Case studies

Wienerberger: Research & VIP Club

Coastal marina with yachts and mountain views
Wienerberger

The wienerberger journey

​​​XSEM and wienerberger have been working together for 10 years, improving customer engagement and fostering stronger relationships with wienerberger customers. This partnership has helped to drive growth for wienerberger, who are one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of building material solutions.

What began as a research project has now evolved into an elite, and highly successful, annual customer rewards and incentive programme.

4% increase in market share
£3.7m uplift over 12 months
Laptop displaying the Wienerberger Research and VIP Club platform for South Africa
Where it began

Customer research to boost event attendance and engagement.

wienerberger wanted to gain a better understanding of how to increase attendance at their product launch events. They recognised the need for more research into the barriers to attendance and ways to improve engagement with their target audience. Rather than relying solely on product launches, they understood the importance of taking a more comprehensive approach.

To gain insights into their customers’ needs, motivations, and preferences, wienerberger engaged our in-house research team to conduct a series of one-to-one interviews with over half of their key customers. These telephone interviews were conducted with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of wienerberger’s core customers.

By commissioning this research, wienerberger was able to gain valuable insights into their customers’ perspectives and tailor their future events and product offerings accordingly. This strategy demonstrates the importance of investing time and resources into understanding customers’ needs and preferences, leading to greater customer engagement.

Working with XSEM has been a game-changer for our business. Their tailored approach to understanding our customers has allowed us to increase engagement and build stronger relationships with our clients. Their in-house research team provided invaluable insights that helped us to identify key areas for improvement in our events and marketing strategies. XSEM was professional, responsive, and committed to delivering excellent results. Their attention to detail and commitment to excellence have helped us to grow our business. I highly recommend XSEM to anyone looking for a brand engagement agency that truly cares about their clients.

Lead Channel Marketing Manager Wienerberger
Event attendees on a boat looking out to sea
Historic building with domed architecture
South African landscape with mountains and a winding river
Insights gained

Research findings helped us to develop an engagement strategy that served as a foundation for driving growth and establishing customer loyalty. These included:

  • The importance of creating a community of like-minded individuals, offering opportunities for key contractors to network as a group, in the presence of senior Wienerberger staff.
  • Offering different tiers of rewards could drive behavioural change.
  • Developing the social aspect of events, including more time to relax and enjoy each other’s company, was important.
  • Providing opportunities for partners to attend events would encourage engagement.
  • Developing and communicating a comprehensive package of support and benefits would help to establish customer loyalty.
  • Offering bespoke, innovative, and appealing event content would provide greater incentive to attend.
  • Including key ‘must haves,’ such as targeted, industry-specific learning opportunities, would encourage attendance at future events.

By taking these findings into account, we could create more targeted and engaging events, leading to stronger customer relationships for Wienerberger and increased market share.

Response

The solution

A new  VIP Club was created in response to feedback from the research. The purpose of the Club is to:

  • Enable likeminded people to be part of their own community and develop key relationships via the VIP Club
  • Enable thought leadership to be shared
  • Encourage joint learning on industry pain points and trending topics
  • Facilitate early access to new products
  • Offer exclusive incentives and marketing support to VIP members
  • Benefit from a personalisation hub
Brochure mock-up for an incentive trip to South Africa
VIP Club

The scope, nature and range of rewards and incentives available for the VIP Club have been created, developed and delivered by XSEM to ensure customer rewards packages are tailored to specific requirements. One size doesn’t fit all!

  • The programme is a bespoke 12-month rewards and incentive scheme
  • The programme is perfectly curated for better targeting of key customers: XSEM create and manage a broader range of incentives, as well as educational events and product launches, on behalf of the client
  • Incentives range from bronze reward packages featuring a few nights at a short-haul destination to long-haul, 4-night gold experiences
  • These bespoke packages feature unique luxury experiences, premium branding, indulgent gifts, executive transfers to and from venues and some extra special touches to ensure delegates enjoyed the very best experience
  • Plus, the further introduction of partner-only events has continued to enhance the ‘customer-community’ goal, highlighted as a necessity in the research
Flyer mock-ups for an incentive trip to South Africa
Findings

Results, review and evolve

Over a 12-month period, we saw £3.7m uplift and a 4% increase in market share.

In partnership with XSEM, wienerberger’s customer rewards and incentives continue to evolve in line with customer feedback.

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