Promoting the use of market accounts is an important added benefit for your customers. Features like online (or in an app) account funding, balance reminders, and transaction history provide customers with a convenient, speedy way to purchase the snacks they want from your micro market. Market accounts are easily accessible via a fingerprint, market card or a mobile app.

The Benefits of Account Adoption

For operators, the benefits of market accounts are a big boost for your bottom line. Fewer fees, more revenue, and higher customer engagement are the big reasons why market accounts are your friends. By advocating for market accounts, you’ll:

• Save money on credit card processing fees. Roughly half of all micro market purchases are made using a credit or debit card; the other half is purchased using market accounts. That means that half of all transactions are costing operators on a per-swipe basis. A quick look at the numbers tells the story.
  • Average credit card purchases (not including funding): $2.72
  • Average credit card funding at kiosk: $10.45

By driving account adoption as the primary payment method, operators can “pay one fee that covers four of their [customers] lunch breaks rather than paying a fee at each break separately,” said 365 Retail Market Business Analyst Erin Calkins in the What You Don’t Know About Account Funding Could Be Costing You Thousands of Dollars in Fees white paper.

• Consumers are more likely to purchase more at once when they are using a market account. They’re less protective of their funds when they use a fingerprint or app than if they were to use a debit/credit card or cash. That single sandwich purchase can easily turn into a full meal with a sandwich, chips and a drink.
• Market accounts are perfect for promotions. Offer a discount for customers that use their market account to make purchases or offer an incentive for creating and/or auto-funding the market account.

Premier Vending Services, a Canteen Franchise Group based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is no stranger to running incentive programs through My Market Account to their 20,000 users.

“We have several locations that use the market accounts as their exclusive incentive program. [It’s a] win/win,” said David Dimick, Chief Operations Officer at Premier Vending Services, “For example, funding an employee’s account when their goals are reached or safety protocols are followed. [It] is a very big bonus for our customers.”

So the big money question is: How do operators drive account adoption?

1. The big thing is to catch your customers early. Grand openings and re-openings will always remain a critical first step in converting per-swipe users in becoming market account users.

2. Establish a market account advocate at the locations; maybe someone in HR or the office manager who will use their market account and encourage others to use it as well. The Market Advocate will also help acclimate new employees the market and encourage them to create an account immediately, maybe even as a part of the onboarding process.

3. Incentives! People love “free” money. Offer a $5 credit for anyone who sets up auto-funding for the first time with a predetermined minimum balance. Preload one or two dollars to their account that they’ll only be able to access if they create an account within a few weeks of the market going live. Anything that you can do to create value and urgency will encourage reluctant users to adapt to new technology.

Market accounts are designed to make your customer’s market experience easier and make your business more efficient and profitable. It is absolutely critical to your bottom line to make market accounts the standard purchasing method for long-term success.

Ready to implement Market Accounts? 

Top 5 Reasons Why You Need Market Accounts 

Micro markets and Market Accounts (stored value accounts) go hand-in-hand! A stored value account is a prepaid account that consumers can fund either online or at the kiosk. Learn more about market accounts and the benefits that they bring to operators.

Also featured this month…

Why Well-Bean Coffee Matches Micro Market Deposits For Customers

Melissa Brown, president of Well-Bean Coffee in Wake Forest, NC came late to micro markets. Her passion was coffee, especially how it could help those in Nicaragua and other coffee growing companies. Micro markets are a different business with a different customer. However, when she finally took the leap, she saw the potential and has been growing fast, ensuring success partly by matching micro market customer contributions to their accounts up to $10. It’s how Brown makes it a worthwhile to the customer, and ultimate to her greater coffee business. Read more…