INTRODUCING PROPERTY’S MOST CARING REWARDS PROGRAM

Some might say that if it ain’t broke, why fix it. But the rebrand of the popular Prosperity loyalty program to Frasers Property Care & Rewards has been a chance to take stock, deliver improvements, and double down on what customers say matters most to them — feeling cared for and appreciated.

Over 7 years since its inception in March 2016, Frasers Property’s Prosperity loyalty program has built up a reputation for being the industry’s most generous rewards scheme with more than 13,000-plus engaged members. An enviable array of benefits has been redeemed thousands of times, with Frasers Property customers using their loyalty rewards to upgrade to a newer home, buy an investment, take an overseas holiday, or help friends and family into their next property.

With the recent name and branding change to Frasers Property Care & Rewards, it’s been a chance for the team in charge of the affinity program to refine and enhance the rewards mix, while elevating and strengthening the customer care experience.

Among the changes introduced are new tier names and benefits, the introduction of additional priority access—Priority+—for members who have bought two or more properties with the company; a new customer care promise spelling out the company’s commitment to care; and a number of improvements to the member portal and app such as social sign-on, member dashboard, brand-new Property Tracker feature, and generally enhanced access and visibility into the entire property journey with Frasers Property.

Frasers Property’s General Manager of Sales and Loyalty, Kesree Jones, says the program improvements have been driven through extensive consultation with members and customers.

“The two biggest drivers of the changes we’ve made are around delivering confidence and simplicity,” explains Kesree. “First, it’s the confidence in knowing that the care and rewards you receive as a member are provided by the same globally recognised brand that designed and delivered the property you bought as well as the community it’s in. So, it just made sense for us to elevate the Frasers Property name in the program name.

“The second is making it easier for customers to connect with us. Whether that’s through the personalised support of our Customer Care Managers or more seamless self-serve functionality on our membership portal and app, the key is giving people the information they need when they need it and removing those friction points that can create frustration along the way.”

Care you can always count on

According to Frasers Property Executive General Manager of Development, Cameron Leggatt, providing enviable membership rewards are a hugely valuable part of the loyalty program mix, but first and foremost you must get the care part right.

“We have what we call a culture of care in the business that permeates every aspect of what we do,” says Cameron. “From urban design to construction quality to customer care, everything we do is so people can feel proud and confident in the decision they’ve made to buy from us.

“We’re acutely aware that buying any property, let alone one that’s not constructed yet, comes with its fair share of uncertainty and stress. The process can be daunting. So, our commitment to care is to ensure you’re always supported through that process. That commitment means delivering what we say and if there are any issues at settlement, we fix it right away.”

Aside from robust quality processes built up over almost a century in business, the company’s other secret weapon is its Care team. Warm, empathetic, authentic, and caring, Frasers Property’s Customer Care Managers are empowered in their jobs to go the extra mile for customers whenever the occasion calls.

“I think one of the things our customers value the most is the personal relationship we have with them,” says Kesree. “That means our Customer Care Managers can play lots of roles. Sometimes that’s a sounding board for someone’s frustrations, but equally, it can be someone customers can rely on to solve an unexpected problem.

“We’ve had examples where a Customer Care Manager has dropped a heater off to someone’s apartment to keep them warm while the air conditioning unit is being serviced. And recently a buyer from Hong Kong couldn’t get here in time to take possession of their new home. So, they rang their Customer Care Manager and she drove out to the property and did a virtual tour over FaceTime opening every cupboard, turning on every tap, inspecting everything bit by bit so the buyer would feel confident that it would all be ready for them when they did finally arrive. It’s that above-andbeyond attitude that makes all the difference in the end.”

Rewarding loyalty

Loyalty programs that reward people for regular repeat purchases—whether for airline travel, makeup brands, or coffee pods—are everywhere. But if, as sales data by leading property market analyst firm CoreLogic suggests, people hold on to their homes for an average of 11 years or so before moving on to the next, why would a company like Frasers Property Australia need an affinity program? Doesn’t the infrequency with which we buy homes seem counter-intuitive to loyalty?

Not so, says Kesree. She argues that there is tremendous value in the company’s commitment to creating belonging across the communities it creates and the way it invites its residents to participate in that creation.

Tailor’s Walk residents, Rob and Emma, are a case in point. As early residents of the Frasers Property community in Botany, they used their Frasers Property rewards membership to help Rob’s sister secure her home in the same neighbourhood.

“It’s great to have my sister, her husband, and my nephew upstairs,” says Rob. “So, we spend a lot of time together; we see them most weekends. Having that kind of social aspect means you just feel so much more at home. It’s really lovely having them close by.”

“For us, one of the greatest rewards we can offer people is to share their loyalty benefits with the people they love. By recognising and rewarding their advocacy, we see people create beloved communities around them in the place they’ve decided to call home. In effect, they curate their own neighbourhood with family and friends they have referred to live alongside them.”

The Frasers Property Care & Rewards program allows members to share a purchase reward and priority notification on upcoming new property releases to their immediate family members, while the hugely popular Gift 2 Get 2 promotion expands the referral pool to include friends on an intermittent basis. The idea to include friends was one that came from a customer, says Kesree, and recognises that having your friends around you in the same community is just as important as family.

Invest for success

The other way that Frasers Property’s Care & Rewards program comes into its own is by helping members build a property investment portfolio. According to Kesree, even though homeowners don’t upgrade their place of residence all that frequently, many will invest at more regular intervals.

“Australians are pretty obsessed with property,” explains Kesree. “Not just as a place to live, but the foundation of building wealth and security for later in life. So, it’s fairly common to see customers take a couple of years to establish themselves in their new home and then start looking around for an investment property. That’s where our repeat purchase rewards really start to work for them.”

Kesree says that the investors they see through program are an astute bunch, looking for quality investments that drive a combination of higher rental yields, lower vacancy rates, and capital appreciation potential.

“What we’re finding is that most investors will typically buy within a 5km radius of where they live because they know that if they like living there, so will future tenants. And I think the mature property investor now seeks out a better-quality investment property because they know, especially with COVID, that people are wanting bigger apartments and more flexible homes, as well as better amenity and stronger community.

“And this might surprise people, but investors will price in the value of community into their investment decisions because places with that kind of character have people lining up to rent those properties. When you combine Frasers Property’s approach to community building with quality properties and membership advantages for investors, it drives a lot of confidence for people.”

For more information about the new-and-improved Frasers Property Care & Rewards program, head to careandrewards.com.au or call 13 86 88.