SHB and the strategy of touching customers' emotions

With a few taps on the SHB SAHA app, customers can play games and redeem rewards. Behind this seemingly simple game is actually a strategy that SHB hopes to understand and connect with customers better.

Games on banking apps help increase customers' emotions towards the bank - Photo: SHB

Joy of connection in every 'touch'

After dinner, Thu Huong (35 years old, Hanoi ) and her husband always spend about 30 minutes playing with their child. All day long, they both go to work, baby Na goes to daycare, and in the evening, her grandparents pick her up. There are days when the couple gets home from work, the child is already fast asleep.

So recently, instead of turning on the TV, going on Youtube or letting the children play with toys, the whole family has a new joy, which is to open the phone together, go to the SHB SAHA app to compete in the "SAHA Alliance" and exchange gifts. Not only is it an application specializing in financial transactions, the SHB SAHA app has become an entertainment tool for everyone.

With simple gameplay, familiar vivid images, catchy music and short duration, SAHA Alliance makes little Na extremely excited.

Ms. Huong and her husband did not expect that a small game on electronic banking would bring such happy, close and connected moments to the whole family.

"Instead of downloading random games online, I always choose games in the SHB SAHA app because they are suitable for children and also have gifts. Every time I win a prize, my child screams with joy as if he had received a new toy. The whole family is happy because of that, helping to bond much more," Ms. Huong happily recounted.

Not only in the family, "SAHA Alliance" also becomes the "glue" that binds colleagues together at work.

Ms. Anh Duong (25 years old), an office worker in Hanoi, shared that for many days now, her group has been used to opening the game app during lunch break to relieve stress. At first, only one person won a gift and showed off in the group chat, but then "activated" the whole team to compete. One day, right after lunch, many people were excitedly showing off the vouchers they won, making the atmosphere much more exciting.

Every morning when they met in the elevator or the cafeteria, in addition to talking about work, Anh Duong said that everyone in the group often asked each other about their "achievements" in the game. It was these interactions and small stories about the game that created a connection between colleagues.

Global strategy of modern banking

According to marketing experts, the small joys of games are not just for entertainment. In the world, "Gamification" - or game-making - is becoming a soft strategy applied by many large banks such as DBS (Singapore), Commonwealth (Australia), Bank of America (USA)... to increase interaction, enhance experience and retain customers in the digital age.

With younger generations like Gen Z and Gen Alpha expecting more personalized experiences, adding fun and rewards to financial apps is a smart way to make banking more personal – not just a place to do business, but a part of everyday life.

In Vietnam, many banks and fintechs are using gamification as a way to "soften" the digital journey. Through holiday games, lucky draws or gift-receiving missions, they increase interaction and make their brand more effective.

However, not stopping at seasonal programs, SHB is one of the few banks that builds gamification as a long-term marketing strategy.

From "Journey from Heart to Vision" in 2023, "Hunting for Free Gifts with Truly Free" in 2024, to now "SAHA Alliance", SHB has integrated game elements directly into the customer's digital journey, aiming to digitize not only services but also emotions. Every time a customer opens the app, it is not only to transact but also to enjoy and connect.

With "SAHA Alliance", customers only need to open an account, open a card, borrow money, overdraft, save money, make online transactions, maintain an average balance or simply log in to the application every day. Players will be credited with turns and have the opportunity to "bring home" many great gifts.

Gifts include 2 iPhone 16 Pro Max, 8 domestic and international travel vouchers, 120,000 cash prizes, more than 35,000 SHB Rewards points, 20,000 phone top-up vouchers and Gotit.

In particular, regardless of whether they are long-time customers or new users of the app, the first 5 people to collect all 12 mascots will equally share the prize worth 300 million VND (equivalent to 60 million VND/person). In case the program ends without enough 5 people completing it, the entire prize will still be divided equally among those who have collected the entire set of mascots.

SHB representative said that for SHB, gamification is a form of innovation in digital financial transaction experience. Moreover, this is also the way SHB shows its commitment to accompany customers in every smallest interaction with understanding, creativity and closer every day.

Currently, "SAHA Alliance" has recorded many impressive results with millions of program participants, and tens of millions of plays after implementation.

In particular, 2 customers have completed the collection of all 12 mascots, and will definitely receive a prize from the prize pool of 300 million VND. In addition, 1 customer won an iPhone and 1 customer received a travel voucher.

These results show that gamification strategy has brought new experiences to users. At the same time, it helps increase brand recognition, connect emotionally with customers on social networks, thereby increasing loyalty and love for the bank.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/shb-va-chien-luoc-cham-vao-cam-xuc-cua-khach-hang-20250725145456061.htm