Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards celebrates 15 years of driving value for Sanlam Group

Last updated on 26th September, 2022 at 01:45 pm

Delivering loyalty and rewards to over 1.5 million clients and growing, loyalty sits at the centre of Sanlam Group’s strategic ambition to build a rewarding, holistic ecosystem for clients across the Group.

From humble beginnings in 2007 when the offering was called simply ‘Sanlam Reality, the loyalty and rewards programme for the Group has grown to service over 1.5-miIIion clients and has become a key value driver for loyalty, retention and cross-sell within the Group. This has included Sanlam’s Wealth Bonus offering: a monetary reward embedded in key participating products across the Sanlam Group.

15 Years; over R800 million of value for clients

Over the past 15 years, clients using Sanlam Reality lifestyle benefits have enjoyed over R420 million in lifestyle-benefit subsidies, while clients who earn Wealth Bonus have also enjoyed over R400 million paid out to them as cash. It’s all part of Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards helping clients to live with confidence, not just in their financial futures, but also with their everyday expenses and savings.

“It has been an epic 15-year journey to create a unique loyalty programme for Sanlam’s clients,” says Francois Uys, Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards Head: Digital, Marketing and Sales. “We are fortunate to have such loyal clients in Sanlam who have supported and trusted us to deliver on our promise – thank you!

“I am proud that over the last 15 years, we have kept our loyalty and rewards promise to give ‘real rewards’ that make a difference, putting money back into the pockets of our clients and helping them to live with financial confidence. I’m looking forward to the future and the exciting new developments in store to create even more value for Sanlam Group and its clients.”

The compelling business case for loyalty within Sanlam Group

‘Why does loyalty matter to Sanlam?’ you may ask. The simple answer: it allows us to have a continued relationship and engagement with clients beyond the initial promise of protection and ultimate fulfillment of a product or policy (e.g. a life policy paying out, or a retirement annuity maturing). It shows that Sanlam understands that life happens in between these two points, and that Sanlam cares. Sanlam uses its power as a big brand to build additional wealth and support clients with their lifestyle needs. Additionally, it creates opportunities for Sanlam to differentiate its solutions and retain customers, unlocking more value. Over the years, Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards has proven that Sanlam clients who are also loyalty members are:

• 40% less likely to lapse on policy premiums
• Have 2.8x larger portfolios with us
• 7x more likely to pick Sanlam for their next product

Since Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards is not an FSP, the loyalty programme can also engage in different kinds of conversations with clients across the Sanlam Group, particularly when it comes to incentivising and rewarding financially responsible behaviour. This places Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards in a unique position within the Group, with the ability to engage regularly with clients outside of transactional or promotional product messaging. It’s all part of creating an ecosystem in which the Sanlam Group is not simply the provider of a policy or product to a client, but embedded into their entire lifestyle.

The vision for Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards into the future

Since 2021, Sanlam Group has embarked on a journey of consolidating its loyalty solutions across the Group, including Sanlam Reality and Wealth Bonus. As part of this, Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards is now the Centre of Excellence for Loyalty and Rewards within the Group.

Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards is not just about lifestyle rewards; they are also now managing and operationalising Wealth Bonus, Sanlam’s Group-wide monetary reward play. They also manage Sanlam’s credit card: the Sanlam Money Saver credit card, which adds up to 5% cash back in the form of Wealth Bonus back into client’s pockets, plus R1 Wealth Bonus back per litre of fuel when clients use their card at Total. It’s all part of creating an ecosystem in which the Sanlam Group is not simply the provider of a policy or product to a client but embedded into their entire lifestyle.

Looking forwards, the vision is to create a true ecosystem environment for clients within the Group, and have loyalty and rewards offerings embedded into every client experience across the Group, from acquisition to retention to paying out a claim.

“Our new rewards approach is aligned to Sanlam’s brand promise and clearly differentiates us from our market competitors,” says Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards Chief Executive, André Fredericks. “Wealth Bonus is doing extremely well, and we are excited about the difference it will make in the lives of our clients. We care about our clients, what is important to them and will continue to support them with monetary and lifestyle rewards that are meaningful and relevant, especially to the newer generation. Our engines are roaring, and we are ready for the next 15 years.”

Learn more about Sanlam Loyalty and Rewards here.