Loyalty Blogs

No matter what industry we’re targeting, the end game is always about retaining customers and yes loyalty programs are proven to beat the competition by being an exclusive retention strategy. With the increasing number of customers adapting multiple payment channels, only 30 percent of consumers are using a single source for all their financial needs. Most of the customers have already spread their payments and other sorts of financial requirements across a range of multiple providers.

Talking precisely about customer loyalty in the banking sector, the field is ultra-competitive. For accelerating the process, one direly requires showcasing something different and have an extra eye for details, to find the best marketing strategy for the customers. A survey by Deloitte states that only 19 percent of banking customers are deemed as true loyal to their bank. The listed survey findings implied similar both for USA and Europe. Suggesting that the banking industry hasn’t even got their feet wet on the aspect of building a loyal customer base and that can be considered as a major reason of customer’s constant switch.

Let’s breakdown the aspects of deriving loyalty in the financial industry with the help of a loyalty rewards program.

Defining Financial Services Loyalty Program

Financial services loyalty programs are considered as an excellent customer retention tool which aims to elevate brand love and purchasing frequency for banks and financial institutions. Though the basic definition limits to just a two liner explanation, here are some essential features that portray the characteristics of a financial service loyalty program.

• Customers are aware and have a fair knowledge about the purchasing options. Today, there’s hardly a traditional way of making purchases, no customers are willing to make regular purchases of products, so the banking industry must be in the awareness that they should seek multiple ways to reward customers. Apart from regular transactional rewarding options, make it a gala deal for them on rewarding customers on taking up loans, mortgages and other services from the bank.
• Bank loyalty program is quite restricted and limited to certain aspects, while, the customer enrollment there shouldn’t be an open space! Instead they have to focus on which customer is having an active account, who’s the top spender etc. to get into the exclusive parameters of joining a loyalty rewards program.
• So, these financial loyalty programs are not identical to the regular ecommerce loyalty programs, they are largely contributed and dedicated to branding & promotion! Helping in educating customers about the latest offers, brand’s digital presence and collecting everything which could aid in marketing a product.

Challenges in Customer Retention

No wonder businesses have always been in abundant confusions and struggles in retaining customers, it is still one of the most crucial aspects in skyrocketing a business. Here are the common challenges being faced in terms of customer retention-

• Keeping the prime focus on Digital Presence
• Staying high in the ultra-competitive environment
• Loyalty programs do not feel relevant

Top Loyalty Program Platform Features for Financial Industry

Features completely depends on the bank, whichever seems better and engaging according to the marketing strategy, here are some top features you, as a brand should definitely consider-

• Customizable Loyalty Program Options-
• Go Omnichannel
• Have a Mobile Wallet to top it all
• Introduce Membership Bonus

Examples from the Leading Banking Reward Programs

While some of you must be trying to find out if a financial loyalty program is worth it, leading banks have already all hands in the strategy. Some of the top names are-

• Tiered loyalty program by Bank of America, giving customers an opportunity to earn more and avail benefits on upgrading to each level up.
• Barclays offers Blue Rewards on a subscription-based model with extra membership fee attached. It is offered in place of cashback rewards providing customers a new way of retention.
• Thankyou Rewards by Citibank. Offering a point-based loyalty program designed to reward customers for any type of activity that engages with the bank through mobile apps, ATMs or credit cards.
• Deutsche Bank introduced Express Rewards offering a point-based program which appreciates customers and rewards them with points on regular transactions and incentivize on customer behavior.
• Lloyd’s Bank introduced Club Lloyds exactly like Barclays with a membership fee attached and an opportunity for customers to reward them with various offerings like free movie tickets, magazine subscription, annual subscription for OTT platforms etc.

Wrapping Up

Customer loyalty is a vast sector, with multiple tools to implement, manage and track. There’s an extensive use of technology in advancing digitization and letting a brand stand out from the rest in the competition. Banks have many chapters to unfold in the near future, get started with the loyalty game taking along the numerous marketing strategies you have been building through customer analyzing. Loyalty is a wide road, start your journey sooner possible!