There is a new breed of digital savvy consumers that brands are trying to successfully engage. They are called “mobile-first” users and winning the brand loyalty of this segment requires implementing a host of convenient customer experiences that control the power of new technologies.
This is a customer experience strategy that Western Union is seeking to embrace. And after initial pilots in Italy and France proved to be successful, Western Union is enhancing its loyalty program through a new global initiative that will employ a wide range of new mobile features. The enhancements will be delivered via Syniverse’s mobile customer engagement solutions platform.
Specifically, Syniverse, a pioneering telecommunications agency, will let Western Union loyalty program members redeem offers simply by replying to a text message. This “reply-to-redeem” will allow members to easily use offers and collect rewards, all from the convenience of a mobile device.
“Today’s mobile-first customers are increasingly choosing their financial institution based on the mobile services offered,” said Dave Murashige, VP and GM of Enterprise and Intelligence Solutions at Syniverse. “Our cross-channel solution enables Western Union to leverage mobile in new ways to realize better engagement with existing investments such as their customer loyalty program. By providing Western Union customers with relevant notifications and offers in the mobile moment, the company can increase customer satisfaction, reduce costs and increase brand loyalty.”
This will expand the benefits and services already included in Western Union’s loyalty program, which rewards customers for sending money transfers, paying bills, completing online transactions, and more.
The new mobile features introduced by Syniverse will also allow members to redeem points made from qualifying transfers in exchange for discounts on future Western Union service fees. Prior to these enhancements, members could only access this benefit through an online login or by calling a Western Union customer service specialist.
But now Western Union can easily send members “reply-to-redeem” notifications, point balances, and a host of addition account information straight to a mobile phone. This purports to exponentially increase the seamless and hassle-free customer experience for loyalty program members.
“Our customer loyalty program is critical for attracting and retaining customers, so we needed a way to increase engagement and allow our customers to more easily take advantage of the rewards,” said Felipe Echeverri, Western Union Director of Product Delivery. “Syniverse’s multifaceted Mobile Engagement solution provides us with the ability to keep the loyalty program top of mind with our customers, while also enabling us to reduce costs and increase efficiencies in our customer service department.”