#LEAwards 2021 highlight: StarHub's gameplay approach to securing customer loyalty

It is no surprise that telecommunications is no longer just a means of communication but a lifestyle. While most telcos offer a range of data lines that are available for each type of user, companies must now think out of the box to connect with consumers. The competitive telco industry has also led to companies constantly pushing out deals to attract customers. StarHub knew it had to slice through the competition to create an impact on the consumers of today and stand apart from its competitors.  

The strategy definitely proved to be a smart move, as it saw StarHub bagging the silver award for Best Loyalty Programme for Telecommunications at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Loyalty & Engagement Awards. Subsequently, the company was also a finalist of numerous categories such as Best Partnership in a Loyalty Programme, Best Use of Rewards and Incentives, Best Customer Experience, Best CRM Strategy, and Best Use of Consumer Insights. Here's how StarHub impressed the judging panel.

Challenge  

When the pandemic hit, StarHub saw some changes not only on the business forefront but also in the lifestyle choices of the people now. With the significant increase of consumers now adopting digital means into their daily lifestyles, companies were faced with a lot of pressure to accelerate their digital knowledge and businesses in order to stay afloat. Not to mention, a shortage in products and services when fulfilling high demand orders. 

As the pandemic has led to changes in consumerism, StarHub noted that customer loyalty has shifted, customer budgets were getting tighter and the willingness to spend was much lower as compared to before. Consumers were now mostly making necessary purchases such as food, toiletries, groceries, household goods, and technology products. 

Strategy  

Forced to rethink its marketing strategy, StarHub saw this as an opportunity to put its customers’ interests first. As more people spend more time at home, digital channels are seeing a bigger uptake in usage. Also with retail stores being forced to close, the company saw the need to shift collaboration efforts with more eCommerce partners, and also negotiate better deals quickly. Aware of the concerns of how communities can recover from the pandemic, there was an increased focus on supporting local businesses and economies. A decision was made to partner and support local brands, and at the same time connect with consumers to establish a deeper bond. 

Next, the brand saw the need to increase the frequency of communication with its customers especially during this time of crisis. Understanding the importance of emotional connection when it comes to consumer behaviour, StarHub wanted to implement happiness by introducing exciting and happy lifestyle offers, work from home accessories, and special deals on the eCommerce platform during these tough times. 

Execution  

Embarking on a journey to a digital rewards journey, StarHub launched a rewards programme for its consumers in October 2019. With rewards available from most brands, customers are able to enjoy rewards digitally and seamlessly through the My StarHub App. 

The precedence for more interaction than just simple clicks was well established in the mobile gaming universe, which allowed the brand to push the envelope by applying similar principles to move the in-app customer engagement needle. By using interactive gamified campaigns, it enabled StarHub to gamify engagements that allowed customers to interact with the My StarHub App. These gameplay-based campaigns were not only used to instantly reward specific sets of customer actions, but also time-bound or date-bound campaigns revolving around key dates such as birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates such as Chinese New Year and Christmas among others. These reward-based engagement mechanics were leveraged to excite and have continued consumer engagement. 

1. Snapping Saturday 

A weekly campaign that offers treats that are from free treats to as low as SG$1 treats for customers. 

2. Lifestyle treats 

Customers are able to gain access to a plethora of treats that match their individual lifestyles. 

3. Play and Win 

Enabling the customers to engage with the great offerings via simple and fun games. The games are as simple as a tap, and customers can win exciting prizes.

4. Members tier-based rewards 

The rewards were personalised based on the tiers of the membership in the app. 

Understanding that this initiative revolves mainly around existing customers, StarHub decided to use 360 in-house comms channel touchpoints for the go-to-market strategy to make sense. They include SMS, electronic direct mailer, in-app push notifications, digital publications, in-house bill message, in-store eposter, in-app promotions, Instagram, Facebook, and StarHub Rewards website. 

To ensure that the campaign was able to reach as many audiences as possible, partners have also extended their support by promoting it on their customers’ communication touchpoints such as eDM, SMS, and social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. This proved to be beneficial for both companies as not only it created awareness, it managed to receive optimal results with a low communication budget.  

Results

StarHub’s strategy managed to yield positive results, with more than 450,000 unique customer engagements over the past 11 months, with more than half of them returning to engage with the rewards programme for multiple months. Additionally, the rewards programme has proved to be more attractive to the consumers, with almost half of the active redeemers being made up of the Platinum, Gold, and Hub Club members. 

There has also been an increase in the number of monthly active users and an improvement in the customer churn rate. Customer satisfaction has also been high among the consumers, with StarHub emerging 1st in Mobile for the second year running as well as first in broadband in the latest National Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore study among all other operators in Singapore.