BP/Aral: Customer Loyalty Program

Owned by BP since 2002, Aral operates approximately 2,600 stations throughout Germany for a market share of around 22 percent.

Strong competition from other players, consumer purchasing power and challenging market developments increased pressure on Aral's retail business. To meet these challenges, the client wanted to launch a long-term, card-based loyalty program in Germany using a multi-partner platform aligned with the global loyalty strategy. The new card-based loyalty system replaced existing paper-based promotions and encouraged new customer buy-in, strengthened existing customers' loyalty and persuaded old customers to return to Aral.

Accenture research shows that top companies are focused on winning the battle for the customer. In leveraging this research, Accenture worked closely with Aral to determine the program provider, program design and implementation approach. Based on Accenture's analysis, Aral joined the leading existing German multi-partner loyalty program, Loyalty Partner's PAYBACK. Aral operates its own IT infrastructure linked to the Loyalty Partner IT platform to allow direct access to customer data and compliance with data protection requirements.

With Accenture's help, Aral introduced a card-based, multi-partner bonus points program at its 2,600 gas stations throughout Germany. Aral closed a gap in the PAYBACK program by awarding bonus points for fuel, shop and bistro products and car washes. Aral also partnered with 17 companies from a variety of businesses to offer customers many ways to collect additional PAYBACK points and choose from an array of prizes and services. With nearly 30 million cards distributed to consumers, PAYBACK has become the No. 3 card in Germany's wallets, behind health insurance and EC debit cards.