Finally, a Facebook Credit Card Connection to Really Like (Thanks American Express)

image Since Facebook became the de facto social operating system a year or two ago, I’ve been a little surprised the financial powers haven’t jumped on board more aggressively (note 1). But the card companies have had their hands full dealing with the credit meltdown, so it’s understandable.

But now that “big cards” are moving forward again, we’ll see a burst of activity leveraging Facebook and other social networks during 2012 and beyond (note 2).

Link, Like, Love from American Express  is a great example of what’s to come.

Here’s how it works (1 thru 5 illustrated in screenshots below):

  • Step 1: Go to the American Express Facebook page
  • Step 2: Add “Link. Like. Love.” to your Facebook profile
  • Step 3: Link your AmEx card to the app
  • Step 4: Sign up for offers you like
  • Step 5: Visit the merchant (whenever you like) and pay with your AmEx card
  • Step 6: The discount will automatically appear as a statement credit on your card

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Analysis
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The AmEx program is very similar to bankcard-based, merchant-funded rewards, except for one huge difference. Instead of “liking the offer” during infrequent visits to your bank/card statement, you do it while on Facebook, which the typical user visits approximately a zillion times more than their bank (note 3).

MasterCard/Visa issuers will follow the same path, but AmEx bagged a ton of free publicity along with the first 2 million users. Like it, a lot.
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Step 1: Visit American Express Facebook page
Note: 2 million “likes” (note 4)

Step 1: Visit American Express Facebook page

Step 2: Add the AmEx app

Step 2: Add the AmEx app

Step 3: Link card

Step 3: Link American Express card to Facebook

Step 3a: Complete form on AmEx webpage

Step 3a: Complete form on AmEx webpage

Step 3b: Share with friends (optional)

Step 4: Share with friends (optional)

Step 4: Activate offers with two clicks

Step 5: Activate Amex offers with single click

Step 4a: Confirm

Step 5a: Confirm

Step 4b: More optional sharing

Step 6: More sharing (optional)

Final: Offer now shows “Added”

Final: Offer now shows "Added"

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Notes:
1. Chase had the first “1+ million likes” financial promotion in early 2010 with its brilliant Community Giving program
2. We’ll see some great Facebook integration at FinvoateFall in two months. 
3. Presumably, I’ll be getting all kinds of Facebook and/or email messages from AmEx; although 2 hours post-signup, nothing was in either inbox.
4. During the 2 hours or so (4 to 6 PM Pacific) that elapsed while I was working on this post, the number of likes increased by more than 300. That translates to 3,000+ per day, or close to 100,000 per month. I don’t know how many likes AmEx had when the program launched, but it sounds like reasonable traction.

PerkStreet Financial Targets USAA Debit-Rewards Customers with Ads on Facebook

image Every once in a while I stumble onto Facebook, usually by following a link from a credit union or banking site. It happened a few days ago, when I clicked a link in the middle of Visions FCU Rocks, a cool youth banking microsite from Visions Federal Credit Union.

The Visions Facebook page was fine, but it was the little ad in the lower-right that grabbed my attention (see inset and screenshot below).

imagePerkStreet Financial, which has perhaps the richest debit-rewards program in the nation, with 1% to 2% cash back, is targeting USAA customers who just lost their debit card rewards program altogether. The landing page (see screenshot below) does a good job laying out the financial benefits and funneling visitors to the online app.

Bottom line: It’s a good time to tout debit card rewards, if you are sure you are keeping it. And targeting USAA customers specifically seems worth testing.

But if I was a USAA customer doing whatever people do on Facebook, I think I would find the, “Your USAA Account Changes” headline vaguely misleading. It might be better to use a headline more like the first sentence of the ad, “USAA is ending debit card rewards” or even, “Be glad USAA ended debit rewards.”  

That’s it for my attempt at teaching “headline writing 101.” Class dismissed. Have a great weekend.  

PerkStreet Financial targets USAA customers with Facebook ad (12 July 2011)

Perkstreet Financial targets USAA customers with Facebook ad (12 July 2011)

PerkStreet landing page (link)

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Can Banks and Credit Card Issuers Outflank Groupon with Merchant-Funded Rewards?

imageGroupon may be the biggest company in history that everyone thinks they could have built. Facebook, I guess, is up there too.

It seems everyone is wondering how they could do the “Groupon of ____” (fill in the blank). In my world, the blank is “banking.” I already wrote about the potential for selling financial products through Groupon and other flash marketing sites last July, so I won’t repeat that part. Anyway, that’s Groupon 1.0. 

It’s Groupon 2.0 that I think is even more interesting for financial institutions. The new model, coming in a few weeks, is all about mobile deals. Groupon Now mobileThe company is said to be planning on adding two buttons to your smartphone:

I’m hungry…which will alert you to nearby Groupons you can use for food deals.

I’m bored…which will alert you to just about anything else Groupon sells.

It’s brilliant. And so simple. Again, everyone will wish they’d built it. 

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Banking Opportunities
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So how could you do the same thing in personal finance? What would those buttons be?

  • I’m broke….leads to ATM finder, cash-back location, credit card site, loan app, friends & family loans, P2P lender, etc.
  • I’ve just been paid…leads to ATM finder, branch locations, deposit accounts, billpay, investments, automated savings plans, etc.
  • I’m out of town…leads to ATM finder, FX locations, travel services, 
    resource locator, card-issuer notifications, security preferences, etc.

But those are all pretty much standard functions of online/mobile banking today. The bigger opportunity may be to beat Groupon at the local level, with merchant-funded rewards tied to debit/credit cards (see note 1). Banks could potentially use the same “hungry/bored buttons” and direct customers to cash-back deals at restaurants and other merchants making offers to your cardholders.

Bottom line: Location-based rewards is another example of why mobile banking will be more important than online banking. To put it simply:

Banks enable commerce.

Mobile enables location-based commerce.

So financial institutions are right in the middle of a multi-billion dollar shift in retail spending. Enjoy all the opportunities!

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Notes:
1. For more on merchant-funded rewards, see the latest Online Banking Report.
2. Picture credit: All Things Digital

South Carolina Federal Credit Union Launches In-Statement Merchant-Funded Rewards

image

imageIf you are looking for an example of how to promote your rewards program, take a lesson from 140,000-member South Carolina FCU. The company just launched an in-statement merchant-funded rewards program called Simple Perks (press release) for its 58,000 online banking customers.

The CU posted a great 2-minute video showing how the program works (see second screenshot). It also posted a quality supporting blog entry, "Are you a ‘clipper’ or ‘clicker’ (note 1).

The new rewards program is delivered through the CU’s PFM dashboard powered by Intuit’s Personal FinanceWorks (see third screenshot). The rewards program is powered by Cardlytics, an Atlanta-based startup we’ve written about several times (previous posts).

Bottom line: Regardless of whether you personally think rewards programs pollute the online banking experience, this is a genie that’s not going back in the bottle. Targeted advertising based on spending behavior is too lucrative to ignore.

It reminds me of the advent of keyword advertising on search engines. At the time, there was concern that the technique, based on actual user queries, was an invasion of privacy. It may have been, but it’s worked pretty well for Google, and most users benefit from the well-targeted ads as well.

We are pretty confident the same scenario will play out with debit and credit card statements (note 1). As long as offers are relevant, unobtrusive, and probably opt-in, the majority of customers will like them and the rest will tolerate them.

South Carolina FCU homepage with six mentions of rewards (10 March 2011)

image

Simple Perks landing page with great demo video (link)

South Caroline FCU Simple Perks landing page with great demo video

Simple Perks rewards module is highly visible within online banking

Simple Perks rewards module is highly visible within Intuit Personal FinanceWorks online banking

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Note:
1. Side note: This is how to blog about something new. Author Troy Hall doesn’t just repeat the press release, he tells a story to make it interesting and relevant. (I would lose the salesy…"life simplified" line at the end, but that’s just being picky).  
2. For more info, see latest Online Banking Report on merchant-funded rewards.  

New Online Banking Report Published: Merchant-Funded Rewards Programs

image While I like a deal as much as the next person (note 1), I’ve never been much of a coupon clipper. To me, coupons are a hassle to collect, impossible to organize, and mildly embarrassing to redeem. 

But I love frequent flyer miles. Once registered, they pile up automatically, are maintained at the airline or card site, and there is no stigma to redeeming them. However, miles are pretty worthless unless you spend a lot and have the flexibility to use them during the off season.

That’s why financial rewards programs have moved away from a sole reliance on airline miles and towards broader programs with cash and merchandise rewards. However, with falling fee revenues, especially interchange, these programs are becoming harder to justify cost-wise.

But customers have grown to expect them, especially the big-spending households that drive banking and card profits (note 3). And this is not a time when you want to irritate a lucrative segment of your customer base.

What to do?

imageEnter a new breed of loyalty program called “merchant-funded rewards.” Instead of financial institutions buying goods and services to give away, the system is turned around. Merchants pay direct cash rebates to your customers. And they may even pay you for the privilege of giving away money.

The catch? Because the cash-back offers are targeted to customers who shop at the competition, merchants need actual cardholder-level spending data to make the right offer, e.g., a $25 rebate offer to Home Depot customers who come to Lowes and spend at least $50 on your card (note 2). And to boost awareness, they need to plug directly into your online banking and statements. 

Making this work takes sophisticated integration between spending data and merchant offers. Enter an important new vendor in the banking world: the rewards service provider. In the report, we look at the five biggest, each with 100 or more financial institution clients:

  • Access Development
  • Affinity Solutions
  • Cardlytics
  • Cartera Commerce (recently merged with Vesdia)
  • RewardsNow

While these companies have the early lead, clever newcomers are creating their own hybrid programs connecting APIs with ad-serving and social networks. It’s a wide-open field with dozens of players, including Finovate alums Billeo, BillShrink, Micronotes, and Segmint as well as others such as Clovr Media, DBG Loyalty, EDO Interactive, and OffermaticMasterCard and Visa also have rewards programs that issuers can plug in to.

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About the report
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Merchant-Funded Rewards Programs (link)
Rewards 2.0: Turning a money pit into a profit center

Author: Daniel Thomas, principal consultant, Mindful Insights

Editor: Jim Bruene, editor & founder, Online Banking Report

Published: 28 Feb. 2011

Length: 32 pages

Cost: No extra charge for OBR subscribers, $495 for everyone else (here)

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Notes:
1. Probably more, as the son of a frugal Iowan (thanks Dad!)
2. Of course, private cardholder data is not revealed to merchants or service providers. It’s done through computer matching programs.
3. According to COLLOQUY, the average U.S. household is enrolled in 18 rewards programs, and nearly a quarter of those are financial.

The Power of the Recognition

Everyone likes to be recognized for being a loyal customer. It cuts across all demographics and income levels.

Banks and card issuers, which have some of the most loyal customers in any industry, generally do little to reach out and thank long-time customers.

In my wallet, American Express, Discover, Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America imprint “member since” on their plastic credit cards. But that’s about the extent of the recognition for holding a long-time account with card issuers, sometimes as long as 20 years. 

In the pre-Internet days, it was expensive to create custom marketing programs for specific segments. But today, with the cost of communicating to online customers essentially zero, you should be sending messages to your customers at least once each year, thanking them for their continued business.

And on the bigger milestones, 5 years, 10 years, and so on, send something a little extra. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Find a special perk and offer an “upgrade” on their anniversary. It could be as simple as a 2-for-1 night at the movies, or as exotic as the recently launched PayPal Advantage program (previous post).

Even though the QPB message (below) I received last week was more of last-minute holiday shopping come-on than a loyalty reward, the subject of the email was irresistible and would work well for banking customers:

You’ve Been Upgraded!

Customer email from Quality Paperback Book Club (17 Dec. 2010)

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Cardlytics Partners with ClairMail to Take Merchant-Funded Rewards Mobile

image One of the best innovations to come out of this recession is in-statement, merchant-funded rewards. First-mover Cardlytics launched at last year’s BAI Retail Delivery (see post).

A year later, it was already reaching 30 million consumers  imagethrough relationships with more than 100 card-issuing banks and 100 merchants (see notes 1, 2). That’s unheard of growth in financial services. If just one-third of the 30 million customers look at their statements each month, Cardlytics would have more unique visitors than Groupon (note 3), which has been called the “fastest growing company ever.” 

We’re not saying Cardlytics has anywhere near the $60-70 million in monthly revenues attributed to Groupon, nor the $6 billion valuation. But enough similarities can be seen in their business models that I’d be very, very happy if I were an early Cardlytics investor (note 3). For example:

  • Both earn revenue directly from merchants who pay only when sales are made
  • Both leverage online channels to deliver significant discounts to targeted users
  • Both are first movers with aggressive growth tactics

And Cardlytics is different too:

  • Cardlytics focus (for now) is national merchants, whereas Groupon is closely associated with local merchants (but is adding national merchants)image
  • Cardlytics can target much more precisely and keep offers out of the hands of the merchant’s existing customers, a huge and unique benefit
  • Cardlytics does not need to market its own site to consumers; it rides on the coattails, and leverages the trust, of its banking partners

Mobile opportunity
Cardlytics operates at the intersection of payments and advertising. And while the online card statement is the place to be in 2010 (see screenshot below), clearly the future for any shopping-related service is mobile.

Although no specific products or partners were revealed, the startup signaled its intention to go mobile with its ClairMail partnership announced today (press release).

Cardlytics example: in-statement McDonald’s offer made to Burger King customers

cardlytics in-statement merchant-funded offer for McDonalds

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Notes:
1. Cardlytics will be demoing the latest innovations in its service at our Finovate Europe conference on Feb. 1, 2011.
2. BillShrink won a Best of Show award at Finovate Fall for its take on the concept (video).
3. On the strength of its early growth, Cardlytics landed a huge $18 million C-round in August.
4. According to Compete, Groupon had more than 8 million unique U.S. visitors in October.

PNC Bank Pitches Rewards Program at Logout

image The logoff page is one of the most important marketing platforms available to financial institutions (see note). The latest example: PNC Bank’s logoff screen delivered last week after leaving my Virtual Wallet (VW) account (see first screenshot below).

I like the two-column design with useful info on the left side for someone who’s just logged out and on the right a simple eye-catching advertisement for the bank’s free rewards program, PNC Points. A single Enroll Today button makes it easy to figure out what to do next, although that direct approach is not carried through on the landing page (second screenshot).

Overall, it’s a good effort, but I noticed something slightly off — the lack of VirtualWallet branding after logging out. The page is branded PNC Online Banking, and the two choices in the left box are:

  • Return to PNCVirtualWallet.com
  • Return to PNC.com

At minimum, the second choice isn’t worded correctly since I just left my VW account. Worst case, it leaves customers wondering why the bank doesn’t know where they came from. I assume the bank is using the same logout screen for both regular and VW customers and that everyone is accustomed to it by now. Still, it would be better to continue the VW experience all the way through logout.

PNC Bank logoff screen (24 June 2010)

image

Landing page (link)
Surprisingly, after choosing Enroll Today on the logout page above, users go to another sales page, with a less prominent Enroll button buried in the lower right. Instead of this roundabout process, users should go directly to the enroll page. 

image

Note: For more information on login/logoff marketing see our Online Banking Report: Selling Behind the Password published April 2009.  

Launched: PerkStreet Financial Focuses on Debit Card Rewards and Free Checking

image With growing debit card usage, and few rewards programs with meaningful payment bonuses (note 1), the market seems right for a focused debit-card-rewards provider.

But the market has not evolved as fast as many thought. Capital One threw in the towel on its decoupled debit rewards program. Finovate alum (video hereTempo Payments is refocusing on affinity-branded cards, which often have a reward component paid for by the affinity partner.

But a new entrant, PerkStreet Financial (powered by The Bancorp Bank) may have the right answer: reward levels on par with credit-card programs, 1% of spending value, 4x the average debit card program (note 1). The company emphasizes rewards paid via free coffee (nice tie-in to the name), music downloads (going after the youth market), or gift cards from name-brand retailers (adds retail interest to the account). See the first screenshot.

But with lower interchange, and no monthly fee (note 2), how can a bank afford such high rewards?

  • No branches
  • Rewards paid out on retail stored-value cards which are provided to the bank by retailers at prices less than face value
  • $30 overdraft charges (but it’s OPT-IN optional)

$50 new-account bonus: If you navigate directly to the website, there is no new account bonus (see screenshot 2). But if you use Google, it’s hard to miss PerkStreet’s ad (screenshot 3) or the affiliate deals. Going to the site through those options earns you a $50 bonus (screenshot 4), and in the case of the Google ad, an additional $50 qualified satisfaction guarantee (screenshot 5). 

1. PerkStreet perks page (link; 2 Dec 2009)

image

2. Standard homepage with no offer, emphasizing free

image

3. Google search for “PerkStreet Financial” (2 Dec 2009, 5:30 PM Pacific from Seattle IP address)

image

4. PerkStreet homepage accessed via affiliate (Doughroller link)
$50 bonus with $25 opening deposit and three months of activity

image

5. Landing page offer (link, 2 Dec 2009)
$50 bonus now with direct deposit, and $50 more if not satisfied within eight months.
To qualify as not satisfied, you must have set up direct deposit within 60 days of account opening, made 10 or more debit transactions per month for six straight months, and have closed your account within eight months of opening.

image

Notes:
1. According to the fine print disclosures on PerkStreet’s homepage, 17% of debit cards provide rewards with an average value of 0.23% of spending (source cited: BAI/Hitachi 2008 Study of Consumer Payment Preferences).
2. The account has a monthly fee ($4.50) only if there is no activity.

Banking Continues to Become More Rewarding

Nationalcity_points_logoOne thing about operating in competitive markets, when one player hits on a good idea, it’s not long before others follow suit.

It looks like National City <nationalcity.com> wins the honor of first-to-copy-Citi-Thankyou-Points. The Cleveland-based bank today unveiled its comprehensive Points program <nationalcity.com/points> with a multi-media barrage including television, print, billboard, and transit ads. Its website includes a large, animated points-gathering graphic in the upper right (see the series below).

Nationalcity_points_homepage_1  Nationalcity_points_homepage_2 Nationalcity_points_homepage_3

With rewards ranging from a $5 Starbucks card (2000 points) to cruises (420,000 points), there is something for everyone. The standard domestic round-trip air ticket runs 100,000 points. The program covers both personal and business accounts allowing, according to the company, a typical business owner to amass 140,000 points per year across both personal and business accounts.

The program revolves around spending, paying two points per $1 spent on a National City credit, signature debit card, or line of credit. Card customers can also earn five points per dollar once they surpass $5000 in annual spending, enough to earn round-trip airfare with every $20,000 spent.

Nationalcity_points_tableChecking account customers also earn 25 points per bill payment, PIN-debit purchase, paper check, or direct debit (ACH) transaction. The 25-point transactions are capped at 500 points per month, the equivalent of $250 in credit card spending. There are also 5000-point bonuses for new accounts including online bill payment (click on the table for details). 

Analysis
While the program is primarily a card-based rewards program, it’s good to see online bill payment included, even at minimal points levels. A typical household paying eight bills online per month would earn enough for a grande mocha at Starbucks, about once every 10 or 11 months. It’s not a lot, but we believe it’s enough to matter, especially combined with the other reward opportunities.

Nationalcity_points_mainHowever, we believe the bank erred in including paper checks in the program. Clearly, the points are about rewarding the use of electronic payments and transactions, especially those that lead to credit balances. In throwing a bone to traditional check writers, the bank eliminates much of the incentive to migrate transactions to electronic channels, since the 500-point monthly cap means that once someone writes 20 paper checks (at 25 points each), there are essentially no points for electronic transactions.

Users can sign up for a monthly email update on their points balance. The bank makes it easy with a one-line entry form on the main "Points" page (click on inset for a closeup). After inputting their email address, users are sent to a short form to add their full name and card number.

For more information on rewards programs, click here for previous NetBanker articles.

Outsourced Rewards Program for Online Banking

BankingbonusIncreased competition, both online and at the branch level, has forced banks to consider a wide range of strategies for customer attraction and retention. One such strategy developed by Rennhack Marketing Services (RMS) <rennhack.com> leverages current technology to supercharge the old-fashioned free toaster concept.

In recent years, many banks have tempted consumers to open new accounts by giving away iPods, DVD players, and even free travel or cash incentives. While effective at bringing in new accounts, there seems to be less evidence to suggest that this approach does anything for customer retention over the long term. The RMS Banking Bonus program is intended to boost business and increase retention by rewarding both customers and employees for a range of activities.

First, each time an employee signs up a new customer, that employee is awarded points on the online system. By logging in to the RMS website, the employee can redeem their points online for gift cards, merchandise, or other services. Points are also awarded to employees for a range of business-generating activities, such as helping an existing customer apply for a credit card or open additional accounts.

Second, an additional and perhaps more powerful aspect of the program is that banks can also offer the same incentives to new or existing customers. By awarding points for enrollment in add-on services like direct deposit or automatic bill pay, banks can streamline service delivery and increase customer retention in one fell swoop. As an added bonus for customers and banks alike, participants can also win points by referring family and friends to open new accounts. In support of these initiatives, RMS offers banks a customizable online interface as part of the Banking Bonus system that can be bank branded for both customer and employee use.

RMS offers a large variety of products and consumer brands meant to provide the strongest incentives. Over 380 brands are represented in the system. Merchandise, gift cards, and “personal leisure rewards” from companies like Callaway Golf, Godiva, Dell Computer, and Walt Disney World are currently available to participants in the program.

Citibank’s Comprehensive Loyalty Program

Definition: loy·al  (loil) adj. Steadfast in allegiance

Citi_thankyou_3 When I was a graduate student 17 years ago, I did a lot of research into so-called loyalty programs. At that time, other than the airlines and grocery stores (think S&H Green Stamps); it was a relatively new concept.

Now, just about every modern retailer has a loyalty program of one form or another, from pizza joints (our favorite spot has a “frequent pier” discount), to book stores ($25 annual fee for at 10% discount at Barnes & Noble), and even pet stores. The programs typically provide discounts, VIP services, and/or special programs for frequent customers.

Many financial institutions provide loyalty features such as relationship pricing, rewards for credit/debit card usage, personal bankers, and events for high-net-worth clients. But Citibank is breaking new ground with its Thank-You Points program.

The new rewards program has been featured in media campaigns for the past several months (thank you Citibank for focusing on the positive rather than continuing to over-publicize the identify theft problem). The program delivers points both for the depth of the Citi relationship and the amount of debit card spending. Spending on the many of the bank’s credit cards, including the new Simplicity card, also count for points.

Debit card spending is straightforward, earning 1 point for every $2 spent on signature debit and 1 point for every $3 spent on PIN debit. Credit card spending earns 1 point per dollar.

Citi_rewards_chart_1Relationship points are earned for anyone having 3 or more accounts with the bank, and range from 25 points per month with 3 products and a Citibank Access checking account to 1200 points per month for someone with 7 or more products and a CitiGold Account (click on inset for more detailed information). An online tool is available to help users estimate the reward points they will accrue.

Customers are NOT automatically enrolled; they must call a toll-free number to enroll. There is no online enrollment option. Points can be redeemed by phone or through a dedicated website, <ThankYouRedemptions.com> which is currently closed for remodeling and due to reopen next week.

Example rewards:

  • 20G iPod = 50,000 points
  • round-trip coach air fare = 25,000 points
  • make a wish = 25,000 minimum
  • gift certificates: $5 = 1000 points; $10 = 1500 points; $25 = 3000; or $10 per thousand for larger amounts

Analysis
Loyalty programs can have a significant impact on customer retention and purchase behavior. However, the programs have three inherent problems:

  1. Cost of communicating the incentives and member reward status
  2. Consumer disinterest/apathy/fatigue with the program
  3. Cost of the incentives

Online delivery helps solve the first two problems. With email and web-based delivery the cost to communicate the details of the loyalty program are negligible, other than the fixed cost to create the communication. Second, the program can be kept fresh with continual feedback to the user when logged in to online banking. A progress chart along and program news serves as a constant reminder of the program benefits.

However, online delivery does little itself to impact the cost of the incentives. In fact, by making it easier to track and redeem rewards, you may be actual increase incentive costs due to higher redemption levels. On the other hand, if you increase interest and awareness, you may be able to get equivalent lift from lower-cost rewards.

The final word: Online delivery has the potential to greatly increase the impact of bank loyalty programs. So, expect other major banks to enact programs similar to Citi’s. If you have a loyalty program, you may want to look at how it’s delivered online. If you are not doing anything to systematically reward your best customers, you may want to add this to your 2006/2007 plans.

JB

Reference: Citi ThankYouRewards screenshot (links do not work)