Petrol stations are a market segment that is highly saturated with loyalty schemes. Almost every operator in this sector has its own loyalty scheme or participates in multi-partner schemes. My guest today is someone with extensive experience in managing end-consumer loyalty \u2013 Kamila Trzeciak from AMIC Energy. Katarzyna Nawrocka, welcome to the programme \u201eLoyalty Schemes by Night\u201d. Good evening.<\/p>\n
.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Good evening.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Kamilo, AMIC Energy is the newest brand amongst petrol stations on the national market, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes. The AMIC Energy brand has only been operating in Poland for three years and was established following the takeover by the Austrian fuel group Amic Energy of the Lukoil petrol stations that had previously been operating in Poland.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So you were formed as a result of a rebrand?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes. And as a result of this rebranding, not only have the stations themselves been modernised as buildings, but they have also gained a very modern food and drink area. And Subway restaurants are already operating in nearly half of our network. And here I must also mention that we are Subway\u2019s largest franchisee in Poland, which is a source of immense pride for us.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I wanted to ask you about this rather unusual approach. I say \u2018unusual\u2019, but in a very positive sense, because the cornerstone of your company and your brand is, above all, friendly service. People and the quality of service. That\u2019s quite unusual.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes, but it stems entirely from our company\u2019s internal culture. Our sales staff build truly long-term relationships with customers. And this stems from the fact that, internally, within the company, we simply get on very well with one another, and this positive energy \u2013 which is genuinely based on mutual respect \u2013 then radiates outwards. And that\u2019s why the sales staff at our stations adopt this approach. It simply stems naturally from our organisational culture.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So it wasn\u2019t a strategy that had been devised from the very beginning?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s certainly a very coherent idea, but it wouldn\u2019t have worked without people. Without staff who really take it very seriously.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Well, I can\u2019t really ask you about your loyalty scheme here, because you were set up three years ago and launched your loyalty scheme as AMIC Energy. So how do you compete with such established players who\u2019ve been in the market for many years and are your competitors?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Fantastic. Fantastic, because, in truth, creating something from scratch is, for me personally, a brilliant professional and business experience, but also, for the company, building something based on those values I mentioned earlier, on the need\u2026 \u2026and, through a loyalty scheme, sharing that positive energy with customers \u2013 that\u2019s a brilliant experience. Let\u2019s not forget that the oldest loyalty scheme run by a petrol station chain in Poland is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. And Driver Club celebrated its second birthday a month ago. So what? Well, we\u2019re making our mark \u2013 I think very positively \u2013 on the market. And it really is a very, very interesting and enjoyable professional and personal experience.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019ve already revealed the name of your loyalty scheme. And you also mentioned that you celebrated your second anniversary \u2013 so, after about a year on the Polish market, you decided to launch a loyalty scheme.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes, it was a natural consequence of the approach and business strategy adopted by our owners and our brand. And thanks to that, Driver Club is growing; we\u2019re now into our third year.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In that case, Kamilo, let\u2019s talk about what your loyalty scheme involves and what sets it apart from other petrol stations.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Well, we\u2019re the best.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n You couldn\u2019t have answered any other way.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But that\u2019s a very, very honest answer. It\u2019s not as if I\u2019m saying this now just because I have to. No \u2013 what sets our programme apart, above all, is the very fast rate at which points \u2013 loyalty points \u2013 are earned. And, in addition, in the Driver Club, customers have a very diverse range of choices when it comes to deciding how to spend their points. So they can use these points to redeem rewards from the catalogue, buy products at petrol stations, pay with them, and also activate fuel discounts.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I wanted to ask you about another aspect, perhaps straying slightly from the main point, which is filling up with petrol at a petrol station, because these days we can find many other products at petrol stations. We can do our shopping, we can wash our cars, and very often these purchases have nothing to do with the car itself, let alone with fuel or car repairs. Sometimes it\u2019s just grocery shopping. What kind of challenge does this pose for a petrol station owner? Well, because you have to stock a wider range of products, and that certainly presents a challenge.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll go further \u2013 this is a challenge, but it\u2019s also a real opportunity. First and foremost, it\u2019s an opportunity for growth, but it\u2019s also a chance to give our customers greater scope to use and collect loyalty points. In other words: the more products \u2013 and fuel is, of course, a product too \u2013 but the more services such as catering and retail items, the more points customers can earn. So the more varied the range of services offered by a petrol station \u2013 in this case, a petrol station \u2013 the more opportunities there are for customers.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So it\u2019s not a challenge, but an opportunity. And an opportunity for both you and your customers.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes, yes. We have a clear policy here to share this positive energy equally with our customers. Another very important aspect here is that, as we offer our customers a wider and more varied range of services and products, we can simply award them more bonus points on top of those earned when refuelling.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n We live in the reality we live in. So, of course, I have to ask you: has the coronavirus pandemic had any impact on your members, the members of your loyalty schemes? Have you noticed any difference, or have you carried out any research?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes, well, the pandemic itself meant that customers in practically every sector said, \u201eEnough is enough\u201d. And, of course, it seems to me that the fuel sector was the one most \u2013 or one of the most \u2013 affected by the pandemic, precisely because we had a lockdown and people weren\u2019t travelling. And that in itself\u2026 That moment demonstrated the value of building customer loyalty. Our programme had been running for just under a year when the lockdown began and the pandemic took hold. And yet it showed that loyal customers \u2013 they do come back, they want to come back \u2013 but what\u2019s more, they actually fill up more often than those who aren\u2019t loyal. And here, I think Driver Club played a huge part in AMIC Energy closing the 2020 financial year with a profit, which, it seems to me, wasn\u2019t was by no means a foregone conclusion, and I believe the Driver Club played a very significant part in this.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Well, congratulations are in order. I\u2019d also like to ask you a bit more about the mobile app, as I suspect your loyalty scheme has one. Let\u2019s talk about how it works.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The AMIC Energy PL app was launched after a year of the programme\u2019s operation. And I must say that it holds a very special place in my professional heart. But first and foremost, whilst my heart is my heart, it turns out that our customers really needed it and value it greatly. And this is also very measurable \u2013 the extent to which they value it \u2013 because I can simply see the number of active app users growing. And this is the channel \u2013 the channel of communication with the customer \u2013 which, in my opinion, is the only one, this digital channel, that has a real chance of retaining the customer\u2019s attention at this moment in the most desirable way. It\u2019s also the only one with potential for growth. In my view, it\u2019s the only growing category of communication at the moment. So that\u2019s the first point; and secondly, our app has several unique features, and the one that is certainly highly valued \u2013 and probably the most valued \u2013 among our customers is the price comparison tool, where we show prices at our stations and at our competitors\u2019 stations. And here I can personally assure you that we really do attach great importance to the accuracy of this comparison. So these prices \u2013 the fuel prices in this comparison \u2013 are very, very carefully monitored and displayed. I personally use the navigation feature to find our stations very often, which is also available in our app. Whenever I travel outside Warsaw, where our office is based, I always fill up at AMIC Energy stations, and thanks to the app, I can find my way to our station as easily as possible.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n You mention that more and more people are using the app. Well, yes, we all carry a mobile phone with us now, but not everyone uses theirs in the same way. Not everyone has a smartphone, so I wanted to ask you whether this means that, since your app was launched a year later, it was possible to collect points on a so-called plastic card for a year?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n You could collect points on that plastic card you mentioned. However, of course, every account and every card has its counterpart in the Customer Portal on the website, so just as in the app, all the programme\u2019s features can also be accessed via the website.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m actually more concerned about the participants who, for whatever reason, don\u2019t want to use a smartphone and don\u2019t have the app. Is this option still part of your programme?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n She stayed, but I simply must mention my favourite customers here \u2013 the elderly, who really don\u2019t use smartphones, and in our Customer Service Centre we\u2019ve actually managed on more than one occasion to assist such customers with a smile on their faces. And they are truly lovely customers.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Kamilo, the profit margin on fuel is significantly lower than that on other products. Examples include windscreen washer fluid or simply food products. How do you deal with this challenge at Driver Club, and, above all, does it affect the loyalty scheme?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes. And I think this is very positive from the customer\u2019s point of view, because we give customers significantly more points for these high-margin products. It\u2019s also an opportunity for us to actually share with our customers what we\u2019ve achieved together, so thanks to this diversified range, our customers simply earn more loyalty points. Consequently, they can earn them more quickly, accumulate the number of points required to claim a specific reward, and then redeem it.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Payment features are becoming increasingly common in petrol station mobile apps. What are your plans in this regard?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes. Well, I have to say that we monitor market trends and what our competitors are doing in great, great detail. And there\u2019s no denying that development \u2013 the development of apps, the development of this trend \u2013 is, in a way, a necessity. We have to keep up \u2013 just like any other company, in fact; Driver Club and AMIC must also follow these market trends in order to continually strengthen our competitive position.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So let\u2019s find out what factors you take into account when selecting prizes for the prize catalogue.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Prizes catalogue.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This is of interest to everyone!<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I love it. Yes, I think there are two key trends here: seasonality and the regular rewards for which customers collect points.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So you\u2019re telling us that nobody will be interested in a hammock in December?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Well, not in December, but at the moment our garden range is proving extremely popular with us. It\u2019s very, very important to adapt flexibly to the customer\u2019s needs. That means seasonality, the festive season, and various important occasions in our customers\u2019 lives. This is a very, very strong pillar. On the other hand, there are customers who collect points towards a specific reward they\u2019ve set their sights on in the permanent catalogue. And this, in turn, creates certain requirements: firstly, the offer must be attractive to the customer. So these are well-known product brands. It must be priced appropriately; in other words, it simply has to be good value for money for the customer \u2013 cheap, to put it bluntly. And this is where the pace of collecting points, which I mentioned earlier, is crucial. With us, customers collect points faster than in rival programmes. That\u2019s why this catalogue is truly the apple of my eye. I fine-tune it practically every day, because building this diversified range for customers is absolutely vital \u2013 our customers simply collect points very quickly, so they have the opportunity to use them both on the seasonal products I mentioned earlier and on those permanently featured in the catalogue, for which I know they take a little longer to accumulate points.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Are these rewards \u2013 the ones that are permanently listed in the catalogue \u2013 usually, I don\u2019t quite know how to put it, \u2018big rewards\u2019 that take longer to earn? Do we need more points?<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s true that steam mops, for example, are hugely popular. These are also products with a range of unit prices. Here, I always try to cater to all customers when setting the price. So we have a lower-price range, a mid-price range and a higher-price range. It\u2019s all presented clearly to the customer: well-known brands, but at different prices.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n And so, just as the reward marks the end \u2013 in inverted commas \u2013 of our involvement, at least for the time being, in the loyalty scheme, we\u2019re drawing to the end of the episode. But I have one more question. I wanted to ask you what your plans are for the future development of Driver Club? <\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n We must constantly learn to anticipate our customers\u2019 needs. And this isn\u2019t just PR rhetoric, because these are elements that are clearly measurable in economic analysis and in Business Intelligence \u2013 they are clearly measurable factors. So learning to do this \u2013 I would even go so far as to say anticipating these needs \u2013 is what is essential for growth. The IT aspect is certainly crucial. I mean, the whole IT infrastructure ensures the smooth running of all loyalty programmes \u2013 not just ours, of course \u2013 but here too we must always be one step ahead so that customers do not experience any problems or system failures. These IT elements are extremely important. And the final element, which is also very important, is learning about \u2013 and constantly applying \u2013 this knowledge regarding consumer behaviour and customer psychology. This is constantly changing, because our world is in a state of flux; the needs customers had a year and a half or two years ago are a completely different world compared to what we have now. And in the same way, in two years\u2019 time, that customer will also be completely different, so all three of these elements \u2013 business intelligence, IT and customer psychology \u2013 are closely interlinked and work very much in tandem; so, in reality, Driver Club\u2019s development will be based on these three pillars.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d like to wish you all the best, not just for the next three years, but in general. And thank you very much for an interesting and lively conversation.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Thank you, Kasia.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s all for now, and I look forward to seeing you in the next episode.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Petrol stations are a market segment that is highly saturated with loyalty schemes. Almost every operator in this sector has its own loyalty scheme or participates in multi-partner schemes. My guest today is someone with extensive experience in managing end-consumer loyalty \u2013 Kamila Trzeciak from AMIC Energy. Katarzyna Nawrocka, welcome to the programme \u201eLoyalty Schemes by Night\u201d. Good evening. . Good\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-o-programach-lojalnosciowych-noca"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":67,"label":"O programach lojalno\u015bciowych noc\u0105"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/26-amic-kamila-trzeciak-plansza-1-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Tomasz Makaruk","author_link":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/author\/autor\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":67,"name":"O programach lojalno\u015bciowych noc\u0105","slug":"o-programach-lojalnosciowych-noca","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":67,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0","cat_ID":67,"category_count":26,"category_description":"","cat_name":"O programach lojalno\u015bciowych noc\u0105","category_nicename":"o-programach-lojalnosciowych-noca","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i360.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}