Titan Industries: Strengthening customer loyalty

Titan won the award at the 22nd Qimpro Convention for devising a unique customer relationship programme that led to customers bonding with the company emotionally.

Titan Industries Limited, incorporated in 1984, is a joint venture between Tata Industries and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO). The company's jewellery division manufactures and retails 18 karat studded jewellery and 22 karat plain gold jewellery under the brand name Tanishq.

The company's Ananata-Customer Loyalty Programme is unique to retail and the industry, indeed, to any industry in the world as it is aimed at connecting emotionally with customers.

Every customer is considered a unique entity under the programme, which is a loyalty programme that does not bank on giving incentives to customers to buy more.

On enrolling a customer in the programme, the company captures extensive details about customers and their families under broad categories - customer data, customer feedback and most importantly the customer's preferences and that of his family in various fields to capture the likes, passions, family occasions and other "happy" occasions.

The programme creates an opportunity for customers to be associated with the 'Big Family' and make them spokespersons of the brand.

The details captured are then entered into the special software that was developed for the company and the database with information about all the customers helps the company reach out to the customer in many personal and meaningful ways.

The tangible benefits of the programme have been:

    * Customer retention and growth by 33 per cent
    * Word-of-mouth promotion increased from 17 per cent to 38 per cent
    * Repeat purchase within 3 months is 14 per cent
    * 50 per cent total sales has been attributed to the loyal customer

The intangible benefits of the programme have been:

    * The family members (Ananta customers) assume various roles for the brand like addressing gatherings or events on behalf of the company's jewellery store -- Goldplus.
     * The programme has created a huge impact on customers
    * Customers visit underprivileged children and spend time with them apart from monetarily helping them in certain cases
    * Family members who include professionals like doctors help in conducting free eye camps
    * New relationships are forged that go beyond business
    * Value addition in the lives of the family members of customers 

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