I have three dogs so I know a little about loyalty. We love our pooches because they love us unconditionally and it doesn’t matter how we treat them, their loyalty is unstinting.
We humans are different. Some of us are more loyal than others and our loyalty is conditional on many factors.
In the workplace, we are loyal to people and it is said that people leave people, not companies.
As travellers though, what are we loyal to? Brand, price or convenience?
Do we abandon brands for a few dollars or because someone makes it so much more convenient for us to do business with them or someone looks after us so much better we’re prepared to pay more for the experience?
I was having this discussion over a dim sum and noodle breakfast at Café Too at Island Shangri-La with Wee Kee Ng, the man who manages the Golden Circle loyalty programme for Shangri-La.
Ng’s been in the role for more than a decade and has seen the concept of travel loyalty programmes evolve from his days in the airline business to hospitality, and so he has a very clear idea of where he wants to the Golden Circle programme to go.
In a nutshell, he wants “personalisation of the customer experience using technology to find the right insights for the right customer to create the right experience”.
Shangri-La’s Golden Circle and Taj Inner Circle combined to become Warmer Welcomes.
“The way we talk and communicate must be so simple and effective,” he says. “We used to say, you will get this if … it was all very conditional.
“Now we want to keep it simple, improve our processes so that members can communicate with us easily and enjoy the benefits as easily.”
So for example, if you are a member and you’re travelling to Hong Kong on business, you should enjoy a different experience from when you’re staying at the Rasa Ria Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
“The recognition should be different,” says Ng, “because your needs are different.”
To broaden its scope, it’s signed partnerships with like-minded travel companies, for example, Singapore Airlines, which allows members to double dip on points – a benefit members are enjoying greatly, says Ng.
In March this year, it joined hands with the Taj Group of India so that Golden Circle and Taj Inner Circle are now combined to create Warmer Welcomes.
It’s a partnership that makes sense – Shangri-La is strong in China and South-east Asia and Taj in India where Shangri-La only has two hotels. Both are traditional rooted brands, with a strong culture of hospitality and service.
New partnership – Shangri-La and Taj
Both programmes are fully integrated which means you only have to manage one profile and a month into the launch, Ng is encouraged by the response from members.
“We saw in the first week after launch more than 2,000 mutual members linked and equal conversion – about 20,000 points were converted each way in the first week – which means people like it,” says Ng.
Golden Circle has 5.2 million members and Taj 1 million members. Shangri-La has 97 hotels, Taj 100. Thus the partnership has allowed two mid-sized companies to scale and gives them the ability to create an ecosystem that will be more compelling for members.
So back to the emphasis on customer experience – the group is now making it a core focus of what it does and has appointed a senior executive just to focus on getting this right for its loyal customers.
“Because,” as Ng says, “if prices are the same, who do you choose? You choose the service or programme that most suits or benefits you. Loyalty is the differentiator.”
The morning before, for contrast in experiences, I had breakfast at Petrus, with general manager Franz Donhauser, on the 56th floor of the Island Shangri-La.
I ordered soft poached egg with sustainable cod and as I enjoyed the delicately-prepared dish, I gazed out at the Hong Kong harbour view and thought to myself, what an experience. You don’t get breakfasts like these every morning.
Which goes to show really that when it comes to me and my loyalty, I am like my dogs – feed me well, put me in a nice place and I am as happy as a pooch.
• All images credit: Warmer Welcomes
