• by Tanya Gazdik , April 24, 2014

Nine out of 10 CMOs who have used card-linked marketing experienced revenue lift from a program, according to research from Bank of America and The CMO Club. The poll reveals that 98% of CMOs deem card-linked marketing an effective solution for reaching their target audience.

Nearly half (48%) believe card-linked marketing is more effective or comparable to targeted social media advertising, while 72% rank it higher or comparable to store branded gift cards.

However, these online and mobile cash-back deals programs are not yet fully understood. The poll indicates 78% of CMOs say they know what card-linked marketing is, but more than half (62%) have never implemented a program.

Of those who have never used it, 53% say they don’t know how it works and one in three (34%) admit that they are unsure of its effectiveness. which suggests that many marketers are missing a key opportunity to connect with and grow their customer base.

The survey, which polled CMOs on their preferences and marketing program needs, found that 96% percent of CMOs are planning to use card-linked marketing in future campaigns.

Bank of America’s BankAmeriDeals offers benefits to customers, using card-linked marketing to make it easier for the consumer to earn cash back while driving more engagement for the merchant through careful targeting, says Jason Blackhurst, senior vice president and emerging capabilities executive at Bank of America.

“However, our new survey data underscores that CMOs understand that targeting and customer insights are critical, but very few turn to card-linked marketing to obtain this kind of precision,” Blackhurst says in a release. 

Program innovations have gone beyond streamlined redemption at the point-of-sale to not only address what CMOs value in a marketing program, but what they need to be successful in customer loyalty and engagement, said Pete Krainik, founder of The CMO Club, a membership organization that brings together more than 850 heads of marketing.

Seventy-five percent of CMOs say targeting and customer insights (purchase history, frequency, location, spend) are the most crucial aspectsto a marketing program’s success. At the same time, 44% said that the task of targeting and reaching the right consumers also ranked as the most difficult aspects, while 23% said measurement was among their greatest challenge.

Respondents noted that card-linked marketing helped meet other marketing objectives: 64% said it drove customer loyalty, 54% said it generated repeat sales, 48% said it drove store traffic, 44% said it helped with brand recognition and 40% said it introduced new customers.

The BankAmeriDeals/CMO Club poll on card-linked marketing was conducted by The CMO Club on behalf of Bank of America in February 2014. The study was conducted online and used a voluntary sample composed of more than 200 CMOs, vice presidents and other lead executives practicing marketing. Full results can be found online.