The K-Plussa customer loyalty system operates on three levels. Benefits granted to customers are either storespecific, chain-specific or provided across the entire K-Plussa network. The more customers use their K-Plussa cards, the more diversified the customer loyalty benefits they receive will be.
Store-specific benefits and services to meet the needs of local customers
When customers shop with their K-Plussa cards in K-Group stores, retailers are provided with important information which they can use to develop their stores' selections and services to best serve their clientele. Customer information is also used interactively between the K-stores and customers. By concentrating their purchases, customers get store-specific K-Plussa benefits and services that are based on their needs and shopping behaviour. Targeted benefits and services provided by local K-retailers increase customer satisfaction and sales.
Chain-specific customer programmes provide benefits and services to meet customers' needs in specific product lines
The K-Group chains have their own customer programmes which offer chainspecific benefits and services to K-Plussa customers based on their needs in these particular sectors. For example, Kodin Ykkönen has a loyalty programme which gives customers a discount on the price of the assembly service and free use of removal boxes. Chain-level customer information is leveraged to develop the network and concepts, and to build the chains' selections and services that meet the needs of customers as well as possible.
K-Plussa benefits provided to all K-Plussa cardholders
K-Plussa also offers significant benefits
that are available to all K-Plussa customers.
K-Plussa offers always reward
customers with a discount of at least 10
percent provided at the checkout; this is
a guaranteed K-Plussa reduction. By
centralising their purchases in the
K-Plussa network, customers receive a
reward of up to 5 percent in the form
of Plussa points.
Other benefits available to all K-Plussa
customers include co-branding cards and
the chance for customers to deposit their
K-Plussa points in their bank account
with any bank. The partnerships with the
OP-Pohjola Group and Nordea that
started in 2007 have got off to a good
start. More than 600,000 customers already have a debit or credit card with
the K-Plussa feature. A co-branding card
makes things easier for customers as it
enables the collection of K-Plussa points
and reduces the number of cards in the
wallet.
K-Plussa cardholders also get the
Pirkka magazine, which celebrated its
75th anniversary, distributed to their
homes. In 2008, Pirkka further reinforced
its position as the most widely read magazine
in Finland (source: the National
Readership Survey). In addition to the
Pirkka magazine, the Plussa.com website
is an important communications channel
between K-Plussa customers and the
K-Group. According to a survey conducted
in September 2008, K-Plussa's loyal customers
are extremely satisfied with the
Plussa.com pages and provided the website
with an excellent grade. Customers
visit Plussa.com for benefits and special
offers. The website provides nearly 300
nationwide K-Plussa benefits each
month.
Cooperation with Nuori Suomi, the
Young Finland Association, continued to
play an important role in sponsorship by
K-Plussa. In 2008, the cooperation
included customer events arranged by
retailers and cooperation between retailers
and local, recognised sports clubs.
Customer information at the core of business
To enable us to develop the most
rewarding benefit levels and customer
programmes, we need a sufficient
amount of information about customer
relationships and the competence to
analyse and make use of this information.
Collecting and saving reliable customer
information in sufficient quantity
is of primary importance in customer
relationship analysis. K-Plus Oy collects
and analyses this information in the
K-Group.
Customers' privacy protection is
ensured when customer information is
collected and made use of. K-Plus Oy
processes customers' purchasing data on
the sum total or product group level.
Anonymous receipt line level purchasing
data may also be used. Customer information
and programmes play a key role
in business planning.
Targeted marketing by means of customer
information is becoming increasingly
common. This type of marketing is
more cost-efficient and often attracts
more attention. Results gained from targeting
have been extremely good. For
example, by classifying information
about eating habits, customer groups
who appreciate healthy eating or traditional
foods can be identified and
approached in a way they find interesting.
The importance of electronic customer
contacts in targeted communications is
increasing. Those who have agreed to
electronic marketing receive a K-Plussa
e-letter with special offers once a month.
Customers can also be approached with
personalised e-mail offers.
Since the end of 2008, customers have
also been able to download the location
of nearly 2,000 K-Group stores and outlets
of certain
At the end of 2008, 3.6 million Finns in
2 million households had a K-Plussa
card. In 2008, the K-Plussa customer loyalty
programme gained more than
210,000 new customers.