London, February 2012 – Nectar, the UK’s leading loyalty programme, has announced that it has renewed its contract with the UK’s leading car company Ford, enabling Nectar collectors to continue collecting and redeeming points on MOTs, non-warranty repairs and servicing.
The announcement of the renewal comes as Ford revealed that the Nectar programme, owned by global loyalty management company Aimia, has been responsible for a 21% increase in year-on-year customer retention for Ford.
The partnership has seen Nectar and Ford work together to create a loyal community of 1.5 million customers. Although receiving repairs, services and MOTs are not frequent events, the scheme allows Ford to offer incentives to its customers to reward them for their loyalty and to keep the brand on their radars by providing timely and relevant offers. Loyalty points gained from using a Ford service centre can be used at a range of other retailers who are part of the Nectar loyalty programme including Sainsbury’s and Argos.
The renewal of the partnership coincides with Ford’s winter offer which enables Nectar collectors to collect double points on all winter tyre purchases until 28 February 2012.
Commenting on the partnership, Jon Wellsman, Director, Ford Customer Service Division said: “In the current climate, retaining customers is critical. Our partnership with Nectar has enabled us to go about this more strategically than many of our competitors by rewarding customers with meaningful offers - a clear driver in their decision to revisit one of our dealerships. The points they collect can be used the next day on the high-street so Nectar provides an added incentive which we know solus loyalty programmes can’t offer. “
Jan Pieter- Lips, Managing Director of Nectar added: “The customer retention figures speak for themselves. We know how much it costs to attract new customers, and our scheme ensures Ford customers keep coming back. However we certainly haven’t rested on our laurels with Ford. We constantly analyse and adapt the details of the way the partnership is implemented so that coming back to Ford is an easy decision for customers to make. Recently, we incorporated Ford offers in the Nectar smartphone apps which constantly update with bonus point deals meaning that collectors have a regular reminder in their pocket of the benefits they could get by becoming or remaining a Ford customer.”