South Africa: Edgars Club adds health benefits
South African retail club, Edgars Club, has joined forces with a hospital group and an optometrist group to offer health care benefits and savings to its Classic members.
Edgars Club has joined forces with Netcare, a major South African hospital group, and the SDK Group of optometrists. The initiative is set to be a key component of the Edgars Club Classic option, and will provide members with savings on essential healthcare services, ranging from doctors visits, dental checks, optometry, emergency room facility fees and maternity services.
The healthcare suite consists of preferential and reduced benefits which Edgars Club Classic members can redeem from participating facilities.
Benefits The new benefits include:
- Savings of up to R48 (approx. US$6.50) with a fixed fee for a consultation with a general practitioner, including 3 items of medication at selected clinics;
- Free annual dental check-ups plus two X-rays valued at R160;
- Up to 20% saving on all major emergency room facility fees;
- Up to 30% off frames, sunglasses and contact lenses;
- Preferential rates on a wide range of maternity services.
These benefits are to be marketed to the Club's one million members countrywide and are redeemable from participating Netcare Group companies. These include Medicross and Prime Cure Medi-Clinics, Netcare Hospital Emergency rooms, Storks Nest Clinics in addition to Stanley & de Kock and Millers Optometrists.
According to Elaine Holmes-Coetzee, Manager of Edgars Club and Financial Services Marketing at Edgars, "Given the social issues around accessibility to quality and affordable health care in South Africa, a venture like this provides even greater value for all parties, that is, the member, Edgars, and the benefit providers."
Strategic support Edgars Club's strategic support partner, LifeWorld Relationship Management, undertook the strategy development and negotiation of benefits, which are the first of their kind in the current offering of customer clubs and loyalty programmes.
LifeWorld has been working with Edgars Club for over four years and has been involved in the strategic direction of the club in addition to negotiation and management of benefits. According to Rebecca Eliot, LifeWorld's CEO: "LifeWorld was looking to provide Edgars Club Classic members with a range of high value, real-life benefits that would stand apart from the typical entertainment, travel and leisure components already encompassed in the club. We focused on basic needs that cut across all customer target markets and, with the rising costs of health care in South Africa currently, we believe that these will be well received by members."
Sophisticated cards Edgars Club Classic members will be issued with a member benefit card built on sophisticated gift card technology supplied by Tutuka, in order to track and validate eligibility to redeem their benefits.
Participating Netcare and SDK Group facilities have also had new credit card terminals installed. These were supplied by listed Allied Technologies' subsidiary, Altech Card Solutions, and customised by Tutuka to allow for validation of memberships and to track redemption of the health care benefits at the relevant benefit providers.
For additional information: · Visit Edgars at http://www.edgars.co.za · Visit LifeWorld at http://www.lifeworld.co.za