots. Apart from the latest showbiz buzz and user-generated content, STIR also discloses the real score on drama queens, on-screen partners, star-crossed lovers, and practically everything in tinseltown in its in-depth features on Inside Story and Starbox, its entertainment editor’s regular column. “STIR is just about for anybody who has a nose for news—Pinoy entertainment news, that is. But it also caters to overseas Filipino workers and globetrotters who miss home and whose idea of mornings involves a cup of coffee and either leafing through the entertainment pages of the tabloids or tuning in to the radio for some artista updates,” Ramos said. STIR.ph is currently in its beta format and relies on online advertisements as its main lifeline. Yehey.com, with over 30 million page views a month and nearly 300,000 registered users, now ranks among the top three most viewed websites in the Philippines. STIR.ph is just one of the many fresh sites that the top Pinoy portal is launching this year. Top performers With their important contributions to the success of Atlas Copco (Philippines) Inc., Raymond Buenaventura and William So were named 2008 Compressor Technique (CT) Top Performers of the Year during the annual kick-off meeting. Buenaventura received the Salesman of the Year award while So got the Service Engineer of the Year award. The screening committee, led by Philippine CT general manager Jonnie Regis, chose Buenaventura among six finalists in the Sales Category, while So was chosen among three finalists in the Service Category. Finalists for the Salesman of the Year were evaluated under four major categories: achievement of sales targets; peer evaluation; technical test results and performance in the Atlas Copco Technolympics. The Service Engineer of the Year was judged by their manhour recovery, technical capability and response time.