Strategy
Telstra marketplace to connect small business clients to loyalty program members
Telstra Market to debut in March and provide small businesses with a way to reach the telco's 4 million customer loyalty program members
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CMO staff (CMO)
Telstra is launching a new marketplace to connect small business clients with customer loyalty program members.
The new Telstra Plus Market opens for small business registrations in March 2022 and provides a mechanism for these eligible businesses to directly reach Telstra Plus members. The tier-based Plus customer loyalty program debuted in April 2019 as one element of the ASX-listed telco’s T22 transformation strategy and now has 4 million members. The company hopes to have at least 6 million members by the end of 2025.
Telstra group executive for consumer and small business, Michael Ackland, said the Telstra Market is a dual-sided approach to helping small businesses grow market share while also rewarding its customers for shopping with them.
“We know how tough the last couple of years has been for Australian small business, and that’s why want to make it even more rewarding to support businesses across the country,” Ackland said. “Telstra Plus Market is a new and exciting online marketplace to help small businesses tap into a wider pool of potential customers.”
“We know from our own research that Covid lockdowns placed significant financial pressure on small business, with almost 60 per cent reporting a decline in revenue. We want to help the many thousands of small business owners across the country get back on their feet,” Ackland said.
Small businesses eligible to participate can stretch from florists to booksellers, repair shops and local greengrocers, Ackland continued. Through the marketplace, participants can create offers exclusive to Telstra customers and tailored based on preferences or location.
From the consumer’s perspective, they’ll be able to earn Telstra Plus points, which can be redeemed on tech and services listed in the Telstra Plus Rewards store. Telstra Market will become part of the My Telstra app from late March.
Forty retailers and businesses were involved in the pilot of the market at the end of last year. One of those quoted by Telstra was Hunter Stark, the founder of an online comfort mat and bedding business.
“As a small business, we are willing to try whatever we can to reach new customers,” Stark commented. “Telstra Plus Market gave us access to a new cohort of customers that we wouldn’t normally reach with our own marketing efforts. It’s a really accessible platform and was so easy to set up.
“You’d be pretty silly to turn down an opportunity to tap into this market for your business – we absolutely plan to use Telstra Plus Market when it launches.”
To support the marketplace’s debut, Telstra said it’s bringing back its 2021 campaign, ‘Big plugs for small business’, which rewarded small businesses that signed up to Telstra Plus with the opportunity to win the telco’s ad space during round 8 of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season or Round 9 of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership. There will be 17 major prizes in all this time around, with each winning 4 million Telstra Plus points plus the ad exposure opportunity. Another 100 participants will receive 40,000 points to use in their offers in the marketplace. The competition is open until 21 March 2022.
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