Prepaid card rebate programs are hot right now. Multiple industries are trying to set this program up for customer incentives because it actually works! However, companies are struggling because they are making crucial errors that make their card and reward inefficient and, frankly, a pain in their customer’s butts.
Imagine a mail-in rebate of $50 on a $40 video game. Only $10 for the newest edition, and you think to yourself, “I need that.” So you write out a check and mail it in as quickly as you can. You mail it in and patiently wait. Months go by, you don’t receive your check, you’ve written those angry letters, but no luck. There could be hundreds of reasons the company didn’t send that check. But you’ll be sure to never do business with them again. Read on for 7 reasons why your prepaid card rebate program is failing.
1. Not Following Best Practices
There are many different strategies to begin a prepaid card rebate program. Is your system manual or automated? Is your only reason to use rebates for the breakage or slippage? Rebates are an awesome way to generate new leads and sales, but the start-up cost of the soon-to-be-discounted price and the cost of administering the rebate program can cause issues for many businesses.
2. Not keeping the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines in Mind
The Federal Trade Commission protects the consumer and requires guidelines of businesses to be sure the customer is protected and essentially not getting screwed over. “Cents-off deals should make sense to consumers,” said Jodie Bernstein, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Companies that offer savings through coupons and rebates have an obligation to say what they mean and mean what they say.”
3. Rebate Processing is Not Online
Snail mail is a thing of the past. Customers don’t want to take the time to mail in anymore. Online rebate redemption is quick, easy, and keeps the customer happy. However, by the customer filling out information online, there is less of an opportunity for breakage.
4. Not Reporting in Real Time with Rebate Management Tools
Real-time analytics gives you the information to track which products are doing the best, how many customers are redeeming their rebates, and how quickly they are redeeming them.
5. Developing Reward Programs that Don’t Engage
Reward programs are great for involving your customers and finally getting them to participate in your brand and company. However, if you are not engaging them, your efforts are wasted on a promotion that isn’t at its maximum potential. Reward your customer for the call-to-action they fulfill but make sure they remember your name time and time again.
6. Not Applying an API for Fulfillment
API is a type of software that makes it possible for application programs to interact with each other. Imagine your rebate program collecting information from your website, linking to an API fulfillment process, and automatically sending your customers their rebates! That makes your life much simpler and gives the customer the instant gratification they so desire.
7. Not Embracing Dynamic Rebate Technology
Technology these days is so unbelievably advanced that it offers real-time analytics to give you insight into your consumer behavior. This technology can be tedious when setting up but will capture customer information to contact and what products they just might be interested in.
For more information about rebates, prepaid cards, or customer incentives, please go to alldigitalrewards.com or call us at 866-415-7703.
