As more businesses adopt MasterCard and Visa prepaid cards to meet a range of business needs, the automotive industry in particular has been taking advantage of promotional and loyalty applications using payment cards as their reward of choice.
Rebates
Studies show that consumers are more motivated by cash in hand than money discounted from the price of a product. This makes even more sense in the car dealership world where payments are frequently financed, and where price discounting is barely noticeable on a monthly or bi-monthly payments schedule.
Car shoppers see greater value in immediate and tangible rewards (A $500 prepaid Visa card can be used right away to purchase almost anything), and they prefer prepaid cards over price discounting and other rewards like merchandise, incentive travel, and special events or experiences. (Source: 2015 Canadian Incentive and Rewards Trends Study.)
Recalls and Goodwill Payments
Prepaid cards have become the payment vehicle of choice for customer goodwill gestures and compensation for recalls and vehicle service issues.
Unlike a cheque, prepaid cards can be custom branded with a logo and design, and they offer a more personalized and exclusive experience than a cheque.
Cheques have to be deposited in a bank, are subject to a 4-5 day hold period to make sure funds clear, and the money inevitably gets spent on groceries, gas, bills or other necessities. Prepaid cards, on the other hand, are a more high impact and memorable reward, and recipients tend to use them to "treat" themselves to something special they normally wouldn't buy.
Test Drive Campaigns
A number of our automotive clients use prepaid cards for test drive incentives, giving away $50-100 to those who enjoyed a test drive experience. Not only do prepaid card promos drive foot traffic to dealerships, but the cards themselves come in an exclusive custom package that can be customized to include more promotions and incentives.
Nissan uses prepaid Visa cards for everything from vehicle rebates, dealer service rewards, seasonal promos, and contests.
Marketing Campaigns
Running a social media giveaway? Need contest prizes? Want to give away free stuff? Prepaid cards are the idea promotional vehicle since they can be funded with almost any dollar amount, are easy to administer, and are widely preferred by recipients since they can be used to purchase almost anything.
The card can be presented in numerous ways as well - the card carrier, the inserts, and the envelope can all be custom designed, further reinforcing the brand.
Plus, transaction and spend data can be tracked and reported on, meaning insights into how your marketing investment is performing can be easily measured and scaled.
Employee Sales Incentives and Rewards
Consider prepaid cards for rewarding sales staff, thanking employees for years of service, or incentives for training and safety programs. Prepaid cards offer a lot of choice without a lot of the headaches and planning that have to go into merchandise and travel rewards.
Plus they can be reloadable, so cards can be funded on an ongoing basis and integrated easily into existing reward and incentive programs.
