Diamond bank empowers, settles customers for 25yrs

By Princewill Ekwujuru
In times like this, when      economies are witnessing  downturn. Customers seek for alternative means to improve on their businesses. For this reason, Diamond bank embarked on a promo tagged savingsextra, Salary 4  life, to up her market  share and reward customer loyalty.

However, aside banks carrying out  deposit and lending   functions, they are  also expected to help bring customers business ideas to life.

When Diamond bank commenced the  campaign her intention  was to reward loyalty, at conclusion,  the campaign seems to have gone beyond mere reward, but has assumed the position of empowerment.

Beyond the reward, the bank’s intention was to make her depositors feel a sense of longing, in a nutshell , several of her customers who did not go home with cash reward carted home assorted gifts ranging such as Motorcycles, LCD Television Sets, Generators, Laptops and Air Conditioners.

The thrust of the promo was  two customers of the bank who emerged winners  in the promo which took place in Lagos.   Amadi Cordelia Oluchi, a customer from the Bank’s Nyannya branch, Abuja, and Babangida Mailafiya, a customer from the Bank’s Doma Road, Lafia, Nassarawa State emerged the first and second winners.

The two are expected to earn N100, 000 thousand Naira monthly for the next twenty years respectively. In the same vein, 10 other customers won N500, 000 cash each.

Addressing newsmen, Garry Marsh, Head Retail Banking  said the campaign has been a resounding success, and  the objectives behind the campaign achieved. “We are glad that we have come this far in the campaign.

In the first phase of the campaign, we succeeded in transforming the lives of many people in such a manner that will remain evergreen in theirs minds for the rest of their lives, and we hope to achieve the same thing in this second season of the campaign. This is the second draw in the second season and we are already doing wonderful things in the lives of our customers. We intend to keep the good work up, as we continue to deliver top quality service to our customers,” he stated

In addition, John Anyanwu, an auditor from KPMG, who was there to oversee all the proceedings at the draw, stated that since the inception of the draw in 2008, Diamond Bank had remained consistent with the outlined rules and guidelines for the draw.

It could be recalled that in January, 2009, Mr. James Umaru Mbugadu, a civil servant and Lafia Doma Road customer of the Bank became the first Nigeria to win N50m at once in a customer reward scheme.

Since the presentation of the Cheque to him in a well attended ceremony by top government dignitaries, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Lafia, Nassarawa State, the Bank’s Savingsxtra account has been swelling up, resulting to greater customer confidence in the Brand.

Subsequently, in July 2009, Miss Habiba, a 23 year old 100 level undergraduate of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State and a customer of Diamond Bank’s Maiduguri, Shehu Laminu Way branch, becomes the second.
On his Capacity as the  Regional Manager-South East, Mr. Charles Nkata, had explained that the idea behind the Savingsxtra promo is to encourage Nigerians to develop a culture of saving for the rainy day which could also be used for investments.

“It’s the only way we can secure our future. What one can achieve with money well saved cannot be overemphasized. This promotion is all about appreciating our customers and also saying thank you to all of them for their loyalty.

We would like to use this opportunity to assure all our customers that this campaign has come to stay,” he stated.
On the gain for the banks, feelers from the bank’s branches show a significant leap in the number of customers showing more interest in either opening account or ensuring that the minimum balance of N10,000 was left in their respective account with the hope of emerging the winner, a reliable source said.

It was stated that the draw is in fulfillment of the Bank’s promise of giving back to the society by creating wealth among its customers. The Bank had earmarked N200million for this exercise to be given out in one year and the N50m half year prize goes down as the biggest ever cash prize given out by any company in the history of consumer rewards in Nigeria.

The prize draw is an additional benefit of owning a savings account with Diamond Bank as all previous features, including interests; terms and conditions of the existing accounts remain unchanged.

The new reward system may have expresses Diamond Bank’s commitment to enhancing the life style of its customers and the Bank’s resolve to rewarding customer loyalty. The Bank has consistently rolled out creative and innovative products and services with positive effects on customer experience. |

The Bank recently lunched the Diamond Life Campaign, a multi-faceted bundle of retail banking products which focuses on addressing the specific needs of its diverse customer based.