Success case: “GiroLive” value-added account strategy of Sparkasse Osnabrück

Sparkasse Osnabrück introduced value-added accounts – for the first time in September 2002 – with the aim of achieving a higher willingness to pay, greater customer loyalty and additional commission income.

Over the years, Mehrwerk has worked closely with Sparkasse Osnabrück to develop and implement a value-added account strategy with the value-added account models GiroLive Komfort and GiroLive Premium as well as optional add-on packages.

Sparkasse Osnabrück has selected extensive value-added packages for both accounts via the Mehrwerk value-added platform, which are optimally tailored to the region and fulfill the wishes of every customer. Depending on the model selected, account holders have a wide range of services at their disposal: in addition to traditional financial services such as credit cards, there are savings offers from over 120 regional cooperation partners locally or with RegioCashback, cashback in over 1,300 online stores, discounts and insurance benefits for ticket and travel bookings, as well as unusual and useful services such as emergency assistance for tradesmen and the door-opening emergency service. All these services are linked to one of the two account models .

“The strategy of focusing on added value so early on has absolutely paid off,” says Johannes Hartig, CEO of Sparkasse Osnabrück. “GiroLive secures us high earnings and customer loyalty – we set ourselves apartfrom the competition early on by offering added value.”

Indicatively, banks pay a fee of around 5-10% of the account price for a bundle of additional services, depending on the number and selection of individual services.

This is how good cross-selling works – more income through commissions. And with Mehrwerk you can do even more …

Independently of the value-added accounts, customers of Sparkasse Osnabrück were sold the Garantie+ product, a warranty extension for all household electrical appliances, as part of an outbound campaign online and by telephone from 2021. The particular advantages were that the appliances did not have to be registered and there was no deductible. With around 33,000 telephone customer contacts, more than 8,000 value-added customers initially decided to “test” the product free of charge for three months. At the end of this trial period, half of these customers extended the product for a fee. The savings bank can not only look forward to additional income in the form of portfolio commissions of around EUR 20.00 per year and customer. It also offers its customers further added value, which contributes directly to customer loyalty when the product is taken out. Sparkasse Osnabrück has not made any investments.

Value-added communication across all channels

“For value-added accounts to be successful, it is essential that the customer knows and uses the services, so that the additional services are tangible for them in the form of discounts and experiences – this is how we achieve customer loyalty,” says Nancy Plaßmann, Head of Private Customers. So the magic word is activation. How do I motivate the customer to make use of services?

Customers want things to be made easy for them. Of course, this also applies to the use of value-added services. Only if access and use are easy will services actually be used and lead to increased loyalty to the account and the bank.

At Sparkasse Osnabrück, customers therefore have access to both a comprehensive web portal and a service center that is available 24/7. This gives them maximum flexibility in terms of time and place when using value-added services.

Clear communication and strong marketing are necessary so that customers know which value-added services are available to them. Customers will only be satisfied in the end if they know exactly what they need to do and when in order to take full advantage of the benefits.

A few days after signing up for the package, new value-added account holders at Sparkasse Osnabrück receive a welcome letter and a voucher code that invites them to use the services in the GiroLive portal. They also receive a print magazine twice a year informing them about value-added services, current offers, exciting background reports and financial topics. Best of all, the magazine is also available as an ePaper and can be read conveniently on the move. To ensure that customers do not miss out on any new discounts or benefits, they are regularly informed about current promotions and new value-added services via newsletters and the social media channels Facebook and Instagram. As part of campaigns, for example, flyers, postcards or letters are sent out with interesting offers relating to the value-added world of Sparkasse Osnabrück. And anyone who withdraws money at a branch or has a personal appointment with their customer advisor will also find materials about the GiroLive Komfort and GiroLive Premium value-added accounts at the POS. It is the interplay of these many different channels and media that characterizes successful value-added marketing.

GiroLive is established as a term among people in the city and district and is perceived as an independent brand of Sparkasse Osnabrück,” says board member Nancy Plaßmann. This is part of the recipe for success and is also extremely relevant for attracting further regional partners.

Conclusion of a successful value-added account strategy

Over 90,000 customers in the city of Osnabrück and parts of the Osnabrück district were successfully transferred to a value-added account model. The total share of value-added accounts in the Sparkasse’s portfolio of priced current accounts is currently more than 60 %. In the private customer market, Sparkasse Osnabrück has a market share of 55% in its business area.

The figures show that a confident pricing strategy (sales price per month: EUR 9.90 for GiroLive Komfort and EUR 14.90 for GiroLive Premium) can be achieved with higher customer retention (only 3-4% churn rate for value-added accounts; in comparison, 8-9% churn rate for non value-added accounts) using the tools of value-added marketing.

“With the value-added account instrument, we achieve above-average customer loyalty in the private customer market. This secures our high market share. GiroLive and our associated regional network set our account apart from the competition. It also enables us to generate higher payment transaction income,” summarizes Nancy Plaßmann, Head of Private Customers.

The Osnabrück Savings Bank

Sparkasse Osnabrück is the fourth largest savings bank in the state of Lower Saxony and is based in Osnabrück. Its business area covers the independent city of Osnabrück and parts of the district of Osnabrück. With total assets of around EUR 8.5 million in the 2021 financial year, the savings bank currently has 44 locations and employs 1,131 people (as of 2021).

Here you can access the value-added accounts of Sparkasse Osnabrück: www.girolive.de