Small Business Owners Take Notes

Bank of America and Citibank are anything but small which makes them an odd place to look for exemplary small business lead generation.

Never the less, both banks know the power of referral marketing and understand that promotion campaigns are a very effective way of generating new business.

Small business owners should take notes and learn from “the big guys” mistakes. If you want to apply what you learn here and run your own promotion campaign, check out Referral Key

So who has the more effective referral program?

We looked at both Citibank and Bank of America’s referral program and analyzed them on three important factors:

1. How effective is the message?

2. How enticing is the referral reward?

3. How easy is it for the referrer to be rewarded?

Bank of America

How effective is the message?

BoA is very outspoken about their Customer Referral Program and it is very easy to find the details of this program online. The program breaks into 3 categories of accounts your referee can open (Student, Personal, Small Business) and you are rewarded ($10, $25, $50) respectively. Their referral offer message is very clear. Below we’ve scanned in a brochure from a local branch:

How enticing is the referral reward?

If your referee opens a student account you’ll receive $10, a personal account you’ll receive $25, and if they open a small business account you’ll receive $50. Your referee will need to maintain a $125 balance in their student/personal account or $250 in their small business account, for at least 30 days for you to be rewarded.

A $10 reward for a student referral seems a bit menial but $25 for a personal and $50 for a small business referral could be considered a fair offer by some.

How easy is it for the referer to be rewarded?

BoA does not make it easy for existing clients to participate in the referral campaign and send them new business. After 90 days and 3 trips to the bank, a $25 reward does not sound as rewarding. Furthermore, passing a physical “referral card” between at least four different parties all but ensures complications, a call to customer service, and a resulting headache.

The process a participant must go through before they are rewarded for sending BoA new business:

1. Open and print a PDF form (Or get a form at a local branch).
2. Complete the form.
3. Physically hand the form to the person they are referring.
4. The person you are referring must then take the form to a local branch.
5. The person referred needs to open an account, qualify, and maintain a minimum balance for 30 days ($125 for Student/Personal and $250 for Small Business).
6. The reward arrives via check up to 90 days after the referee opens their account.
7. Presumably, the referrer returns to the bank to deposit the check.

Citibank

How effective is the message?

It’s very difficult to learn about the Citibank “Member Get Member” program. After an extensive online search and a lengthy customer service call, we decided to visit a branch where we found some literature about the program. The program breaks into 3 categories of accounts your referee can open (Student, Personal, Citigold) and you are rewarded ($10, $50, $100) respectively. Their referral offer message is clear and unlike BoA, they make the referral reward readily visible. Below we’ve scanned in a brochure from a local branch:

How enticing is the referral reward?

If your referee opens a student account you’ll receive $10, a personal account you’ll receive $50, and if they open a Citigold account they’ll receive $50. Your referee will need to maintain a $100 balance in their student/personal account or $1,000 in their Citigold account, for at least 30 days for you to be rewarded.

As with BoA,  a $10 reward for a student referral seems a bit menial but $50 for a personal and $100 for a Citigold is a much better motivator than BoA’s.

How easy is it for the referer to be rewarded?

CitiBank does not take advantage of an online referral tracking system like Referral Key. Bank of America does not make it easy for existing clients to participate in the referral campaign and send them new business. Citibank also makes it too difficult for their current clients to send them new business. The main difference between the BoA referral process and the Citibank referral process is that Citibank has certificates which save you the time of filling out a form but also requires you to make another trip to a local branch to pick them up. Citibank’s direct deposit of the referrer’s reward is much more seamless however, 90 days is a long time to wait to be rewarded and 120 days might as well be “someday.”

The process a participant must go through before they are rewarded for sending Citibank new business:

1. Pick up literature at the Bank to learn about the offer.
2. The referrer picks a custom certificate from a teller at a local branch.
3. Physically hand the form to the person they are referring.
4. The person you’re referring must then take the form to a local branch.
5. The person referred needs to open an account, qualify, and maintain a minimum balance for 30 days ($100 for Student/Personal and $1000 for Citigold).
6. The reward arrives as a direct deposit up to 120 days after the referee opens their account.

Synopsis

Final Thoughts

Some may say, “Isn’t the better program the one that generates the most new accounts?” but every referral has a life beyond the sale. They may have gotten a new sale but if they didn’t track those referrals and make the process as easy as possible, they now have two more people who think less of your company.

Track your referrals!