Customer Success Recipe: Kaizen Uses Technology to Build Customer Loyalty
Improving the Algida Customer Experience (Overview)
Unilever’s ice cream brand, Algida, has become one of the biggest ice cream brands in the world. The familiar heart-shaped Algida logo reminds ice cream lovers of the pride and passion that goes into crafting every Algida ice cream and that the brand's mission is to spread joy with every bite.
Algida’s challenge is maintaining its leadership role in the increasingly crowded ice cream market. Making a superior product is only the first step in preserving brand dominance. Customers have come to expect more in today’s digital age. Algida needed to improve the customer experience using smartphone technology to remain competitive.
Simplifying the Customer Rewards Program (Challenge)
Algida created its rewards program to show customers how much they are valued. Every Algida product purchased includes a code on the ice cream stick that can be used to redeem points to claim gifts or free ice cream. The idea was to encourage customers to buy more Algida ice cream to accumulate more reward points. Tracking customer purchases using the rewards program would also provide valuable data about consumer preferences and behavior.
The challenge was getting customers to redeem points for prizes. The objective of the customer rewards program was to gather first-party data to better understand Algida’s consumer journey in every step and buying patterns with retail partners. Algida wanted to know the preferred products, when they were purchased, where they were purchased, what other products were purchased at the same time, and other metrics. The success of the program hinged on customers redeeming points, which would provide essential trackable customer data.
Much of the problem was due to the Algida customer rewards program using manual processes that required cooperation from retail partners. Customers would have to turn in ice cream sticks with code numbers to retailers to see if they qualified for a prize. That meant it was up to the storeowners to handle prize fulfillment and return the ice cream sticks, which became a problem.
First, store owners were reluctant to hand out free ice cream earned through the program since Algida's processing time to reimburse them was lengthy. It was up to the store owner to return the ice cream sticks (an unsanitary process), which would then be counted to release funds in return. The process could take months, which didn’t sit well with retailers. It was up to the storeowner to return the ice cream sticks (an unsanitary process), which would then be counted to release funds in return. The process could take months, which didn’t sit well with retailers.
Customers also had trouble exchanging points for prizes. Even if a customer wins a free ice cream, the storeowner may not have that particular product in stock. Customers didn’t know which ice cream retailers were participating in the program, so they weren’t sure where to redeem their ice cream sticks. More often than not, customers just threw their ice cream sticks away, which rendered the customer loyalty program less effective.
Storeowners would find a digital app indispensable due to the drawbacks associated with manual processes. Relying on manual methods for prize redemption can lead to operational inefficiencies, such as delays in processing and errors in prize fulfillment. Moreover, the burden of managing prize redemption manually falls entirely on storeowners, adding to their workload and potentially straining their relationship with customers.
Algida approached Kaizen, a specialist in loyalty program management, to help redesign the rewards program. Kaizen combining the physical purchase with digital customer interaction to minimize reliance on retail partners. A new approach was needed, such as encouraging customers to participate in the rewards program using a mobile app. That would give customers control over their rewards and tell them immediately what they had won, and it would deliver the customer data directly to Algida. Ice cream giant Algida needed to digitize its process to gain valuable data and ensure a better customer experience. Kaizen, boasting extensive experience in digitizing loyalty programs, emerged as the perfect solution to Algida's problem.
Bringing Technology to the Algida Rewards Program (Solution)
Since 2016, Kaizen has been designing customer loyalty programs for major companies like Algida, aiding businesses in navigating the dynamic digital terrain. At the core of Kaizen’s philosophy lies the conviction that loyalty is the cornerstone of consumer-brand relationships. By customizing loyalty solutions to fit the distinct needs of each business, Kaizen endeavors to democratize loyalty, reward, and retention initiatives, ensuring that cutting-edge technology is accessible and effective for businesses of all sizes. Kaizen's mission is to imagine a future where every brand can harness loyalty to achieve sustained success, and it is dedicated to turning this vision into reality.
Algida decided to partner with Kaizen because of the firm's robust portfolio and stellar reputation in the industry. Kaizen has a wealth of experience in developing and designing loyalty programs tailored to the unique needs of brands such as Nestle, Vodafone, Ferrero, and Coca-Cola. Algida turned to Kaizen to help build a customer rewards program to improve customer experience and apply digital technology to deliver tangible results and drive sustainable growth.
To improve the Algida rewards program and deliver the desired customer data, Kaizen developed “Algida ile Kazan,” a mobile app for customers. The Algida ile Kazan app, with its gamified features and user-friendly interface, made interacting with the company enjoyable and effortless for customers. Using the mobile rewards app was simple:
- Customers would set up an account on the website and download the app to join the rewards program.
- Every time they buy an Algida ice cream, they use the app to enter or scan the code on the stick to accumulate reward points. They could also scan the purchase receipt if the ice cream stick wasn’t available.
- The app would immediately process and validate the code and inform the Algida customer about awards, instant raffles, and qualification for free ice cream.
Using a mobile app to manage customer rewards was ideal for both ice cream lovers and retailers. Points can be redeemed for free ice cream, and the app generates a QR code that is scanned and redeemed at the store – no more ice cream sticks. The app also tracks ice cream consumption and uses that information for custom surprise offers.
The rewards app also converts the physical process of buying ice cream into digital rewards, which makes it easy to redeem points for other goods and services. Customers would receive daily offers and gifts. For example, points can be redeemed for discounts on services such as Spotify or Netflix, or rewards can be converted into a gigabyte of free internet access.
The ability to scan receipts for reward points and track digital offers tells Algida more about its customers. Scanning ice cream receipts for reward points reveals what additional purchases customers are making at the same time. Digital coupons also show what types of products and services Algida customers find most appealing. Digital tracking delivers a richer set of first-party data for analysis.
Instant Customer Gratification, Better Data (Benefits)
By engaging Kaizen to develop a more robust loyalty program using a sophisticated mobile application, Algida has gathered more accurate first-party data, providing insights into consumer behaviors. Data gathered, such as details about purchased items categorized by region and preferred purchase combinations, has been instrumental in shaping strategic marketing initiatives.
The mobile app also serves as a direct communication channel between Algida and its customers. The app leverages gamification to enhance consumer engagement and encourage consumers to use the app more frequently, fostering customer loyalty. The new mobile app platform also enables Algida to reach millions of users with targeted campaigns while providing valuable insight into consumer behavior.
Digitizing the customer loyalty campaign proved beneficial to retail partners as well. Storeowners are no longer responsible for handling used ice cream sticks or waiting for delayed payments to participate in the loyalty program. Now customers can also see which stores are participating and which are not, the mobile app now shows the location of storeowners who are selling Algida products. Moreover, Algida and its loyal customers can directly interact and engage with each other through a unified platform, fostering a stronger sense of community and connection, and eliminating the need for intermediary steps or human intervention.
The Algida ile Kazan program has already been a huge success. To date, there are more than 2.2 million registered users who have received 5.4 million ice cream rewards and 4.5 million rewards gifts, including 2 million digital gifts. The rewards app continues to be popular as well with an average of 50,000 downloads daily and a rating of 4.5 to 5.0 in the Apple App Store and Google Play store.
With assistance from Kaizen, Algida plans to use the loyalty program to expand its market reach into new locations and incorporate more reward choices. Plans are underway to leverage Kaizen’s reward program technologies to integrate new points of sale, bring in new customers, and drive sustainable growth. Using data captured by the customer loyalty app, Algida will also create tailored promotional campaigns offering products and rewards that are most preferred.
Kaizen continues to develop similar technology-driven customer loyalty programs for global brands worldwide. The company specializes in creating custom solutions for clients that simplify and automate business processes while delivering valuable market data, supporting retail partners, and building customer loyalty. If you want to learn more about the success of the Algida customer rewards program and how they are realizing a dramatic ROI, contact us for more information or to book a demonstration.