Cardholder loyalty is a crucial aspect of all financial institution strategies, helping to deliver revenue and retention to the organization year-over-year. But we must ask – what drives consumer loyalty and retention to help navigate the financial industry toward success? How do financial institutions properly align themselves in the market to deliver exceptional products and services to drive loyalty?
By offering a cohesive and custom loyalty experience for your consumers, you not only deliver earning and redemption options but also build loyalty to increase cardholder satisfaction and long-term engagement for goal achievement and organizational growth. Our experts are sharing three foundational elements that drive consumer loyalty and how your financial institution can implement them into your loyalty strategies.
Valuing Consumers and Their Demands
67% of consumers who frequently buy or interact with a company do not consider themselves loyal to the brand (Wise Marketer). It’s important to observe that newer generations are less likely to be loyal to brands and are open to alternative options depending on price, products, services and more because of their ability to access alternative information and products via online resources. As a result, building brand loyalty in the future is going to continue to be difficult, but creating a cohesive response to cardholder anti-loyalty reasoning is a good way to approach cardholder engagement and loyalty.
Better Alternatives
31% of consumers leave a brand because of better promotions, while 26% leave for better buying options (Wise Marketer). As a financial institution, you have to constantly keep an eye on the market and your competitors to ensure that your product offerings and your delivery methods of these products create an exceptional experience for your cardholders because they will seek alternatives when they feel like their demands are unmatched. Perform a market and product analysis to identify who your key competitors are, how your products compare and what you can improve upon to be more competitive in the market and drive increased loyalty.
Valued Consumer Experience
21% of consumers leave a brand because they feel undervalued (Wise Marketer), showing that consumer appreciation is more important than ever. Stay in communication with your consumers outside of marketing communications and show them that you appreciate their business. Host an annual consumer appreciation event with special promotions or give them “surprise and delight” with targeted messaging, such as birthday messages and special content just for them.
Personalization and Individuality
Personalization and IndividualitySimilar to showing gratitude and appreciation, consumers expect a personalized experience with nearly every brand they interact with. From knowing their name when they step into your business, to understanding their behaviors, demands and expectations in order to achieve their needs, brand personalization is growing in popularity due to the availability of consumer data and technology. Year-over-year, 110% more consumers believe that the ability of a brand to understand them as an individual is a factor in their loyalty and 55% of consumers drive their loyalty to great products and services that fit their needs (Wise Marketer).
When it comes to your loyalty program, delivering a personalized experience that gives cardholders earning and redemption options that fits their lifestyle is key to personalizing their product experience. When it comes to earning points, give them the opportunity to earn in multiple ways beyond standard earn rates, including promotions and bonus point opportunities like card-linked offers. Additionally, redemption options can be diverse outside of classic rewards, allowing cardholders to redeem in real-time as part of their real-time rewards suite or for lifestyle rewards, such as cryptocurrency, travel or cash back. Make cardholders feel like they have a bountiful amount of options to engage in a way that fuels their demands and you will see greater long-term satisfaction and success.
Added Value To Products
40% of consumers would remain loyal to a brand if they provided extra value outside of their product and price, including discounts (57%), reward points (52%) and personalized recommendation (16%) (Wise Marketer). This is one of the many reasons why ampliFI offers customized and all-inclusive loyalty experiences, delivering a holistic approach to loyalty featuring program personalization and customization, marketing and promotions, and cardholder support.
Your consumers engage with your financial institution because of the account they open or the product they engage in, but they continue to engage and remain loyal because of the features and bonuses outside of their standard banking. Ensure that your financial institution is creating value for your consumers through other channels outside of products and services, and integrate that with personalization to really boost your performance.
Loyalty programs are crucial in many ways and can deliver exceptional cardholder loyalty retention and organizational revenue for years to come. Integrating exceptional loyalty practices into your everyday efforts as a financial institution helps cardholders to feel valued and in return, they give you greater loyalty to continually engage and grow.
Ready to kickstart your cardholder loyalty experience? Contact our loyalty and industry experts to learn more or schedule a free virtual consultation.