A Helping Hand

Visa USA sees big opportunities in small business. And it has crafted a national promotion strategy around the 23 million firms that fit that description. The credit card giant launched its first campaign in this market last year, and recently launched an expanded effort. It is now conducting a sweeps for which the big prize is $250,000 in cash, products and services. PROMO recently spoke with Howard DeBow, the company's vice president, promotion and loyalty marketing, about how it all gets done.

PROMO: Why would a small business be interested in aligning with Visa?

DeBow: Our research tells us small businesses are strapped for resources, strapped for people and strapped for services. We say, “We will provide you with the services to help you with all of your needs. We want to make sure we are providing an incentive to use the card.“ We want people to understand the value.

P: How does Visa stand out in the small business market?

D: The marketplace is very competitive. Understanding the needs of small businesses and providing flexible solutions and options helps us stand out from our competitors.

P: How and when did you develop a national promotion strategy for small business?

D: Visa overall has focused on small business for many years. But we did our first national promotion in this area last year. We tracked results and we saw success, which is why we are doing another one this year.

P: What's different about the 2007 version?

D: We're taking last year's promotion and putting it on steroids, making it bigger and broader. This promotion offers prizes like cash for capital, services from Microsoft, consulting services from StartupNation and computer equipment from Dell. We believe small businesses will see the value.

P: What's the goal?

D: To help our banks increase usage for the small business card and create awareness of Visa's service to small businesses and of the brand. There are so many small businesses out there — we think it will resonate with them. We identify small businesses as those with $25 million a year in sales or less and 100 employees or less, even though 75% are small proprietors with 10 or fewer employees.

P: How are you drawing small owners into the contest?

D: We will send out more than 4 million direct mail pieces and statement inserts to promote the sweepstakes. As a prizing package, we really target anybody within the small business lifestyle. We see a certain need wherever they are in their life cycle.

P: What are your top challenges in marketing to this segment?

D: Measuring the effectiveness of our marketing program is always challenging. We spent the last few years looking at our strategy for this and how to fine tune it. Another challenge is marketing to one market — specifically to the small business. In everything we do, it's all about segmenting, tailoring and messaging appropriately. The third challenge is making sure we can cut through the clutter. We want to make sure our message ties to our brand.

P: What's the underlying theme?

D: We look at small business as the hero. We want to help support those small businesses in their effort. That's why our promotional support gives them services they might need and our loyalty program provides relevant offers and discounts our Web site. Our goal is to make it easier for them.

P: How often do you do promotions?

D: At least once per year. This time, we are doing it around Small Business Month.

P: How crucial is loyalty in this market?

D: Loyalty is very important to Visa and our banks. Small businesses are very smart and they can determine the value of a good loyalty program. Holding on to that loyalty is important, so we always have to test and enhance what we are providing so it is relevant. There is loyalty saturation. You want to make sure your program stays relevant, and you want to make sure you brand stays top of mind.

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