Best and Worst 'Free Gifts'
 

Alrighty, so I'm the marketing director for a credit union and I have to save the world in a week by increasing our new accounts volume. Nobody likes moving their finances around and dealing with anything like that...but every once in a while folks will do it because if they open a new account, they get a 'free gift.'

What the heck am I supposed to give away as a free gift?

What are the best and worst 'free gifts' you've gotten before? Help! :lol:

Screw gifts, cash is king. $100 at least. Or a promotional savings rate.

This is true... just did that though. Come on, don't you want a toaster?

Document holder? There are a lot of people on the hunt for a job now that could use an updated one. Just avoid plastering the credit unions logo all over it if you go that route.

Other options: USB thumb drive, umbrella, duffel bag (half the people at my gym have a freebie from somewhere).

STD's I'd say are the worst free gift by far....


But I can only imagine because I never recieved any. I need to read the stipulations of the thread a little more clearly next time.

Cash never gets old.

Ipod? GPS? What kinda scratch are we talkin?

Shit, thats more than $100. I got $50 to open my ca.

Depends...
Some times its worth the STD's. As long as they can cure it...

Private time w/the marketing director :boobs:

I don't know how much is in your budget, but a free iPod shuffle might actually work. Looks like they start at $59. :shrug:

Or try to work with a local restaurant or store and give out gift cards.

Free Protein Mix.....

usb is a good bet imho

I'll join for those gifts. Banks suck! I would join without promos.

All great ideas

Cash

You could give it as a debit card, added to the account, or promotional interest rate.

If you do go the physical gift route, go name brand (i.e. iPod, Tote umbrella, etc).

Most promotional gifts are cheap and chintzy. They either won't get used or don't last.

Lastly, give the gift(s) with as few restrictions as possible. People who actually read the fine print will be turned off by all the legalese and hoop-jumping.

Your job is client acquisition, not client retention.

But she did say they just did a cash promotion and looking for something else... something new.

Truth for name brand stuff though.

How about something seasonal? Right now a small personal cooler for going to the beach or lake is always nice, with a couple pockets for dry stuff. Or a pitcher for sweet tea or lemonade at those summer picnics...

Home stuff if always neat too, I cant tell you how much I love my little cheapo bank measuring tape, I use it all the time. You could use the home stuff for home equity loan marketing too if any of thats going on.

Lap dances.

How about giving gifts to people that have had their accounts for years and for being loyal. Guess thats too har for companies to do these days.

One of the best things I received was a beach towel. It was not a promo thing to open a new account but it is something I received free that has been used many times over the years. This could go along with Rae's idea of being seasonal. A cooler is nice too. If you do a pitcher maybe include a mix for sweet tea or lemonade. Same with the cooler, maybe include the ice pack or something a little extra making it more like a "gift basket".

Not a bad thought either. Definitely a different approach that doesn't happen.

Not sure what it is like at the CU you work for but they tend to be more personal than banks. You are a person with a name, not just an account number. On Tuesday, hubby went to pay off a loan at the CU I bank with (we have separate accounts). They asked him if he had found a job yet since had been unemployed since November 2008 (yes, he has a job now). He couldn't believe they remembered. It is this old-fashioned customer service that keeps me there not to mention the better rates I get on loans. The lower or non-existent fees help too. Just plain and simple service.

Erik is considering switching from a bank to a credit union (not mine) because of the better rates and lower fees on everything.

Worst gift is something cheesy that won't get used.

Along the lines of a toaster...Those single serving coffee machines that take the individual coffee "pods".

It seems like one of those cool things...that no one in their right mind would buy for themselves...but would make an elegant "bank gift".

Put one in the lobby, and the waft will fill the bank, encouraging people to want the machine...

This.

Gift cards to local business... you can work out a deal with them for discounted rates... less output for you, more business for them, and customer's get their 'prize'... plus you're helping local businesses, and everyone likes that.

You could also work with a company that specializes in service rewards/gifts/etc... Thorpe or Tharpe or something comes to mind. Basically you get a catalog of crap based on certain service levels and you choose what you want. My former employer did it for 3-year, 5-year, 10-year etc service awards... it was mostly crap, but you could find some nice things few and far between... I got a crap tool kit for my 3-year (great for in the house projects) and a watch for my 5-year.

Referral bonuses... Reward people not only for already having an account, but also for getting someone else to sign up! Take that $100 gift and split it two ways... $50 for a referral and $50 to the new account holder. Everybody wins!

Or a combination of the above...

Beer.

I'd sign up. :lol:


Seriously though, coolers, beach towels, wind breakers, inflatable pool floaty-chairs, and stuff along those lines tends to be pretty popular and fairly cheap.

Great ideas.

Yeah I'm sure she should work on that too.

Don't be hard on her though, she's only had this job for like 2 months TOPS. She's obviously got it because she tries to be in touch with the end user and knows everybody. Plus she's on the ball when it comes to her job. She does what she says she will, works hard, and is dedicated like no other.

The single serve coffee thing could be cool.

Dave you have been hanging with the ginger jew too much. It's effecting your brain.

I wasnt getting on her....*wink wink*. It just sucks to be with a company for years and they only want to dazzle new comers. Its with every company out there.

Best freebie: a lil brain from a stripper
Worst freebie: the clap from said stripper

You got one customer right here

I've never liked it when places offered some kind of gift, especially somewhere like a bank or CU. You are talking dealing with tons of money and I don't feel like being persuaded by a toaster or even an Ipod. I don't know too much about finance but I'm sure you could probably give away a free Ducati with a home purchase and still manage to put the screws to them and make a good profit. But people are idiots.

You could also do something like "open an account and we'll give $200 to the charity of your choice". Sounds like you care but I'm not so sure how much peopel would give a shit.

SE Michigan. Isn't that Detoit? Maybe offer a free 1 way ticket to anywhere if you open an account.

The random words in spam emails make more sense than this post.

Oh my goll. I am laughing my ass off at some of these...Ducati with a house/random words in spam email, STDs, lap dance...you guys are something else. :rofl:

Thanks for all the ideas. A lot of them we've done already, and you're right. People like cash, gift cards, I've worked with local businesses, and we've done the split cash between new and existing member thing. Last Christmas we gave back 2% of people's visa purchases- 1% went to charity; 1% went into the member's account. There's only so many times you can do stuff; or, people just don't care.

But I am getting some good ideas from you guys....beer would be great! I keep telling my boss we need to get mini-fridges for under our desks. :lol: So far no dice.

I'm probably doing a membership drive in the fall...like October or November. Would a basket of a couple coffee cups with hot cider packets and a gift card to an apple orchard be a dumb idea? I'm a chick, so I tend to think on the girlie side...

Budget: non-existant. Everything has been slashed down to fractions of what it used to be...economy, job loss, etc..nothing we all haven't heard already. However, I know you have to spend money to make money.

...and thank you for loving credit unions!! :D

Babe- thanks. you're a peach. :)

i cant hang with the jew anymore. he moved, and the ginger is always working :lol

Well its to be expected. Can't rely on either type.

How about don't charge 12 fuckin dollars a month to keep a 2nd checking account open unless the balance is above 500 bucks.

Fuck ya. Fight the machine! I've never been charged for anything at the banks I've used. Must be another crazy Cali thing.

Damn. I get charged $3 when I go under $100 in checking. My savings can be as little as $5 which is all it takes to open a savings at my CU.

She doesn't... it's a credit union! DUH

Not a crazy cali thing... a crazy bank thing.

Her CU doesn't have that either.

The big difference you have to watch for is some of the credit unions out there are trying to be big bank. Seems to be more common with your "federal" CU's than anything.

At least he's consistent.

Go to www.lovemycreditunion.org. U can find tons of them all over the place. You shouldn't be paying to have an account no matter how many you have.

How about working with the local newspaper to give subscriptions to customers who open an account?

Newspapers are DYING for subs and are always looking for creative ways to get them out there... They could give you ridiculously discounted rates like $0.25 Sundays or something... Open an account and get a sub... cheap and could drive business for everyone.

Gotta have sex with more than just yourself to get the STD

Just try to refrain from having the CU put their labels all over it. The jacket would be cool but they usually plaster the logo on it and....PFFFTTHT Try the coolers, specially for the summertime deal

I know people are stupid for gimmicks but how about sitting thm down and helping save or setup some kind of retirement plan. An ipod isnt going to spoon feed me when I am physically unable to work anymore.

Ooooh, thats a good idea. Maybe a free retirement session with an investment banker or something. Also a good way to drum up business for the investment banking side if you have one, tho sadly too few people would jump on an opportunity like this one.

That is a good idea but to get people to sit down you first need to get them IN THE DOOR.

People go out of their way for free shit, not for decent advice.

Hoochie mama bikini carwash... Seriously... Huge sudsy asses will get people through the door... especially in Detroit!

This is the issue. While I think Ranger is right this is closer to the truth.

hmm, Uma in a bikini washing my truck......I would definately stop by there...

U can get multiple gifts and do a wheel o fun.

Oooh! I like this one. Tnx!

Getting folks in the door is the biggest part. We do have free services with money management, credit reports, debt plans, etc...
We also have a prize wheel they can spin to win whatevr prize it lands on. There's a bunch of stuff on there.

Bikini car wash? I can see the logic in this but I am not volunteering myself, cause I would be the only 1 that would do it. No dice. Caveman: u helped fix the fence. Bring the truck over. :lol:

Hell yeah I will be over this evening. :dvrofl: