NamITech provides the technology behind My Lanc^ome

In May 2002, Lanc^ome SA is launching a new loyalty programme for its customers, with a difference. The My Lanc^ome electronic relationship programme is pioneering in the South African cosmetic industry. The smart cards will be provided by local manufacturer Integrated Card Technology (ICT), associate company of NamITech.

Currently, Lanc^ome loyalty programmes run on a paper-based system. However, this system has become cost-ineffective and customers are dissatisfied with the delays in redemption of their loyalty points.

"Lanc^ome recognised they needed to update their customer relationship process and towards the end of 2001 approached ICT to develop a smart card-based loyalty solution," says Stirling McBride, Executive ICT. "Our end-to-end solution will see ICT supplying the personalised cards, and the Lanc^ome distributors with the terminals necessary to read the cards."

The smart loyalty cards will be provided to both customers and Lanc^ome beauty advisors. "There are many benefits to a chip-based loyalty card," explains McBride. "The smart card is personalised with the card holders details. For clients, this means that when the beauty advisor inserts the card into the terminal and accesses the information stored on the card, they will immediately know the name of the customer, skin type, preferred products and value of loyalty points currently held. This makes for very effective direct marketing."

Loyalty points are instantly loaded onto the customers` card at point-of-sale; there is no more waiting for the point balance to come in the post. There are varying levels of redemption, based on the value of the loyalty points stored on the card. At each level, customers can redeem the points for Lanc^ome products in a secure and immediate way. The system will operate nationally throughout selected stores that retail Lanc^ome cosmetics, and launches on 1 May.

There are also tangible benefits for the Beauty Advisors, points out McBride. "At commencement of a sale, the beauty advisor inserts her card into the terminal and the sale is automatically attributed to her. Sales can be easily tracked together with commission due, and also provides information about products and stock movement. All transactions are stored on the terminals until close of business, when the data from all the participating stores is uploaded and securely despatched to the ICT/NamITech server."

From there, the raw data is forwarded to Lanc^ome`s Below the Line agency, The Difference Engine, for data mining purposes.

"This comprehensive loyalty solution is modular in design and can be easily adapted to suit any retail environment. If the launch is successful with the South African implementation, there may be opportunities to deploy the system into the rest of the L`Oreal group," concludes McBride.