Simon-Kucher helps Uber roll out loyalty rewards program
Bonn, Germany–based management consultancy Simon Kucher collaborated with Uber to develop the ridesharing behemoth’s customer loyalty rewards program, which launched last month.
Uber Rewards is an airline-style frequent-rider loyalty program that allows customers to bank points when they use the firm’s ride-share and food delivery services. Points go towards reaching four different rewards tiers: Blue, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. Points are banked over a six-month earning period, and the reached reward level is maintained over an additional six months. Afterwards, points levels reset to zero.
500 points are required for Gold Level; 2,500 for Platinum; and 7,500 for Diamond. Gold unlocks the benefits of flexible cancellations and priority customer service support, while Platinum status proffers priority airport pickups and capped fares between two chosen destinations.
Finally, Diamond tier rewards include 24/7 phone support with top customer service agents, complimentary ‘surprise’ upgrades to Uber Black at no extra cost, access to top-rate drivers, and no delivery fee on three Uber Eats orders.
In addition to unlocking the different benefit tiers, every 500 points gained will give rewards member $5 to be used towards rides or food delivery.
The loyalty program will aim to get customers to use the service more frequently to angle for that prestigious Diamond tier (like Elaine obsessively buying sandwiches to obtain ‘Submarine Captain’ status in Seinfeld). Likewise, the rewards program will try to entice people away from competitor Lyft, which is also launching a rewards program.
German management consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners helped the ride-share segment leader develop the new program. The Bonn-based firm has a core strength in marketing consulting, and is regarded as one of the world’s leading advisors on pricing strategy. Simon-Kucher has over 1,200 consultants across 38 offices in 25 countries; its US offices are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Mountain View (CA), New York, and San Francisco.
As part of the consulting engagement, Simon-Kucher helped Uber define how its customers earn status levels, while also helping the firm understand which parts of the Uber experience customers value most.
“Simon-Kucher was a great partner during our research phase,” said Barney Harford, Uber COO. “We appreciated their support, expertise, and partnership throughout the process of developing Uber Rewards.”
Uber Rewards is currently live in over a dozen US cities, and will be extended to all US customers over the next few months.
“Uber Rewards will help Uber invest in its customers,” added Madhavan Ramanujam, Partner and Board Member at Simon-Kucher.
