Barclaycard US lets users have a voice

When it comes to credit cards, it’s no longer just a choice between Visa, Mastercard or Amex. Consumers are now tasked with selecting the reward program they want partnered with their cards ( Air Miles, Scene, WestJet, etc.).

While the reward programs may be a nice addition, if you’re like me, you aren’t concerned with reward programs and you certainly aren’t willing to pay a yearly fee in order to receive them. You just want a credit card with a low interest rate and no bells and whistles. And this is how Barclaycard Ring Mastercard was created.

According to an article in The Financial Brand, Barclaycard US – a “multinational credit card and payment services provider” launched alpha testing in December 2011 to introduce the first crowdsourced social media credit card.

Business News Daily describes crowdsourcing as “the distribution of problem solving. If a company needs funding for a project, marketing content for an upcoming campaign or even research for a new product, the crowd is a powerful resource capable of generating vast amounts of money, content and information.”

So what did Barclaycard do? At the 1:29 mark of the video below, Expert Digital Marketing Analyst Christer Holloman describes the steps Barclaycard US took to make this card possible.

While the card is targetted at those who carry a balance, those who qualify received an interest rate of just 8%. In a Washington Post article, the bank also mentioned it was looking to “rebuild trust amoung increasingly wary customers and create a new level of transparency for credit cards.” The card also allows people to share in their financial success through their Give Back program.

According to their website “Barclaycard Ring increased customer retention by 25% and decreased customer complaints by 50%, contributing to $10M in annual benefit.” I found these statistics to be incredible! Just by listening to what customers wanted and/or were willing to give up, the company managed to drastically change their course in just a few short years.

 

Lessons for Others

Times are changing. No longer do companies have to rely on focus groups for feedback on their products. They can create online forums and ask them directly. With the Barclayscard example they did just that. They created a credit card based on the feedback on its potential users. They  were transparent in letting users know what they could offer, but what they would also need to give up in order to get it.

Designing the card then becomes less of a risk for the company. They have already turned to social media to see what will work and what will not. They could have spent months, or even years skewering message boards for feedback from consumers but they were smart and upfront about it.

Creating their own forum also gives the company the opportunity to interact with the customers down the road, especially if they were thinking of making additional changes. It also helps to build a relationship and trust. It sends the message the customers that they aren’t just another face in the crowd, but that their opinions mean something and are shaping the way the company does business. It makes customers feel valued and in the end, who doesn’t like feeling valued?

 

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.

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