The 2023 South African Loyalty Awards took place on 14 September, awarding SA’s top loyalty rewards programmes and initiatives. Up against well-established players such as FNB’s eBucks and Clicks ClubCard, it is a significant achievement that Sanlam Rewards was Commended by judges.
Sanlam Rewards was recognised in the ‘Best long-term loyalty programme of the year’ category. The Judges were particularly impressed by the meaningful monetary contribution the programme makes to its clients, as well as its focus on investing in client relationships. “Their steadfast commitment to fostering enduring relationships through a meticulously crafted loyalty initiative is truly commendable,” says Papi Rapolai, SA Loyalty Awards Judge. “By focusing on sustained value creation and unwavering customer engagement, Sanlam has raised the bar for long-term loyalty strategies.”
Machine_’s Partnership With Sanlam Reality
Underpinning Sanlam Rewards’ “unwavering customer engagement” is a decade-long partnership with Machine_, harnessing the power of content marketing and personalised CRM to drive long-term client relationships.
“With over 10 years as the content marketing, CRM and digital marketing agency partner of Sanlam Rewards, we couldn’t be prouder to see our client succeed at such a prestigious awards show, against some of the biggest loyalty programmes in South Africa,” says Sarah Browning-de Villiers, Machine_’s Chief Content Officer.
“The dedication and commitment of the Sanlam Rewards team to continually add value to their clients in meaningful ways, in spite of and, indeed, because of, the challenging economic times is commendable. We are especially proud of how creative thinking, smart CRM and content marketing with Machine_ have supported Sanlam Rewards in building long-term loyalty with clients,” adds Sarah.
Rewards and Wealth Bonus
“Every engagement we have with clients is intentional and strategic,” says Francois Uys, Sanlam Rewards’ Head: Digital, Sales and Marketing. “And we are proud to partner with Machine_ in crafting and continually optimising this communications and marketing experience to be one of the best in the market, as this SA Loyalty Awards Commendation affirms. This Commendation speaks to our commitment to taking loyalty and relationship building with our clients seriously. But it also reflects our deeper purpose at Sanlam: to help our clients build long-term financial confidence in a way that is meaningful,” explains Francois.
“To put it into context, we have rewarded clients with Wealth Bonus. This accrued to over R5.9-billion of real money. We’re not talking about smoothies or discounted gym membership only. We’re talking about boosting our loyal clients’ investments, retirements, risk insurance or savings policies by hundreds of thousands or – in some cases – millions of rand – over the long term. It is this unwavering commitment to using a loyalty and rewards programme like Wealth Bonus to do something genuinely meaningful to our client’s financial confidence that sets us apart from other loyalty programmes.”
Driving Digital Acquisition
As Sanlam Rewards’ digital marketing partner, Machine_ has also worked closely with Francois Uys and his team to drive digital acquisition for its paid open-market lifestyle product under the Sanlam Reality lifestyle loyalty brand. Machine_ was tasked with creating a digital marketing strategy and creative concept to market the discounted lifestyle product to the public for the first time.
“We needed to create and drive awareness of the Sanlam Reality discounted lifestyle product and its offerings. As well as drive traffic to the site and sign-up page and, ultimately, convert users,” explains Alex Forrester-Strydom, Machine_ Cape Town’s Business Unit Director. And the results were incredible. “We exceeded the leads target by 98%. But ultimately, we tapped into an entirely new audience for the Sanlam Group, with 60% of conversions representing totally new clients to the Sanlam Group.”
In conclusion, Francois says: “The stage is set for an exciting and challenging 2024. We have audacious growth ambitions and an unwavering belief that every South African deserves to have financial confidence. Without a doubt, rewards are key in helping to put real money in the pockets of our loyalty clients across the Sanlam Group.”
To learn more about Sanlam Reality, visit: https://www.sanlamreality.co.za
To learn more about Wealth Bonus, visit: https://www.sanlam.co.za/wealthbonus/Pages/default.aspx
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