The financial industry is becoming increasingly competitive with the economic climate, and banks are now offering excellent incentives as a way to keep their existing customers and attract new ones. Marketing plans today offer such things as iPads, iPods, DVD players, game system and more. These marketing incentives can also be given using point systems, allowing their customers to earn points, which can be redeemed for whatever perks they choose.
Incentive marketing doesn't have to mean gifts, as a customer will appreciate a bank offering things like lowered fees and extended hours, but studies show that clients put freebies at the top of their wish list. It wasn't long ago that banks would not offer marketing incentives to the "regular" customer. They considered a regular customer to be someone with a couple thousand dollars in the bank, and while the business was appreciated, it was not rewarded. In the late 1990s, financial institutions targeted 99% of their incentive marketing programs towards rich clients, leaving the typical customer feeling unrewarded and underappreciated.
Times have changed, and after a bevy of large mergers, many of which didn't pan out, banks now understand that the only way to expand in today's financial climate is to concentrate on organic growth tactics. This is where marketing incentives come in, allowing banks to focus on new accounts, while also making sure current customers are happy and are doing so in a cost-effective manner. Incentive marketing plans now include perks and rewards for every new or potential customer, whether they have 10 dollars in the bank or 10 million.
This entails a wide range of marketing gifts for clients and prospective clients. Customers today have many choices for their financial needs, and looking for one can be fun and rewarding. Most banks and credit unions implement an incentive marketing plan that gives a gift or reward for simply opening a new account or adding more services to an already existing account. Bank hours as well as their rates for credit cards, loans and interests are quite similar, so a client will invest their money with the institution that offers excellent services and funky marketing gifts or rewards.
Let's take a look a few of today's more common incentive marketing gifts and their counterpart from a few decades ago.
The iPod
Today's iPod is like the thermos or a new lunch box of years past. This is considered a basic marketing gift these days, but customers still appreciate it. Today's strategies might offer this as an incentive to a customer who's opening a new account with a minimal balance.
The iPad
The iPad is one of the best electronic marketing gifts a customer can receive and can be associated with the toaster of 30 years ago. Amazingly enough, you felt highly rewarded back then if you walked out of a bank with a toaster. An iPad runs about $500 and is typically given as part of today's incentive marketing plan, as a reward for a customer who either fulfills a large loan obligation or maintains a sizable minimum balance for twelve consecutive months.
Portable Blu-Ray or DVD Player
The counterpart for these marketing gifts of today would have been yesterday's pen & pencil set. It is a highly appreciated gift that will be utilized for a long period of time. This is typically given to a customer who maintains a moderate minimum balance and utilizes online bill payment for a full year.
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