Many customers don’t use their debit cards as often as they could. This can be a huge missed opportunity for banks. Campaigns designed to increase card usage are almost always significantly cheaper than acquiring new deposit dollars.
Increased debit card usage from existing cardholders has an immediate bottom-line impact with increased interchange revenue and increased deposit volume. It also sets the customer up for an increase in future value as well – frequent usage can drive increased brand recall and customer loyalty which increases cross-selling effectiveness.
There are a number of ways that banks can encourage their customers to use their debit cards more often. Here are a few ideas:
Many customers don’t use their debit cards as often as they could. This can be a huge missed opportunity for banks. Campaigns designed to increase card usage are almost always significantly cheaper than acquiring new deposit dollars.
Increased debit card usage from existing cardholders has an immediate bottom-line impact with increased interchange revenue and increased deposit volume. It also sets the customer up for an increase in future value as well – frequent usage can drive increased brand recall and customer loyalty which increases cross-selling effectiveness.
There are a number of ways that banks can encourage their customers to use their debit cards more often. Here are a few ideas:
Communicate.
Build campaigns that communicate the value that comes with using their debit card. Make sure the customer is clearly informed about their card’s features and how to earn and redeem points for cash-back or rewards debit cards.
How we do it: We work with our clients to determine what information is important to communicate and develop marketing campaigns around those goals. These communications could include welcoming new card members, prompting customers to activate new or reissued cards, or promoting card benefits. It is important to be consistent in communicating your cardholders.
Make It Personal.
Not all customers are created equal. Some are more likely to use their debit cards than others. Segment your customers based on their demographics, spending habits, and other factors so that you can target your campaign messages more effectively.
Banks can personalize their debit card usage campaigns by targeting specific customer segments with relevant offers and messages. A customer that isn’t using their debit card at all requires different types of messaging than a customer that is using their card infrequently.
How we do it: We use our clients’ existing customer data and demographic data for segmentation to personalize messaging, creative, dynamic fields, and channel selection. If a customer has recently reduced their transaction levels, making the communications and incentives personal to their situation is more likely to motivate them to return to expected usage levels.
Offer Rewards and Incentives.
This could include cash back, points, or other rewards that customers can redeem for merchandise or travel.
How we do it: In addition to personalizing the communications, incentives should be personalized too. Make custom offers to customers, such as “Use your card X times this month to qualify for this special offer”, where X is variable based on their current and prior usage levels. Using tracking links and/or custom coupon codes, we help facilitate redemption and tracking of rewards. This not only helps our clients manage rewards fulfillment but also allows us to see how marketing is affecting card and rewards usage.
Measure Your Results.
It’s important to track the results of your campaign so that you can see what’s working and what’s not. This will help you make adjustments to your campaign as needed.
How we do it: We track and measure campaign KPIs to ensure the messaging is resonating and track customer usage to ensure our campaigns are driving the desired behavior. With this information, we can analyze and continually improve the programs with incrementally better performance.
By following these tips, you can run a successful debit card usage campaign that will help you increase customer engagement and grow your business.
Syntropy Group has helped many clients drive their card utilization and increase deposit growth with targeted, personalized drip campaigns. Contact us at growth@syntropygroup.com to learn more about how we can help you reach your deposit goals.