Top 3 budget essentials for 2017

There may still be a few months left in the year, but if you’re not already looking ahead, you’re falling behind. 2017 will be here before you know it, and your team is probably already deciding what new programs and offerings your community financial institution will implement to stand out without breaking your budget.

To differentiate your institution from the competition in a way that impacts your bottom line, keep in mind these three things as you plan for 2017:

1. Rewards for Loyal Members/Customers

Fewer than half of all financial institutions offer debit rewards¹, while 88% of consumers deem them to be a top priority when choosing where to bank.²

Programs like Buzz Points allow you to offer what your competitors aren’t by rewarding desired consumer behavior. Your institution will draw in more consumers while keeping current cardholders happy and benefit from the increase in interchange revenue. It’s a win-win!

2. Community Involvement Tactics

As a community financial institution, you’re already a step above the megabanks in terms of customer service. Take that to the next level by providing a service back to the local community.

In addition to helping strengthen the relationship with your cardholders, providing the right kind of rewards program will create more opportunities to connect with local businesses and organizations. Offer localized rewards back to restaurants, coffee shops, charities and more. This will build goodwill in the community and goodwill towards your brand, creating lines of communication for new commercial business in the process.

3. Investments in Data Analysis

Choosing where to spend your institution’s time, energy, and most importantly, your budget, isn’t an easy task. By working with a third party vendor, you could make those decisions easier by better analyzing valuable cardholder data you already have.

Hidden in your core banking data lies insight into hard questions your institution faces every day. Exploring that “big data” can help determine which of your products and services are the most profitable and cost effective. Digging into consumer demographics and credit / debit card activity can provide clear direction and messaging for future marketing strategies.

Analyzing your core data will improve your financial institution’s budgeting strategies overall, opening the door for more profitable services like rewards programs.

Want to start seeing the value in your data? With Issuer Analysis, Buzz Points can help you turn complex cardholder data into simple metrics that are easy to understand and easy to use. Learn more about Issuer Analysis here.

Link to: https://www.buzzpoints.com/financial-institutions/?utm_source=Monthly_Article&utm_medium=BuzzPoints_Link&utm_campaign=CBCU_Insight

Sources

¹https://www.pulsenetwork.com/pulse/documents/index/serveDoc.html?doc=DIS_News_Release_FINAL_6-19-14

² http://www.wsj.com/articles/consumers-say-more-rewards-is-their-top-demand-from-banks-1407522160