Does the membership system work?
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “Unicorn Finance” (ID: Uni-fin), author Jiang Xubo.
“Membership” as an important model of business operations, once in retail, e-commerce Many industries have tried and tested. Nowadays, the trend of consumer finance companies introducing membership is becoming more and more obvious.
Unicorn Finance (WeChat: uni-fin) Recently found that the licensed consumer finance company, Haier Consumer Finance, Zhaolian Consumer Finance has introduced the “membership” model, and immediately consumer finance is also Try a membership product. The non-licensed gold-saving institutions such as installment music and 360 loan slips have also launched similar membership services.
The company has set a hot member
The name of the member service launched by Haier Consumer Finance is “Black Card Member”. In terms of tariffs, Haier Consumer Finance APP page shows that the current price of black card members is 99 yuan / half a year, and black card members can save 608 yuan for the whole year.
Black card members are exclusive member benefits provided by third parties, and can enjoy 50% off call charges, 40% off video VIP, 20% off movies, Starbucks and other big-name coffee reduction coupons, take-away coupons, oral care offers Purchase six exclusive rights. In addition to paying members, Haier Consumer Finance has also launched a variety of free benefits for registered users, covering food, housing, travel, film and other aspects, such as VIP reading cards, scenic discount coupons and so on.
(Source: Haier Consumer Finance APP)
The membership system launched by Zhaolian Consumer Finance is a way to let users use products frequently.Accumulate points and enjoy preferential interest rates such as interest rate cuts.
The Zhaolian Financial APP shows that users can become members after registration.
And the membership level of Zhaolian Consumer Finance is divided into five levels, and the new registered user level is LV1. When the user logs in every day, uses the borrowed products and repays on time, they can accumulate points. Points can be redeemed for interest-free coupons for loans, repayment coupons, and coupons for online mall purchases.
(Source: Zhaolian Financial APP)
It is worth mentioning that consumer finance is also testing the membership system. According to public information, Amway’s app for Consumer Finance has recently launched a new product of membership-based membership. The membership includes interest relief, entertainment privileges, shopping privileges, and exclusive offers. Immediately on consumer finance, the company said that the member product is currently in the testing stage, and the specific online time is not fixed.
In addition to licensed consumer finance companies, non-licensed institutions are also implementing membership. For example, 360 Loan has launched a member of the Lie-Silver Group, and the Lexin Group has introduced a paid membership business Le Black Card. Taking Le Black Card as an example, after the user becomes a music stage member, he can enjoy 8 privilege of 15% off loan, credit card discount, and member price.
Compared with the various consumer products, the biggest difference is the difference in the way of tariffs. Haier Consumers, 360 Loan, and other members of many gold-removing companies need to spend money to buy, and their membership rights are jointly launched by the company and third parties; and users of Zhaolian Consumer Finance can become members after registration, and All preferential benefits are earned through the redemption of points earned by the user.
“Membership” is a sticky weapon?
As for the introduction of membership in the company, Haier Consumer Finance has publicly stated that on the one hand, the need for brand and platform upgrades is in line with Haier’s consumer finance development strategy, and on the other hand, after users have grown to 10 million scales, Better serve the needs of member users.
Analysys Zhang Kai analyzed, “With the increasing cost of customer acquisition for the entire industry, more and more companies are beginning to focus on the fine-grained operations of existing users. On the one hand, membership can help companies better retain users, increase the user stickiness of existing users, and help companies get more revenue.”
One product operator told Unicorn Finance that at present, there are mainly three types of consumer finance companies’ access channels, namely their own APP, their own WeChat public account, and online channels for third-party cooperation. In the era of mobile Internet, the cost of diversion is very high. Some third-party operators can actually obtain some effective traffic, but the profit share proposed by the partners is also high, and this part of the cost is rising rapidly.
In addition, compared with commercial banks, consumer finance companies are less well-known, and most adopt pure online mode, and fewer offline outlets. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain customers, passers-by, and short retention period. This is consumer finance. The problems that companies face when they conduct online business,” said the above.
Chen Wen, deputy director of the Center for Inclusive Finance and Intelligent Finance at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, told Unicorn Finance that the introduction of membership in the company will enhance the user’s stickiness while also lowering the interest rate of lending. Lending rate compliance issues. In addition, it is also possible to achieve a combination of industry and finance, and promote consumption and scene binding, because there may be some activities such as shopping discounts, so that e-commerce business can also be developed.
Industry:There may be threshold effects
Acquiring customers through membership and increasing user retention are important marketing tools for many companies, and there are many successful cases in e-commerce, retail, travel, social and other fields.
Public information shows that Alibaba’s 88VIP is defined as “No. 1 Project”, covering more than 600 million users of the EMI, and more than 500 million users of Ali Entertainment;Jingdong is based on Jingdong Plus members create 10 million paid members;Food production and sales company Dingxin Group also launched a family-owned card, easily sitting on 7 million paid members.
But for the company that is involved in the membership system, is it an effective way to conduct membership business and increase user retention?
Zhang Kai believes that Internet companies such as Tmall, Jingdong, Lexin, and Aiqiyi have already withdrawn from the corresponding member services. From the current situation, many members’ member services have achieved good results. However, the implementation effect of similar membership services in the consumer finance industry still needs to be verified by the market.
“Membership does enhance the user’s stickiness, but it can also increase the difficulty of getting a customer, because a one-time fee can create a threshold effect.” Chen Wen said.
Some people are worried that the behavior of consumer finance to collect membership fees is not a disguised charge. The industry believes that some cash credit institutions have also tried this so-called membership system. At that time, from some regulatory perspectives, it was alsoSimilar phenomena have been used to indicate whether the interest rate has been broken through the membership fee. For some of the gold companies, related doubts will also exist.
“These financial companies need to prove that I introduced this membership system, not to raise interest rates in disguise, or to lower the interest rate on my single loan, but to provide these members with a loan. The added value, which offsets the concerns of the company for the member business of the company.” Chen Wenru is the way.