Samsung's aggressive play to triple loyalty base

With today’s customers spoilt for choice, loyalty is crucial for any brands survival and Samsung is no different. Samsung’s Mobile division last year suffered a 64.2% plunge in the fourth quarter dropping from US$5 billion to US$1.8 billion in December.To counter this, Nicholas Wodtke, VP of Samsung Asia’s media solutions centre, boldly claimed that in 2015, Samsung’s GALAXY Life app, one of its most well-known loyalty apps, will triple its user base. Speaking at the Samsung Forum 2015 in Bangkok, he said this would be achieved through a targeted content offering.“Content is an important part of the Samsung ecosystem and it creates demand for Samsung products,” Wodtke said. He added that currently 55% of mobile users claim that apps and services impact their purchase, while 85% of tablet users say content is a reason for them to purchase a device.To date one of the most popular apps for Samsung remains the Samsung GALAXY Life app. This is a loyalty offering which allows customers to redeem a variety of deals from local retail and online stores when they use the app. In 2014 GALAXY Life had over three million downloads across five countries and nearly 70% of the consumers were return users.“We want to build loyalty for the Samsung brand. We want to make sure when you purchase that Samsung device you will stay within the Samsung family,” Wodtke added. He then went on to explain why content is vital in helping Samsung move volumes when it comes to selling of sales products.According to Samsung's own research, around 89% of users claim that GALAXY Life has helped them to improve their brand perception of Samsung. Meanwhile 81% said that using Samsung GALAXY Life made them want to carry on using Samsung devices.Ramping up content and creating more personalised experiences on the platform is one strategy Wodtke and his team will be heavily investing on going forward.One main push for Wodtke and his team will be to release localised content on the GALAXY Life app. The sports content app which has been widely downloaded will now be integrated on the GALAXY Life app. It will also be offered in localised languages for the various market. The games section now sitting under the GALAXY app platform will allow SEA consumers to gain virtual points and then proceed to redeem real world goods from brand partners such as Starbucks and Haagen Dazs."We think of the consumer purchase pattern in three points: pre-sale; retail; post-sale. The last one is vital. That is where you need to get to know your consumers and engage in a conversation with them," Wodtke said.To understand its customers better GALAXY Life will offer several new features. One of which is customer care where users can directly talk to customers. Also, the Gold Tier application will also be made available for savvy customers who remain and buy premium flagship products with Samsung. These customers can then have access to fine dining and airport lounges. Lastly warranty services can also be accessed using the app for consumer convenience."Our job is to bring hardware together with software to gain the loyalty of customers. At the end of the day that is how we can continue to build the Samsung brand," said Wodtke.Samsung paid for this journalist’s trip to the Samsung Forum 2015, held in Bangkok, Thailand.