How to Maximize Credit Card Loyalty

It’s no surprise that loyal customers drive the most value to a company. But when it comes to fanning the flame of loyalty, consumers need a clean brand experience—which only occurs when customers clearly understand the product benefits and brand offerings available to them. Otherwise, their loyalty can be quickly extinguished. 

For marketers, their job is to expose customers to their products’ full benefits lineup in an enticing way that reinforces their value without overwhelming them with too much information. Not only that, but as new features arise, they must show how they all seamlessly integrate to create a smooth, holistic product experience. 

Overcoming that challenge is critical to fostering lasting loyalty among credit card customers, and marketers can use brand communications to do just that. Here are three methods you can quickly apply to your current messaging to boost loyalty for years to come.

Keep Customers in the Know

Marketers who pour over the minute details of card benefits every day can sometimes forget how complex these products can be, and are surprised when customers don’t understand the wide array of benefits available to them. Currently, a staggering 36% of credit card customers don’t understand their current benefits, let alone new ones coming down the pike. These confused customers are liable to look elsewhere as needs arise—even when they already have the perfect option right in front of them.

When customers experience everything a product has to offer, they are far more likely to grow in loyalty as they commit further with the brand, typically spending up to over $300 more per month.

How can marketers best educate their customers? It begins with visual storytelling that reinforces the value your brand is already providing and highlighting opportunities to even better serve the customer. 

Inkredible Financial knows you have to show, not just tell. Using data visualization, they highlighted the various ways the product provided value and return on investment to the customer, whether it be the number of lounge visits the customer made or dollar amount saved via their offers program. 

Using a progress bar, Inkredible Financial took things a step further by creating a gamified experience to express the value of each tier. While there's no tangible difference between silver and gold statuses, acknowledging customers’ accomplishments elevates brand engagement by encouraging the customer to strive for a higher level. It pulls on the same idea of counting steps and closing loops. While the experience itself remains the same, that proud feeling of achievement lasts. And in the case of customers, it gives them all the more reason to be loyal to the brand.

Benefit Customers With Travel

Travel is back and booming, specifically among credit card customers. More than ever, credit card users are looking to convert their points into anything from a seaside vacation to embracing the life of a digital nomad. 

Credit card brands everywhere are already leveraging this trend to capture valuable market share, but using the right marketing tactics will be critical in ensuring long term success. The key here is to not rely solely on travel brands to ensure your customer has a smooth experience, but to provide your customers a helping hand by keeping them updated in real time.

Here, Inkredible Financial becomes customers’ trusted travel agent with real time updates to help them snag the best deal—both in price and in experience. 

When the customer is still in the discovery phase and planning the trip, Inkredible Financial sends a hand-picked list of deals personalized to the customer’s destination of choice: Amsterdam. Each hotel option populates the live price and current ratings paired with an inspiring picture of the accommodations. As an added motivator, the customer’s current points status, along with how close they are to the next tier, is included. 

Once customers have booked their stay, Inkredible Financial continues to guide them using in-app messages. Updated details for the upcoming vacation such as a trip countdown, flight codes, and how many points they are earning keep customers relaxed knowing their next steps. 

Inkredible Financial has proven themselves trustworthy by arranging an exciting trip for the customer. The brand leverages that win to encourage the customer to use the card again. This time, by earning points from Lyft rides or visiting restaurants via personalized recommendations.

Mobile Is the Make It or Break It

Believe it or not, there was a time when credit cards were the new-fangled offering in the financial services space. Now, customers can’t get along without it. With over 80% of Americans using credit cards for daily transactions, they have gone from a novelty to ubiquity.  

Now, think about mobile. It’s not just trying to reach the same level of market penetration: it’s already surpassed it, with 85% of Americans owning a smartphone. Unsurprisingly, this is having a deep impact on how customers interact with their finances, with nearly 40% of customers using mobile apps as their primary source of banking.

It’s undeniable that mobile marketing is a necessity for every brand, including credit card brands. While many brands understand this demand, the execution can feel far more complex. Deploying on-brand marketing messaging that’s effective and engaging on another channel can be daunting. But with these tips, credit card brands can make their mobile debut a breeze. 

Repurpose Inspo

Recycling doesn’t only apply to plastic bottles. Marketers that already have an email presence have the opportunity to repurpose existing content into a mobile campaign that’s levels above a simple copy and paste.

Inkredible Financial uses their existing email program as a springboard into the mobile experience. Underneath the latest cashback offers, the brand uses data visualization to show customers that they only have one more step to complete their profile. 

Inkredible Financial translates that successful email into a push notification. This time, the final step is all laid out for them. All they have to do is opt into online bill pay. 

Mobile is a channel built on urgency, making countdown timers the perfect choice for an in-app message. Here, the brand uses data visualization to show customers what’s left to contribute to their IRAs, succeeding in driving quick action. 

Rely On Tech

When it comes to mobile, getting one-off campaigns out the door as quickly as possible is only a piece of the puzzle. For a mobile strategy that truly contributes to your brand’s omni-channel story and lasting loyalty, marketers need tech that’s both automated and data-driven. 

The right tech tool will integrate seamlessly into your current strategy, automatically translating the existing data powering your email program into the mobile channel. Automated AI powered personalization is the tool every marketer needs in every industry and channel. 

Conclusion

Summer is on its way, and with these tactics in your back pocket, you’ll have everything you need to highlight customer value and boost loyalty all in one fell swoop.