How M.J. Bale leveraged their loyalty program to reduce discounting & drive growth
In November 2022, Australian’s preeminent sustainable menswear tailor, M.J. Bale, launched their MJB Members program with strategic support and expertise from Ellipsis.
The loyalty program offers three tiers based on spend as well as the ability to earn “Bale Bucks” which can be redeemed on future purchases.
Members are able to unlock increasingly valuable benefits as they graduate through the tiers, with top-tier Platinum members receiving complimentary tailoring, concierge access for styling and gift advice, out-of-hours store access as well as VIP experiences leveraging MJs extensive partnerships (Cricket Australia, The Wallabies, Football Australia, Sydney Kings, Penfolds, Mumm etc).
Members also earn Bale Bucks when contributing to M.J. Bale sustainability. This can include initiatives such as customers bringing their own bag in store or engaging with the clothing recycling “ReBale” program.
In the two years since launch, with expert guidance from Ellipsis, the program has enabled M.J. Bale to be more strategic and targeted with their promotional strategy, including unlocking additional promotional levers to drive sales and optimise profitability.
They have been able to do this in three key ways:
- Prior to the program, M.J. Bale would run “Spend & Save” campaigns, enabling all customers to receive an immediate discount of $50, when they spent $250 in-store. Since the launch of the program, M.J. Bale has moved towards “Spend & Receive” campaigns, where members receive $50 in Bale Bucks towards their next purchase for every $250 they spend in-store on full price items.
This strategy has effectively driven sales during promotional period, increased average transaction size and provided a ‘second wind’ of redemption transactions as the vouchers near expiry. - The team have leveraged “Double Bale Bucks” campaigns, to reward their customers with 10% Bale Bucks per transaction, rather than the usual 5%.
This has driven sales and conversion during the campaign period, followed by increased engagement and redemption of Bale Bucks on a subsequent transaction. - Always on multi-buy campaigns (e.g. “Buy three shirts, save $30 on each) are now gated to members only.
This has increased scan rate and engagement with the program, as well as future redemptions as customer earn Bale Bucks on these transactions.
Most importantly, Ellipsis guided M.J. Bale to optimise their promotional strategy and planning cycles to effectively integrate loyalty campaigns into the calendar – rather than have competing campaigns which dilute the program’s impact. Ensuring that members-only campaigns like “Spend and Receive” and “Double Bale Bucks” have the clear air they deserve to drive impact.
MJB Members has enabled a reduction in overall discounting (including markdowns and promotions) for M.J. Bale, leading to the highest average transaction size in two years. Program engagement has continued to rise – with over 75% of sales from identified members.
In an environment with strong retail headwinds, where many retailers are continuing to provide deep discounts – M.J. Bale have been able to use their loyalty program to drive profitable growth.
Since launch, Ellipsis continues to play an active role in managing the program, offering a range of services, including:
- Dedicated program design and CRM specialist advisor.
- Customer Journey & Communications – Designing and implementing customer interactions, developing marketing strategies and campaigns, and conducting post-campaign analysis.
- Program Strategy & Performance Management – Providing industry updates, best practices, and ongoing governance to optimize program effectiveness.
- Performance Insights & KPI Dashboards – Developing and maintaining KPI dashboards to track program performance, with data-driven recommendations to enhance the proposition and maximise Return on Loyalty®.
We are Ellipsis, the Loyalty Experts. We help you find, understand, measure, manage and grow customer value. We’re here to help, please get in touch…