Sky reward TV and broadband customers with loyalty scheme

©Sky

Named Sky VIP, customers will from today be able to join the scheme by downloading the My Sky app from iTunes or Google Play. Once installed, they'll receive a free Sky Store film and will learn their membership tier, which determines the kind of rewards they're eligible to receive.

Such rewards include the opportunity to win a trip to see Game of Thrones filming locations in Iceland, tickets to Premier League matches, and free subscriptions to Sky Go Extra.

Yet while such prizes may no doubt appeal to Sky's customers, it could be argued that they're no substitute for a first rate broadband TV service, and that customers would be happier if they received lower monthly bills.

Gifts

This, however, is something Sky themselves would categorically deny.

They've claimed that Sky VIP is the result of substantial consumer research, "which revealed customers are looking for a variety of rewards. New customers want rewards based on experiences and Sky shows, while priority service and access to the latest technology is more appealing to those that have been with Sky for longer".

As questionable as such conclusions may be, they've nonetheless resulted in Sky establishing four separate levels of customer loyalty, which will be rewarded accordingly.

These are:

• Silver (0-3 years)
• Gold (3-8 years)
• Platinum (8-15 years)
• Black (15+ years)

While Sky haven't precisely matched each tier to specific rewards and prizes, they have given general indications of which kinds of customer can expect which kinds of prize.

Less veteran Sky customers can expect such rewards as the aforementioned chance to win a trip to Iceland, the chance to win tickets for advance cinema screenings, and the chance to be an audience member of such popular Sky shows as Soccer AM.

As for more "loyal" customers, they can look forward to the following:

• Free access to Sky Atlantic VIP, a channel which allows viewers to watch Sky Atlantic shows 24 hours before they're broadcast on Sky Atlantic
• Free access to Sky Go Extra, an app which enables customers to view and download programmes while on the move
• Free Sky Q set up for any existing Sky customer upgrading to Sky Q
• Free fibre set up for any customer upgrading to superfast broadband

Given that many people are probably going to be staying with Sky anyway, there's little doubt that such perks will be welcomed by many customers, who simply have to download the My Sky app in order to benefit.

Speaking on the likelihood of the scheme being well received, Stephen Van Rooyen, the CEO of Sky UK & Ireland, said, "Sky has always been a customer led company and the launch of Sky VIP is about putting our existing customers first and showing we value their loyalty".

Churn

That said, cynics might suggest that Sky VIP is mostly a ploy on Sky's part to lower their churn rate, which measures the extent to which customers leave a provider.

Between June 2015 and June 2016, it grew from 9.8% to 11.2%, while it sneaked up to 11.5% by June 2017.

To put this in some perspective, O2 recently celebrated churn of rate of 0.9%, which is low even for telecoms providers (e.g. Three's is 1.4%, while Vodafone's was 15.5% in June 2016).

What's interesting about O2 isn't just their enviably low churn rate, but that they run a well known rewards scheme, known as O2 Priority.

It's therefore plausible to assume that Sky are trying to capture something of O2's customer loyalty for themselves, a task which is perhaps made more urgent in light of how broadband providers such as Sky are reportedly struggling to entice new customers.

This is perfectly understandable, yet rather than simply offering customers days out and advance viewings of programmes, it's arguable that Sky would be better off innovating in their core service, as well as working to reduce prices.

Still, to be fair to Sky, they are already known for product innovation, as well as for consistently racking up the lowest number of complaints of any broadband provider.

Which means that, with Sky VIP, they'll simply be giving customers one more reason to stay with them.