At 11 p.m. on the 12th, Lotte World Adventure in Jamsil, Seoul, came back to life. Lights turned on at the carousel, which had been dark, and the French Revolution and Spanish Pirate Ship, which had stopped, began moving again. People wearing colorful LED headbands entered the amusement park late at night. It was a time when visitors would normally have all left, but the entrance grew busier as midnight approached. They were customers who have used SK Telecom for more than 10 years and their companions. SK Telecom rented the entire indoor Lotte World from 11 p.m. that day to 5 a.m. the next day to hold the "T Long-term Customer Program Adventure Day."
Although the event was held late at night, there were hardly any empty spots. By 12 a.m. on the 13th, one hour after opening, about 2,800 people—93.3% of the 3,000 invitees—had entered. By 5 a.m., when the event ended, cumulative attendance surpassed 2,900, meaning about 97% of invitees visited the venue.
Long-term customer benefits from telecom companies, which used to focus on plans, data, and partner discounts, are expanding into "experiences" outside telecommunications services, such as performances, fine dining, and leisure. SK Telecom, after hosting a string of invitations this year for forest getaways, gastronomy, and performances, planned an overnight full-rental of Lotte World. Kang Uk, Head of Team of SK Telecom's Segment Team, said, "The goal is to provide differentiated experiences that are hard to have alone and difficult to access even if you pay, so customers feel, 'I'm glad I stayed with SK Telecom for a long time.'"
◇ Why they came even late... "Because you can ride without waiting"
Participants were selected by lottery from advance applicants. SK Telecom said it drew the most interest among its long-term customer invitation events to date but did not disclose the total number of applicants or the competition rate. While it is hard to objectively compare popularity with past events, the actual entry rate relative to the invitees was high.
One reason customers came to the late-night venue was that they could use popular rides relatively comfortably at Lotte World after all regular visitors had left. That night, 11 indoor rides operated, including the French Revolution, Sinbad's Adventure, the carousel, and bumper cars.
A company employee, a person surnamed Kim (39), who has used SK Telecom for 19 years, said, "On weekends, you usually have to wait a long time just to ride one ride," adding, "Even though it's late, the biggest draw was that long-term customers could use the rides relatively comfortably."
A graduate student, a person surnamed Choi (29), who has been a long-term customer for 12 years, placed more meaning on the special experience than on monetary benefits. Choi said, "Because I get plan discounts every month, it's hard to feel them, but the fact that the park was rented just for long-term customers was memorable," adding, "I felt treated as a customer who has used the service for a long time."
◇ One in four has been a customer for 20 years or more... "SK Telecom is time and value"
At the venue, LED headbands of different colors were handed out according to the length of subscription. Among participating customers, about 75% had 10 years or more but less than 20 years, about 18% had 20 years or more but less than 30 years, and about 7% had 30 years or more. A separate registration desk was also provided for customers of 30 years or more.
A company employee, a person surnamed Park (42), who has used SK Telecom for 22 years, said, "The first carrier I signed up with in college was SK Telecom," adding, "I have continued to use it because I have not felt dissatisfied with call quality or service over a long time."
A homemaker, a person surnamed Kim (38), who has used the service for 15 years, said they did not switch carriers even after last year's hacking incident. Kim said, "That's because SK Telecom's customer membership discounts are high and there are a variety of long-term customer discounts and events."
At the "time capsule shop," customers wrote letters to "myself when I first signed up for SK Telecom." Some time capsules contained Magic Passes that let you ride without waiting.
At the "national long-term customer showcase" held at 1 a.m. on the 13th, customers took the stage themselves. One longest-standing customer, who introduced themselves as having used SK Telecom for 33 years, answered the question "What is SK Telecom to me?" with "time and value." The first-place winner in the singing contest was given a year of support for phone bills, and all participants received a 50,000 won T mobile payment coupon.
◇ Beyond plans and data, strengthening "experience-based benefits"
As number portability has become commonplace and competition to attract customers among carriers continues, telecom companies are strengthening differentiated long-term customer benefits beyond plans and data.
SK Telecom this year expanded and reorganized long-term customer benefits into four areas: data, culture, day, and membership VIP. It held "Forest-cation Day" at Everland Forest Camp; "Table Day," where you taste food by famous chefs; and "Concert Day," an event inviting customers to a Lee Seung-chul performance. In Dec., it plans to reserve some performances of the musical "Chicago" for long-term customers. According to SK Telecom, after the program revamp, visits to the long-term customer benefits information page more than doubled from last year, and inflows through search and sharing increased about fourfold.
In its own survey of customers who used the program, positive response rates exceeded 90% in all categories, including satisfaction with benefits, intention to continue using SK Telecom, trust in service capabilities, and agreement with the company's long-term customer efforts.
Kim Kyung-won, endowed professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sejong University, said, "The fact that 97% of invitees entered shows interest in the rare experience of Lotte World without general visitors," adding, "What remains to be seen is whether it can be expanded from special experiences for a subset of winners to benefits that all long-term customers can feel."