Torpago has recommended gift card incentives as one way for community banks to gather more detailed customer feedback. In its January 2024 customer experience guidance, the business credit card technology provider gives a $20 Amazon gift card as an example of a reward for completing a longer survey.

The proposed reward is intended to encourage participation in bank-run research. Torpago argues that targeted questions can reveal what customers value and where they encounter problems across branches, digital banking and other communication channels.

Its guidance distinguishes this feedback from high-level measures such as Net Promoter Score and customer satisfaction scores. Those measures can help identify areas requiring attention, the company says, but a focused survey is needed to understand the specific changes customers want. An internal preference for a new app, for example, does not establish that customers need the existing app replaced.

Torpago also recommends combining digital and physical interaction data at the customer level. Examples include website and app activity, emails, calls and branch visits. Segmenting those records can reveal where prospects abandon account applications or how customers who leave differ from those who remain. The article suggests investigating individual failure points before deciding on changes.

A third recommendation is to align marketing promises with the service a bank can deliver. Torpago uses a promise of premium support alongside limited branch-hours assistance as an example of expectations that may not match reality. It cites Zendesk research reporting that more than half of consumers would switch after one bad brand experience and 73% after several; these are consumer research findings, not Torpago customer retention results.

Torpago connects the guidance to its Powered By offering, which supplies infrastructure for community banks' business credit card programs, including mobile applications and spend management software.