Loyalty360 had the pleasure of speaking with John Sellers, Head of Rewards at Bank of America and 2024 Loyalty Expo Champion of Customer Loyalty honoree. Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program boasts 11 million members and leverages technology and engaged associates to provide personalized value. Mark Johnson, CEO of Loyalty360, discussed key perspectives on the customer loyalty experience with John.
Please provide us with a little background on your focus at Bank of America
My role is Head of Loyalty and Rewards. First, the head of our relationship rewards program, Preferred Rewards, with about 11 million members carrying $1.7 trillion in assets. We return about $4 billion back in client value annually. Second, I manage credit card rewards, overseeing about 50 million redemptions each year, giving back about $5 billion in client value. Lastly, is merchant rewards, offering card-linked promotions to 45 million eligible clients, providing approximately $30 million in rewards annually.
How does Bank of America meet the evolving needs and expectations of today’s customers?
Our purpose is to make our clients' financial lives better through our high-tech, high-touch strategy. From a high-tech perspective, it's all about personal convenience. 77% of our households are digitally active with over 58 million digital users logging in over a billion times each month. To complement that, we have this high-touch strategy, with 3,700 financial centers staffed with various specialists to address complex financial needs.
How does the customer loyalty program play into meeting these expectations?
The loyalty program reinforces our values and encourages our clients to do more business. Our Preferred Rewards members hold about 80% of our deposits. By offering tangible client value, we make relationships with these customers stronger and encourage further engagement.
In your opinion, what is the single biggest factor that influences a great customer experience?
Client value is key. Clients want rewards they can actually use - whether that’s saving money or accessing exclusive offers. And if clients feel like they're getting good value, they're going to do more business with us.
Transparency is also important. We make sure to remind clients of their rewards through statements, digital tools like “My Rewards,” year-end summaries, and quarterly dashboards to reinforce the value we provide.
I know you played soccer in college. Can you tell us a bit about that experience, and how that has translated into your work life?
I definitely enjoyed my college experience playing soccer. It was a big part of my life. Soccer taught me time management, preparation, and teamwork. Juggling a Division One sport with academics was a life lesson for me. In the workplace, I’ve carried those lessons forward, particularly in preparation, commitment, and working well with diverse personalities.
What was your first job after college?
I started as a credit underwriter at MBNA, a credit card bank, before moving into a management development program. This took me to all areas of the company and that's where I really started to enjoy what I was doing. Eventually Bank of America acquired MBNA and I'm still here.
What’s the best work advice you’ve been given?
How you think, is everything. Having a positive mindset, a positive, can-do attitude. Somebody that's optimistic. Glass is half full. It's certainly contagious. It's inspiring. That’s the most important piece of advice I ever got.
What life lessons have shaped your perspective?
My relationship with my dad. My dad was a successful business professional. His hard work, commitment, and loyalty helped shape me. Sports instilled preparation and commitment. I think being a husband and being married for 28 years and a father of three has taught me patience, compromise, and self-control. Really knowing what's important at the end of the day. Also, being a manager of people and learning to listen more. Learning how to communicate effectively with all types of individuals and the importance of building relationships. I think all those factors have helped shape me.
When you look at your career success, what are a couple of things you are most proud of?
I’m proud of our loyalty program. I've been building over the last 10 years and now it is one of the largest financial loyalty programs and a core part of our strategy.
SI also managed our credit card portfolio from a credit risk standpoint through the financial crises of 06/08. I'm pretty proud of the way that turned out. And I'm really proud of all the relationships and all the people I've met along the way. I think those are things that are going to last forever in my life.
If you could go back in time and change one thing about your life, what would that be and why?
I would have taken more risks, like moving to New York City or a large metropolitan area and getting ingrained into the work culture. I see my son in Manhattan and my daughter who's graduating from Saint Andrews in Scotland and heading to London. I'm really excited for them and the opportunities that they're taking on and I would have liked to have done that myself.
If you could bring one great change into the workplace—what would it be and why?
I would love to see more nimbleness, especially with technology. We’re a bank, we're highly regulated. We must operate a little bit differently than others, but I would love to be able to move quicker, more swiftly. I think we're getting better, but I think we have a ways to go.
Is there a book you like to recommend to your colleagues or the team at Bank of America?
I just finished Smart Brevity. I am recommending it to my kids, for sure. It's all about getting to the point, telling people what they need to know right away, telling them why it's important, and then giving them the option to go deeper. But it's not mandatory if they don't want to do it. That's really important. As leaders, we get more and more information. So, being able to synthesize and streamline that message is valuable.
We like to end these interviews with some words of wisdom for marketers and customer loyalty professionals who may be new to developing effective customer loyalty strategies and elevating the customer experience. What is the most important piece of advice you can give them?
Client value and research are key, but creating a measurement system is essential. Loyalty professionals must be able to measure success. We want to look at these things as investments and having that measurement system is important, so you can measure things like incrementality. You can use that to get buy-in from your organization.
You won some awards on the employee engagement side. You do a great job of getting the team involved. Some brands really struggle with this even if they have the metrics. Being able to socialize it internally and advocate within the team is a big challenge.
It's not just about client engagement. We give our associates Platinum tier access by waiving the $50,000 asset requirement if they open a Bank of America checking account. As a result, 97% of our eligible associates have enrolled in the program, and they can experience the program for themselves. They see the rich value they're receiving, and they can articulate that to the clients. It makes conversations with our clients just that more effective.
You are quite active within Loyalty360, what do you like about the community? What would you like to see more of?
We take away things from the Loyalty360 community every time we get together, or every time we're going to an event. We certainly love to hear all the best practices across the industry. Being able to socialize with other loyalty professionals is key. Building that network, having folks that you can go to and run things by is important. We find it very valuable and have gotten a lot out of it.
What question would you ask of someone else who's very senior running a customer logic programmer? Is there something that comes top of mind that you would like to know about another's program or process?
I really enjoy the innovation aspect of loyalty. Always thinking about what's next. I'm always interested in where people are taking their loyalty programs. What are they thinking three years ahead? Those are the questions I like to ask other leaders in loyalty.
--
Quick-fire* questions:
We ask that the interviewee limit answers to one-word or short phrase answers so that the video will remain under 60 seconds:
- What is your favorite word?
- What is your least favorite word?
- What excites you?
- What do you find tiresome?
- What motivates you when tackling challenges at Bank of America?
- What profession other than your current one would you like to attempt?
- What do you enjoy doing that you don’t get to do often?
- Who inspired you to become the person you are today?
- What do you typically think about at the end of the day?
- Game plan for the next day
- How do you want to be remembered by your friends and family?
- As a good person who got a lot of stuff done
*Inspired by the quick-fire portion of “Inside the Actors Studio.”
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. It was great talking to you and getting your thoughts on what it takes to create and shape a successful loyalty program. We appreciate you sharing your advice with our listeners and look forward to learning more from you in the future.