Clever promotions help banks stand apart from the crowd.
Offering customers competitive interest rates on checking and savings accounts might not be enough to get people through your doors. Banks seem to be on every street corner, giving customers numerous choices to put their money and seek financial advice. To stand out from the pack, it’s important to have promotions that can lure customers and dollars.
Birthday Club
Many banks offer Christmas Clubs as a way to help their members save money for holiday gifts. So why not offer clubs that serve the same purpose for birthdays? Traditional Christmas Clubs operate by taking money out of the investor’s checking account on a monthly basis and transferring it to another account, which remains untouchable until a date near the end of the calendar year. Investors determine the monthly amount and must comply with potential risks such as early withdrawal penalties, according to Investopedia.
A Birthday Club would operate the same way. An agreed-upon amount would be redirected to a different account each month. Members can open the account at any time of the year, based on when they want to withdraw the money. The accounts can be used to save money for birthday presents.
Go Green, See Green
There's no way to get around handling paper money every day. But banks can implement promotions to reduce their use of other kinds of paper, such as checks, statements and receipts. Consider offering a small deposit into the checking accounts of customers who commit to paperless billing, or who pay the majority of their checks online. According to the Money Rates website, some banks give homeowners a half-percent rate reduction on home equity loans that are set up to be paid automatically and electronically every month.
It's also a good idea to advertise promotions via your website rather than paper inserts in monthly statements. This option gives you unlimited space to advertise promotions and introduce new programs.
Fun Savings
Some banks offer discounted tickets to local attractions and events to lure new customers. For example, the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union can save customers nearly $8 off the normal price of a ticket to Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe if the tickets are purchased at the credit union rather than the park itself. Similar promotions have been offered on tickets to attractions like Tweetsie Railroad and Kings Dominion. Include information about the tickets at teller windows and on your website.
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