2022 Silver Customer Journey

Agency: CHS

Client: HSBC UK

Campaign Name: Creating a personalised onboarding experience for new HSBC UK current account customers

Campaign Overview

HSBC UK wanted to turn its onboarding customer journey into a best-in-class programme to inspire loyalty, by demonstrating the world of opportunities at people’s fingertips.

Strategy

For the new customer journey, the bank wanted to stay relevant at all times. Frequency, segmentation and channel selection were key to create an impactful and long-lasting approach.

The aim was to encourage activation of cards, increase the number of primary-banked customers, improve engagement with digital banking services, and inspire customer loyalty overall.

The three-month onboarding journey needed a sense of progression, leading to the creation of three core stages: Welcome, with a warm hello, information and next steps; Product Set-Up, card activation details and reminder to change online payment details; and Digital Adoption, encouraging take-up of online banking services.

Creativity

From carefully crafted subject lines to dynamic visuals, the campaign creative encouraged customers to take action at every point along the journey. Using a warm and welcoming tone of voice, CHS produced emails and visuals that would make new customers feel at home from day one.

Emails were tailored for a specific audience, including images and copy that would resonate with each area. During the three-month journey, the bank revealed opportunities and information to help customers maximise use of their account.

The communications gave people a sense of progression and building towards a better financial future, covering everything from saving to investing.

Results

HSBC UK says customers were given a superior onboarding journey, with the warmest of welcomes that also kept them interested by providing trigger information and opportunities at the right moments.

The bank saw a big drop in the average unsubscribe rate of emails and an increase in its average open rate - higher than the industry standard.

The number of customers using HSBC UK as their main account increased by a big margin. Active use of accounts also rose, along with the amount of customers logging on to HSBC UK's digital platforms.

The Team

CHS - Chris Southgate, Managing Director - Amy Ratcliffe, Planning Director - Rachel Burke, Senior Account Manager - Isabel O'Brien, Senior Account Manager - Mike Guppy, Creative Lead - Paul Kimber, Artworker - Martin Brackstone, Copywriter

HSBC UK - Courtney Kosar, Marketing Manager - Everyday Banking - Ruchi Mehra, Senior Marketing Manager - Current Accounts, Wealth and Insurance