Gulf officials believe that its Gulf Power Points Rewards loyalty program, which Billaway launched June 3, will spark customer engagement and customer loyalty.
Gulf will use the Billaway platform across its footprint. Beginning this summer, more than 2,300 stations will be able to offer more than 3.5 million monthly gas station location visitors the ability to convert everyday spending at more than 28,000 physical store and on-line locations into free gasoline at the pump.
Loyalty360 caught up with Rick Dery, Gulf Oil’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, to talk about the program.
How will the new Gulf Power Points Rewards loyalty program spark customer engagement and loyalty among your customers?
The expanded Gulf Power Points Rewards program will give consumers across our entire footprint new and exciting ways to turn everyday purchases into great ways to save money−just for being a loyal Gulf customer. And it puts them in the driver’s seat in terms of choosing how they redeem the points they earn.
Here’s a snapshot of how it works: Gulf Gasoline and Gulf Electricity customers simply enroll online at www.gulfpowerpoints.com. Once their account is set up–which only takes a few minutes–they will begin earning points on purchases made at more than 25,000 retail and online locations with merchants like Macy’s, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and thousands more.
As the points pile up, they can use them three ways:
- To earn free $25 or $50 Gulf Gift Cards to purchase gas or other items at any of the more than 2,500 Gulf service stations across the nation,
- To pay a portion or all of their Gulf Orange credit card bill, or
- To lower their Gulf Electricity bill even further
And, for Gulf Electricity customers, their new Power Points accounts will be immediately loaded with $10 to jumpstart their savings, and they will also earn an additional $10 whenever a friend or family member they refer to Gulf Electricity through the Power Points portal signs up.
What makes this program unique?
What’s great about the Gulf Power Points program is that customers don’t need to do anything differently to save every day with Gulf. Just by continuing to shop at thousands of third-party, name-brand retailers and manufacturers as they always do, they will earn points that they can use to save on gas, on electricity bills, or to pay off their Gulf Orange credit cards.
It’s a fabulous way for us to say thank you to the millions of Gulf customers across the 31 states we serve, and a fresh and exciting way to make Gulf a meaningful part of their lives even when their cars are parked in their driveways.
How will Gulf incorporate this program for its customers?
The Power Points program began for our Gulf Electricity customers, and we’re now expanding it to all Gulf shoppers. We’ve already begun a soft rollout, and in July, Gulf stations will promote the Power Points Program with pump signage, cashier handouts, and a text program. Also, Gulf Orange credit card customers will now be able to pay their bills online through the Power Points portal.
In the future we will also cross promote the Gulf Orange credit card and Gulf Electricity programs to Power Points members, making them aware of the ongoing benefits we have to offer.
What does this mean for Gulf’s customer experience and customer retention efforts?
For our Gulf customers, this is a continuation of the value they’ve come to know from us and our more than 100-year history as a brand they love and can trust. For Gulf retailers, the Power Points program is an effective way to help them increase revenue, build stronger relationships with existing customers, and to attract new repeat customers as well. It’s all part of our commitment to helping our dealers leverage our iconic brand in numerous ways with the millions of customers who do business with Gulf every day.
Billaway CEO Paul Harkins told Loyalty360 that Gulf Oil was seeking a program they could offer to both Electricity and Gasoline customers that would allow them to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Gulf utilizes the Billaway program to accomplish the following goals:
1. Customer acquisition for both Electricity and Gasoline
2. Customer retention for both
3. Increase margin given the rewards are not paid by Gulf
“The Billaway program is the only one of its kind where consumers can shop in thousands of physical and online locations and when they make a qualified purchase, a portion of their spend is directly applied to their Electricity Bill or their Gulf Gas Card/Credit card as a credit on their account,” Harkins explained. “This enables the consumer to have a lower bill to pay when the bill is due.”
Harkins said Billaway’s entire business model is focused on the customer’s experience being exceptional.
“As we all know, most businesses cannot exist without customers, so keeping them happy and engaged is incredibly important,” he said. “At Billaway, we have the added incentive for exceptional customer service because these customers are our partners’ customers. With that said, we believe customer experience is centered on giving the customer more than they expect. Using the Billaway rewards platform, Gulf customers can convert their everyday spending into a direct reduction of the amount of money they have to pay out of pocket for gasoline and electricity; leaving more money in their pockets for anything else they would like to spend it on.”