Does Rewalon have a shot at gamifying corporate B2C?

Lithuanian Rewalon that debuted last year as a corporate micro-reward service is now expanding into corporate gamification sphere. Over the last year they have quickly gained traction and signed deals with significant B2B clients like Swedbank, American Express and Alfa Bank. Their new product, Challenger, is an extension of their existing corporate loyalty solution based on feedback gathered from clients.

Up till now Rewalon was a way for businesses to establish a micro-reward campaigns for its loyal customers in a couple of hours and then let it run automatically. The customer received a notification explaining why the reward was given to him and where he can redeem it. Unlike most similar services, the client only has to pay for rewards that are actually redeemed. Additionally, Rewalon has a peer-to-peer gifting app called Gifty. Gifty is Rewalon for the average Jonas, who wants to send a free coffee to Karolina for her birthday.

In its two years of operations Rewalon has secured major clients in Lithuania, Latvia and Russia. Their client names include American Express, Swedbank, Lietuvo draudimas (Lithuanian insurance) and Alfa Bank. Partners where customers can redeem rewards are big shopping chains like Narvessen, Starbucks, The Body Shop, Formula Kino and Coffee Inn.

Challenger is a new turn in Rewalon portfolio. Despite the first version of Challenger is expected only in about 6 months, Rewalon already has a list of 12 businesses ready to try it when it is out. According to Rewalon, the success comes from Challenger being born from the needs of existing customers: Rewalon founder Ilja Polivanovas comments,

“Big companies such as telecoms, banks and insurers often have large customer base that is only using a small fraction of their product range. Rewalon is now helping them resonate with existing customers. Our new product Challenger will go one step further and help engage these customers in exploring other products from the same company, with gamification and social sharing elements.”

Rewalon has been officially recognized for its customer-centered business last year, when it received the “best client oriented service” award in forum of banking technologies FinNext 2014 in Moscow. A few months later Polish venture capital fund Online Venture and Lithuanian Practica Capital have invested in Rewalon.  This spurred growth in Poland and contributed to focusing on a more scaleable business model.

Despite doing well in Lithuania, Latvia and Russia, Rewalon could not expect hockeystick growth stats globally as its business model was tied to local rewards. With the Challenger, however, companies can choose their own rewards and are no longer limited by Rewalon’s local partner network. This is particularly useful, as in many cases companies already know what rewards they would like to offer.

Here’s how Challenger works:

The competitive landscape for the Challenger are in-house loyalty programs and gamification solutions. The former are mostly limited to points-based reward schemes, the latter include companies like BigDoor, Bunchball and Badgeville that all provide enterprise gamification solutions.

“What sets Challenger apart from other solutions on the market is that it unites the typical points-based programmes and enterprise gamification solutions in a new way,” explains Rewalon business development manager Arnas Grigaliunas. “We give our clients’ customers a tool to explore their other products while gathering points and receiving rewards in a fun environment. Challenger goes beyond the traditional purchase-based rewards – it engages each customer in an exploratory quest that leads to product discoveries earning rewards on the way.”

According to the team, Challenger does not mean Rewalon will shut down its existing initiatives. The service is merely a step towards expanding their product range and accelerating global growth opportunities. So locals planning to send their Valentines Day gifts via Gifty or companies who have integrated Rewalon into their customer loyalty programmes will still have their favourite services available.