Loyalty programs have long been a staple in customer retention strategies, yet businesses view them as cost centers rather than revenue generators. Customer Capital is turning this narrative around.
Founded in 2023 by Ajay Row (Chairman), Govind Sandhu (CEO), Mukund Srinivasan (CFO), Ashok Manachanallur (COO), and Kunal Mohiuddin (CTO), Customer Capital offers consulting services and white-labelled loyalty management platforms to enterprises (like banks, airlines, and retailers) for strategically implement their rewards and loyalty programs.
“We have assembled the Avengers of loyalty under one roof,” says the CEO, Govind Sandhu. The founding members of Customer Capital have 125 years of collective cross-industry experience in implementing loyalty-driven marketing and sales strategies for some of the world’s leading companies.
“In a short span of two and a half years, we've already done about 20 crores in revenue just through consultations. There is a real scarcity of loyalty expertise,” says Govind
Customer Capital powers the loyalty programs of IDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, Westside, Ethiopian Airways, and other major brands. Govind shares how they leverage their deep industry expertise, an ‘economics-first’ approach, and an AI powered loyalty platform, to help enterprises turn their loyalty programs into strategic revenue drivers.
The problems in traditional loyalty programs
Customer Capital’s genesis lies in recognizing the fundamental flaws that plague traditional loyalty programs that are often treated as a secondary consideration within marketing departments of large enterprises and lack strategic focus.
“Banks and other enterprises view loyalty programs as cost centers, where rewarding customers creates a liability on the P&L in their balance sheet,” Govind explains, highlighting the inherent conflict.
Data-driven Evolution of the Loyalty Industry
Customer Capital was founded on this fundamental realization: loyalty, as an industry, is at an inflection point fuelled by data boom, advancements in AI, and robust digital supply chains, but traditional programs failed to leverage the advancements.
- The Explosion of Data: Loyalty has always been data-driven, but today, the scale and depth have exploded. From digital transactions to user location tracking, data footprint of individuals has exponentially increased. The sheer volume of consumer data can fundamentally change how loyalty programs are designed and personalized.
- Technological Evolution: Fuelled by data, the tech stack powering loyalty has evolved dramatically. AI-driven insights, real-time processing, and automation have made it possible to build far more intelligent and adaptive loyalty and rewards programs than ever before.
- Stronger Digital Supply Chains: Digital ecosystems are now highly industrialized. The ability to integrate brands, retailers, and service providers into seamless loyalty ecosystems has become much stronger.
Govind explains, “These three things were very suboptimal 5-7 years ago when people were trying to run loyalty programs. But they have changed now and it's time that somebody really looked at how loyalty is built within enterprises and bring these three things to the core.”
Customer Capital’s team focuses on socializing their thesis across industry leaders to validate whether the problem they aimed to solve is significant. With 125 years of combined experience in the team, Customer Capital had access to key decision-makers across sectors to validate their assumptions.
Govind explains “The problem statement that we're trying to solve is that something that customers appreciate. Between us, we spoke to around 200 CXOs to filter through pain points and narrow down key value propositions."
How Customer Capital’s Loyalty Platform Works
Recognizing the problems in the loyalty industry and the opportunities for tech-driven intervention, Customer Capital has created a white-label solution that any enterprise with a large user/customer base can integrate within their web platform or mobile application.
For instance, you might see a “Travel” or “E-commerce” section within your bank’s app. These add-ons are usually powered by white-label loyalty and rewards program providers like Customer Capital.
Customer Capital’s multi-nodal platform is designed to connect three key stakeholders and create a virtuous “flywheel”, benefiting all.
- Enterprises: Banks, airlines, large retailers, and other businesses implementing loyalty programs are Customer Capital’s primary clients. With a loyalty platform, enterprises offer rewards to consumers to drive engagement, reduce liability and improve customer retention.
- End Customers: The consumers who participate in these loyalty programs through banks and enterprises. They receive more value from being an enterprise customer, get more personalized experiences and have significant rewards for their spending.
- Ecosystem Partners: Brands and vendors such as LG, Samsung, and Apple, who offer rewards and experiences within the loyalty ecosystem. Gain access to a highly targeted audience and increase revenue through fulfilled transactions.
This “exponential rewards” model benefits everyone. Customers get more value, banks drive engagement and reduce liability and partners gain access to a highly targeted audience.
The decision-makers in enterprises who decide to onboard loyalty partners like Customer Capital are usually the CEO, CFOs, Heads of Loyalty, or Customer Experience Officers.
Govind explains “Customer retention has become a board-level priority in most enterprises today, making the customer experience a strategic focus at the highest levels”
Business Model
Customer Capital’s business model is designed to generate revenue while fostering a sustainable ecosystem. The revenue streams include:
- Subscription Fees: Enterprises pay a base fee and a recurring fee for a monthly retainer to use the platform as a white-label solution.
- Transaction Margins: A percentage of revenue is earned from transactions processed through the platform.
- Advertising & Sponsored Brands: Brands pay for visibility and promotions within the ecosystem.
- Brand Onboarding Revenue: Customer Capital also has plans to levy an onboarding fee for brands to gain access to the platform’s targeted customer base.
Customer Acquisition Strategy and Focus on Banking Sector
Customer Capital strategically focuses on banks’ card loyalty programs after extensive cross-industry analysis. Govind explains, “We zeroed in on banks because, next to airlines, banks have the biggest loyalty card programs.”
He says banks mostly focus on redemption-focused features, such as rewards catalogs, but with minimal in-depth loyalty expertise. Rather than positioning loyalty as a catalog-driven redemption system, Customer Capital focuses on offering a loyalty platform that enables the banks to focus on financial outcomes and customer engagement strategies.
Govind explains “My conversation with the bank is that they tell me that they want to increase the spend on their cards by 3%. That’s the problem statement. We think of how loyalty can enable the banks to achieve that outcome.”
In a span of two years, customer capital has managed to sign close to 13 banks with their major clients including IDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda Cards, and Bank of Maharashtra.
Customer Capital has also onboarded retail clients such as Westside and airlines players like Ethiopian Airways, expanding their focus beyond banking sector. “The business model is extendable across geographies and industries like telecom too.”
Their customer acquisition strategy is entirely top-down, driven by senior leadership’s network and referrals. “We’ve not hired a single sales guy yet. This is not a bottom-up sale; it’s a top-down executive sponsor sale.”
Loyalty is about Economics
The company differentiates itself by emphasizing economics over technology. “I think more people need to put the economic lens on it and understand how value can be created inside loyalty,” says Govind.
By focusing on economic outcomes and financial modelling theories such as currency recycling effect, Customer Capital is helping businesses unlock the full potential of customer engagement by using composites of data.
"Loyalty has to manifest itself in technology, it has to manifest itself in the ecosystem and most importantly, it has to manifest itself into a financial model outcome," says Govind.
Govind explains, "For every dollar spent, there’s a recycling effect—currency is earned, redeemed, and reinvested, keeping customers engaged and driving continuous value."
CPP (Cost Per Point) and VPP (Value Per Point) measure the efficiency of the rewards system. While CPP represents the cost of issuing a reward point, VPP is the value a customer receives upon redemption.
Govind explains “The goal is to maximize VPP so that users feel they get more than the perceived value of their rewards. If a user redeems a point worth $1, I aim to give them $1.50 in value. This ensures our rewards feel compelling and drive repeated engagement."
The Economics Behind Higher Rewards
Since Customer Capital’s loyalty platform is embedded as a white-labelled platform within banking apps, it ensures that loyalty rewards drive spending within the bank’s ecosystem rather than external platforms.
He says that when a user spends on an enterprise app powered by Customer Capital’s loyalty platform, the rewards are significantly higher than what you’d typically get.
"When you spend ₹100 on the travel platform inside the bank, the bank will give you 5% back instead of the 0.25%. In terms of loyalty points, instead of getting one point, you will get 20 points," he explains
The bank doesn’t have to foot the bill for these enhanced rewards; Customer Capital funds the additional points through a clever strategy.
"We're able to fund those points because we're essentially disintermediating the CAC. Unlike other platforms marketplaces and booking platforms, I do not have a customer acquisition cost because my customers are coming to me from the enterprises or banks."
N=1: The Hyper-Personalization Formula of Customer Capital
Govind explains “Traditionally, when a customer books travel, banks only see a single-line transaction entry—₹5,000 spent on MakeMyTrip. But when customers book within the bank’s platform, the bank sees details like flight carrier, travel time, and hotel stay. With this data, the bank can personalize offers at an entirely new level,”
Govind describes the process as an N=1 which is a journey of understanding individual consumer behavior over time. Think of “n” as the number of people you’re trying to target with a marketing campaign.
In traditional marketing, you might create segments: “young professionals,” “families with children,” etc. This means “n” represents a group of people. Customer Capital, however, aims for “n=1”. This means marketing at the individual level. They want to treat each customer as a unique segment of one. This is called hyper-personalization.
Customer Capital Achieves n=1 by collecting and analyzing data on each customer’s:
- Spending habits: What they buy, where they shop, and how often they spend.
- Brand preferences: Which brands they are loyal to?
- Travel habits: Where they travel, how often they travel.
- Demographic information: (with privacy considerations) age, location, interests.
Govind explains, "A generic voucher holds no value. But when tailored rewards arrive at the right moment for the right person, the likelihood of redemption increases dramatically. Over time, 90% of what I send is exactly what the customer will use."
User Feedback and Product Validation
Initial user feedback is collected through Litmus World, a tool to collect user feedback, measure Net Promoter Score (NPS), and track customer satisfaction. It is integrated within Customer Capital’s loyalty platform.
Govind explains “For instance, take an airlines' customer booking a hotel through the airline's loyalty platform powered by Customer Capital. This tool engages customers in a conversational format to share their feedback, right after they complete a booking. This helps us capturing real-time insights into their experience.”
Two key performance metrics that validate Customer Capital’s product and approach:
Look-to-Book Ratio: In the travel industry, typical conversion rates range from 1% to 1.5%, sometimes touching 2% at best. However, CC is already seeing a 4% look-to-book ratio—meaning that out of every 100 visitors, four are completing a booking. This is a strong indication that our platform is resonating with users and delivering real value.
Repeat Customer Rate: Currently, 35% of CC’s users are returning for repeat bookings, which is an exceptionally high number. This is further proof that customers find our offering compelling enough to come back.
“Both of these metrics are strong validation that the Customer Capital platform is delivering a differentiated and valuable experience in the market,” says Govind.
Driving Retention Through Value, Experience, and Control
Customer capital follows three key ways to drive customer retention for their enterprises which include:
Value Capture: Users earn exponential rewards, making every transaction more beneficial.
Seamless Experience: A frictionless journey on the platform, both in usage and support.
Control: Retaining ownership of the customer relationship to ensure high-value users receive service that reflects their importance.
"When a bank hands over its top customer to a third party, they lose control over the experience. We solve this by ensuring the entire journey, including service, remains within our ecosystem."
Govind shared four key metrics he tracks to define how much value is created and captured via their platform:
- Installed Base: The total number of B2B2C customers on the platform. The company’s installed base is 50-60 million right now.
- Penetration: The percentage of customers within each enterprise that are actively using the platform.
- Average Spend Per Customer: The average amount spent per customer within the platform.
- Currency Amount: How much currency the company is generating per person
The Challenges: Building for Scale & Maintaining Focus
Of course, building such a complex platform has not been without its challenges. Govind shared the top three challenges they faced”
Scalability: Ensuring the platform can handle increasing user traffic and transaction volume requires careful architectural decisions.
Data Security: Protecting customer data and maintaining compliance with privacy regulations is paramount.
Product Scope Creep: Resisting the temptation to add unnecessary features and maintaining focus on the core value proposition is crucial.
Govind also added that one of their biggest hurdles was maintaining focus and balancing the speed to market with scope creep. “One should always know where to draw the line on the MVP. Otherwise, you can never go to market.” The trick is finding the balance between delivering a compelling product and getting to market quickly.
The Future of Loyalty
“It is theoretically possible to achieve that state with current technology. I think that will be a great place to be here where you design an operational loyalty program that’s running on its own—from deciding what to offer, creating the message, delivering it, and learning from the response— allowing us to focus on auditing and improving rather than manual execution."
