Tarsus Technologies, having walked away with the award for best loyalty programme in the South African IT channel, has announced the latest evolution of its PartneRewards programme.
"Leading the pack means we constantly have to adapt ourselves to the needs of our channel," says Guy Whitcroft, MD of Tarsus. "Our loyalty programme has been highly successful and has seen over 5 000 individuals from the channel redeeming their points and jet-setting to almost 2 000 exotic locations around the globe. We believe the time is right to take the next step in our evolution and make PartneRewards the centre of our customers` universe in more ways than simply awarding points for purchases."
PartneRewards offers resellers the opportunity to earn points for every rand they spend on IT purchases from Tarsus. While in the past resellers could only redeem their points for travel-related prizes, the new programme introduces an exciting range of Samsung consumer products to the mix - these include DVD players, washing machines, microwaves, surround-sound systems and more.
"We have also updated the PartneRewards Web site," notes Mari'e Koekemoer, loyalty programme manager. "Members can manage their accounts and check on their accumulated points securely, as well as keep up to date on all aspects of the programme. Redeeming points for products can also be done through the site."
The biggest change to the new PartneRewards programme is reflected in the member rankings. Customers of Tarsus will now be divided into three tiers: Platinum, Gold and PartneRewards, depending on their total annual spend with the company.
"Members will be upgraded to the next tier and enjoy the benefits associated with that tier as soon as their spend reaches the next level," adds Whitcroft.
He says that in the past, resellers have used PartneRewards points to incentivise staff or to offset corporate travel costs. "It`s a simple and cost-effective way to provide end-of-year bonuses to top performing employees, or to lower the costs of business travel - a free plane ticket always comes in handy."
Whitcroft notes that, contrary to conventional loyalty programmes that tend to vanish after three years, PartneRewards has grown in both the number of channel partners supporting it and the variety of rewards available. "We are confident that the new make-up of the programme will entice customers to deal with us on an even more regular basis."
An announcement will be made shortly with regard to a new partner that has joined the programme - this will provide resellers with the opportunity to accumulate a single batch of points from multiple suppliers, providing them with more rewards from a single programme, as opposed to multiple programmes with limited chances of claiming top-notch prizes.
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Tarsus Technologies, the value-add distribution arm of MB Technologies, is rated by suppliers and channel partners as SA`s leading hardware distributor for its stability, service ethos, product knowledge, excellent support, competitive pricing strategies and channel focus.
Distributing a wide range of products from the world`s leading manufacturers, including Acer, APC, HP, IBM, OKI, Samsung and Tally, supplementing this range with its own brand - the Tarsus PC - Tarsus focuses strongly on long-lasting partnerships with its suppliers and resellers. In line with this philosophy Tarsus provides a comprehensive range of services to its resellers that enables them to add value to their own offering, and assists them in growing their business.
It is this service offering that has afforded Tarsus a number of channel accolades. The latest include: Channel Executive Awards - 2002; Best Distributor Overall - 2002; Compaq`s "BDG Distributor of the Year" award - 2001 and CRN Outlook Awards - 2002.
More information about Tarsus is available at http://www.tarsus.co.za.
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