Turkey’s biggest loyalty and rewards company set to launch in the GCC

1. Can you elaborate on the BiggLoyalty event and about BiggPlus?

BiggPlus Group, established in 1999, is a global loyalty, rewards and merchandise company with its headquarters in Turkey. The group is composed of three companies – BiggLoyalty (Sanal Magaza Inc), On-Net and Aristo.

BiggLoyalty serves more than 20 different sectors ranging from FMCG, telecommunication, retail, aviation, insurance, tobacco and finance, among others. Our loyalty and rewards services are of three main types, targeting three main segments –
1. Customer loyalty programmes (targeting end users)
2. Business partner rewards (targeting distributors and agencies)
3. Employee recognition programmes (targeting employees of corporations)

Some of our reputable clients include Turkish Airlines, CocaCola, Philip Morris, Turkcell, Goodyear, GE, Samsung and Nestle. BiggPlus Group offers its IT solutions, developed with in-house technology.

We are holding our first loyalty conference in Dubai on October 3, powered by Aristo FZE, that is going to be the official launch of our products and services in the GCC and the MENA region. Registration is open here.

2. Are loyalty programmes increasing in popularity in the GCC? If so, why?

Loyalty is an unavoidable part of a successful business, especially in a competitive environment where your competitor is just a click away. Plus, customers are becoming more and more demanding every day. Every brand has to have its loyal clients both for increasing sales and avoiding churn.

The same naturally applies to the GCC countries as well. Moreover, the GCC countries have a very cosmopolitan demographic structure where people come from many different origins. Loyalty schemes create this common bond between them and the brand.

We help to create this bond and make a difference.

3. What are the main challenges in implementing a loyalty programme?

Loyalty is not a short term catch, it is a mid and long term activity to create behavioural changes on people for the benefit of the brand. It requires conceptual commitment and dedication.

As for rewards, offering right rewards to the right segments is very important. All rewards have to have a high perceived value to attract participants.

At BiggLoyalty, we have 20 years of experience in this. We offer the best items with the best available prices.

There is nothing better than a long lasting gift received from a brand that emotionally connects with the client and makes them a brand ambassador.

4. Which are the sectors that benefit the most from such initiatives?

Our loyalty services apply to all sectors and industries. When there is a customer either buying a product or a service then there is a need for loyalty to be created between the brand and the customer in order to make repetitive sales.

Of course, sometimes the product, promotion or price may come into the front stage, but in essence it is the customer who should be focused on.

We have served many multinational clients in all different kinds of sectors. So far we have implemented over 1,500 loyalty programmes.

5. What are the key things that customers look for in a loyalty programme?

From the point of view of the customer to be rewarded, there are a few points that are key to the loyalty programme such as –

* Simplicity of the programme to enroll: Sometimes the most primitive looking scheme can be the best solution

* Easiness to reach the goals for earning points: Each participant must think that he or she can reach at least some of the targets in a short time. Farfetched targets result in deviation from the programme

* Value of the rewards in the programme: Rewards must be relevant, meaningful and of high perceived value

* Wide range of rewards in the collection

* Good customer service

BiggLoyalty can handle all of those critical issues and operate the whole programme from A-Z.

6. Looking ahead, what are your plans for the GCC?

There are so many reputable brands here in the GCC. We have already started to meet with them and observed that there is a huge need for good loyalty and rewards programmes in this market.

Our aim is to serve the GCC from Dubai, which will the hub for our operations.

Initially we have four countries in our plan: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. Then we will expand further. For further enquiries, people can email [email protected]