The FINANCIAL — Card-linked marketing programs are highly effective in increasing revenue, customer insights and advanced targeting to marketing programs, but are underutilized by chief marketing offices.
The FINANCIAL — Card-linked marketing programs – like BankAmeriDeals, an online and mobile cash back deals program for Bank of America customers – are highly effective in increasing revenue, customer insights and advanced targeting to marketing programs, but are underutilized by chief marketing officers (CMOs), according to a new survey released by Bank of America and The CMO Club.
The survey, which polled CMOs on their preferences and marketing program needs, found that card-linked marketing may be the industry’s best kept secret. Of the CMOs who had used card-linked marketing, nine out of 10 experienced revenue lift from a program, 98 percent deemed it an effective solution for reaching their target audience, and 96 percent are planning to use card-linked marketing in future campaigns.
“With BankAmeriDeals, we can offer benefits to all of our customers, using card-linked marketing to make it easier for the consumer to earn cash back while driving more engagement for the merchant through careful targeting,” said Jason Blackhurst, senior vice president and Emerging Capabilities executive at Bank of America. “However, our new survey data underscores that CMOs understand that targeting and customer insights are critical, but very few turn to card-linked marketing to obtain this kind of precision,” he added.
While highly effective, these online and mobile cash back deals programs are not yet fully understood. According to the survey, while 78 percent of CMOs say they know what card-linked marketing is, more than half (62 percent) have never implemented a program. Of those who have never used it, 53 percent say they don’t know how it works and one in three (34 percent) admit that they are unsure of its effectiveness, which suggests that many marketers are missing a key opportunity to connect with and grow their customer base.
BankAmeriDeals reaches 29 million of Bank of America’s growing online and mobile banking customers, offering relevant deals to them based on past purchase behavior while creating a targeted marketing solution for merchants. The offers appear in online banking and mobile apps, allowing customers to choose the deals they want while managing their finances. Cash back is in addition to other rewards and is put into customer accounts, according to Bank of America Corporation.
The scale of the program, run by Cardlytics through its targeted advertising network, makes it one of the flagship implantations of card-linked marketing programs. Since its launch in 2012, BankAmeriDeals has provided targeted deals from more than 4,000 national, local and regional retailers and restaurants, serving more than 400 million offers, saving customers more than $20 million, and helping merchants generate more than $730 million in measurable, incremental revenue.
“Program innovations have gone beyond streamlined redemption at the point-of-sale to not only address what CMOs value in a marketing program, but what they need to be successful in customer loyalty and engagement,” said Pete Krainik, founder of The CMO Club, a membership organization that brings together more than 850 heads of marketing, and purveyor of the BankAmeriDeals/CMO Club Poll.
Seventy-five percent of CMOs say targeting and customer insights (purchase history, frequency, location, spend, etc.) are the most crucial aspects to a marketing program’s success. At the same time, 44 percent said that the task of targeting and reaching the right consumers also ranked as the most difficult aspects, while 23 percent said measurement was among their greatest challenge. Respondents noted that card-linked marketing helped meet other marketing objectives, including:
Sixty-four percent said it drove customer loyalty.
Fifty-four percent said it generated repeat sales.
Forty-eight percent said it drove store traffic.
Forty-four percent said it helped with brand recognition.
Forty percent said it introduced new customers.
Nearly half (48 percent) believe card-linked marketing is more effective or comparable to targeted social media advertising, while 72 percent rank it higher or comparable to store branded gift cards, according to Bank of America Corporation.
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