The Lens - Ch 3: More than just 'CRED'its

Credit card bills had been a treacherous nightmare for most Indians; for the sheer fact that missing a deadline even by day meant paying a hefty fine. But this was a sweet risk when compared to the cashbacks on online payments, discounts on online and offline purchases, complimentary lounges and much more. But then CRED came into the fold, a brand that made this deal more enticing with automatic payment reminders and getting more rewards to pay the bills. And has it been a game changer for all the consumers taking them to the platform in a split second.

CRED, founded by Kunal Shah has showcased an exceptional market penetration. Founded in 2018, the company is now valued at close to $2.2 Billion with 10 Million+ downloads on Google Playstore and an active user base that constituted to approximately 22% of all credit card consumers in India. But what did actually made users to connect with CRED as a consumer? What made it so UNIQUE?

1.     Making it Exclusive:

Remember the club in your city which was only open for members. CRED is that national level club which has used this very idea to filter its users. As per the company policy, only credit card holders with a CRED score of more than 750 will be admitted to the platform. This feeling of being part of a platform which is not open to all provides a feeling of exclusivity to both the user and the platform.

Even the ad campaigns by CRED showing celebrities like Madhuri Dixit, Govinda, Alka Yagnik to audition for the brand ambassador of CRED and getting rejected was a striker move to showcase how the platform is neutral to anything apart from your CRED score. Making sure the customer feels special about his on boarding on the app is making it more special to the user and share this with their friends and family. Talk about Word of Mouth!

2.  Complimentary Rewards:

Who doesn’t like something extra? Answer is No one. For years brands have been enticing us with marketing campaigns where we get a little something more with our purchases. The accessories you got complimentary with your last vehicle, the one month free subscription with your recharge and so on. But CRED gave us something more. Rather than a onetime reward, they have created a structure of continuous rewards so that you keep coming back. What makes it more lucrative is that you don’t do anything extra to get it. Not even a call or email to the customer care, no extra form Updation. On the contrary, they remind you to pay your bills. Now that’s icing on the cake like no other.

The product identification and marketing approach by CRED is a unique amalgamation of solving a problem and capturing the customer’s attention by understanding them better. There are many more features that are incorporated into the platform such as a spend analyzer to help you better understand your spending pattern and make adjustments accordingly.

Solving a problem for your consumer is the first step towards delivering a successful product or service; but what made CRED different is that it went into the shoes of the customer to better understand what would trigger the sub conscious brain of its target audience. This is what even Nobel Laurate Daniel Kahneman (Economist and Psychologist) has mentioned in his book, “Thinking Fast and Slow”. He mentions that engaging both the rational or logical and the emotional centre of our brain makes the person more susceptible to the idea. And that is what CRED has been able to achieve.