Financial Services Marketing: A Guide for 2024

Financial Services Marketing Strategies, Trends and Examples for 2024

Navigating the rough waters of financial services marketing can feel like walking a tightrope. On one side, you’re battling competitors for the same customers. On the other, you’re grappling with strict regulations. Add to that the high cost of acquiring new customers – an average of $160 per lead.

On top of this, finance and banking firms dedicate about 14% of their budget to digital marketing. This highlights the importance of converting these costly leads into loyal customers.

But winning them over is only half the challenge of marketing. Keeping these digitally-savvy clients from being lured away by big banks and Fintech firms is another task altogether.

In short, effective marketing can help you reach your targets more efficiently regardless of your goals or services.

What is Financial Services Marketing?

Financial services marketing refers to companies’ strategies to promote financial products and services within the banking and finance sectors.

When creating a financial services marketing strategy, pay close attention to these main points:

• • Determine who your potential customers are and what they want
  • Look at what similar businesses are doing and find ways to stand out
  • Show what makes your services unique
  • Decide where you’ll promote your services, like on social media or via email
  • Make content that helps your customers and builds trust in your brand
  • Use metrics to see if your strategy is working and make necessary changes

As a result, marketing helps you grow your brand, reach a targeted market, and get ahead of your competitors. It’s essential that every business understands the benefits of marketing and the strategies that can help attract more customers.

 

1. Define your Target Audience

Before you start, getting to know your target audience is vital. Your financial services firm must identify groups based on their motivations, behaviours, and important characteristics.

The process can begin with broad categories such as gender or education level, and those holding mortgages. Then, refine these categories to achieve a more detailed understanding of your target audience.

For instance, young tech-savvy adults might seek a separate bank account from their parent’s choice. Or, maybe they’re interested in dipping their toes into the investment world. Above all, precision is crucial when determining your target audience.

Moreover, young adults in their 20s or 30s might seek financial services to help navigate major life milestones. For example, young adults are interesting more than likely in buying their first home or starting a family. As for older customers, they’ll be counting on your expertise as they approach retirement.

In short, understanding who your ideal customer is pivotal for any business’s future growth. It also assists in avoiding making ambiguous decisions within your marketing efforts. As a result, these vague statements could potentially drive away customers, possibly steering them towards your competitors.

By defining your target audience, you will boost business growth and customer loyalty.

2. Personalisation

Personalised marketing uses data to create brand messages that match each customer’s interests and habits. As a result, this makes customers feel the message is specially made for them.

Almost all top marketers, 90% of them, agree that personalisation plays a significant role in boosting a business’s profits.

Notably, customers are likelier to do business with you when they feel unique and catered to. Almost 70% of customers like personalised services, as long as it’s based on information they’ve given your business willingly.

So, knowing an audience segment’s wants and pain points is a great start for personal targeted messaging.

Here are tactics to make your audience feel unique:

• Find ways to keep your audience interested
• Suggest services or products that match their needs, likes, and previous purchases
• Tailor your approach based on where they live
• Make an emotional connection
• Show your unique perspective clearly
• Speak in a way the audience understands
• Use the method of identifying a problem, causing concern, then offering a solution
• Tell the audience what they need to know

By making your communications personal, you can make each one feel like they’re not just another face in the crowd. In short, making your brand feel human personal to each customer is essential for marketing of financial services.

3. Content Marketing

Marketing your finance company calls for a strong content strategy. Research highlights the popularity of content marketing among both B2B and B2C marketers. Specifically, 73% of B2B and 70% of B2C marketers leverage content as a critical part of their strategies. This means that most marketers understand the impact of delivering engaging and relevant content to their audiences.

However, your content must add value to the consumer. While the concept of ‘valuable content’ may differ across industries, in financial services, it means content that educates your audience.

Think about it:

• • At what age should someone start to save for retirement?
  • What money should they have set aside before they can think about a deposit on a house?
  • How can they spot promising investment opportunities?

Creating content that provides clear, helpful answers to these and other relevant questions can guide your customers to a point where they’re ready to make contact.

Here are some strategies you can employ:

• • Craft concise yet informative videos to enlighten your users. Distribute these educational resources across all pertinent platforms to extend your reach and improve conversion rates
  • Develop timeless content that bolsters your brand’s credibility. By doing so, your blog posts could evolve into a reliable hub for individuals seeking financial advice
  • With people’s daily time on their mobile devices, ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is essential. Prioritise this aspect to provide a seamless and convenient user digital experience

4. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO is an integral part of marketing in any industry. Your company’s online presence can be significantly improved with effective SEO strategies. In short, a well-ranked website is essential for driving more traffic and generating leads.

Did you know that a significant chunk of our online journeys – about 68% – kicks off with a search engine? This is especially relevant in financial services, where consumers often seek reliable and quick information.

Moreover, 60% of marketers consider inbound strategies, like SEO and blogging, as their top source for high-quality leads.

This shows the power of content and search engines in connecting with potential customers, especially in the financial services industry.

5. Email Marketing

Consider email as your courier, hand-delivering updates about the latest products, services, and significant company news straight to your customers’ inboxes. Thanks to email automation, you can schedule these updates to land immediately, ensuring your messages are read when your audience is most open to them.

Moreover, every month, one or two people find something they love in an email and decide to buy it. Yes, half the people shop from their inbox at least once a month!

But the benefits of email go beyond just keeping customers in the loop. It’s a powerful tool for nurturing leads and driving conversions. Maintaining this consistent line of communication can build more robust engagement and loyalty among your new customers, boosting their chances of staying with you. Not to mention, it’s an effective way to keep your long-term customers feeling valued and connected.

6. Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)

CRO is a marketing strategy used to boost the number of users who complete a specific website action. These actions could range from initiating a financial transaction, enrolling for a financial service, filling out an application form, or clicking a link for further information.

For instance, Bank of America strategically organises their information based on the type of account and customer.

Small business customers are first presented with Checking and Savings, followed by a direction towards Business Services.

Bank of America employs this method of navigation and call-to-action (CTA) buttons to expedite the delivery of pertinent information. Small business owners can swiftly navigate to the most relevant sections of their accounts by prioritising the link to Business Services over Credit Cards.

When experimenting with these navigational links, analysing past customer behaviour is beneficial. This includes observing which areas of your website or app attract the most traffic from various landing pages.

This case study highlights the power of conversion rate optimisation in the financial services industry. By continuously testing and optimising its user experience, Bank of America was able to drive more conversions and increase its revenue.

7. Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Once you’ve pinpointed your target audience, the next step is to reach out to them and encourage them to visit your website. PPC ads have emerged as a popular choice for many businesses. On average, paid advertisements can yield a return on investment (ROI) of 200%.

In this advertising model, you pay for each click, but the influx of traffic, leads, and potential sales these campaigns generate make it a worthy investment. The beauty of PPC ads is that they can be tailored to fit your objectives, allowing you to choose the ad type and specify the demographics, geographics, and psychographics of the users who will see it.

And don’t worry about costs spiralling out of control – sensible budgeting ensures PPC ads remain affordable, something that financial sector experts like you should excel at!

8. Social Media Marketing

With a whopping 4.5 billion active users, social media platforms are perfect for reaching a diverse audience. Surprisingly, 49% of consumers find their ideal product through targeted ads, while 40% discover it via a brand’s organic post.

But mastering social media can be challenging, especially when your posts need to hit the mark despite having a large following. The secret often lies in the quality and relevance of your content.

Start by getting to know your audience’s content likes and their platforms. You can start Instagram, a hit for visuals, while WhatsApp or Telegram are go-tos for conversation. Tailor or repurpose your content to fit these preferences and distribute it on the right platforms. As a result, this strategic move can considerably boost your social media engagement.

There are several strategies you can adopt to propel your social media engagement further:

• • Collaborate with influencers who resonate with your brand ideology to tap into their follower base
  • Leverage paid advertising for instant visibility and targeted reach
  • Utilise social listening tools to understand consumer needs, desires, and conversations about your brand
  • Conduct polls and surveys to gain a comprehensive understanding of your audience’s preferences
  • Showcase customer testimonials as tangible social proof of your brand’s credibility, products, and services

9. Automation and Data

Finance is swimming in a sea of data; sometimes, knowing how to make the most of it can take time. But thanks to new customer experience platforms and automation tools, using this data to boost your strategy has become simpler than ever.

Think of big data as your secret weapon – it can reveal insights like who might be saving for a big purchase and could benefit from a pre-approved loan. It can help you get ahead of the game by offering services before they’re even needed, targeting customers who might appreciate extra attention or digital financial know-how, and even cutting down on the need for customer service.

Take HSBC as an example. They’ve welcomed automation with open arms, using AI to make their operations smoother. They’ve even introduced a chatbot named “Amy” that immediately supports customers, answering their questions about products and services on the spot.

This hasn’t just lightened the load for their customer service team – it’s also sped up their response times and made them more efficient. This shows how automation can significantly boost productivity and customer satisfaction in banking.

10. Community Marketing

Remember, as a financial institution, you’re not just a business but a part of your local community. So, why not show love to the people and places supporting you? Engaging with your community isn’t just lovely; it can also help build your reputation and kickstart your branding efforts.

Keep that community spirit alive even after your brand has taken off. Whether lending a hand at local events, sponsoring worthy causes, or donating to local charities, these actions generate good vibes and remind everyone why they can rely on you. So go ahead, roll up your sleeves and dive into your community – it’s a win-win

11. Case Studies and Valuable Whitepapers

Two types of content shine when it comes to content – case studies and helpful guides. They’re your ticket to building trust and showing off your know-how.

Case studies are like your success stories. Take your past collaborations and turn them into engaging narratives, using compelling language and data to paint a picture of your positive impact on that business.

Conversely, guides are your chance to delve deep into hefty financial topics that need more space than a typical blog post. Consider rounding up the year’s industry trends or drawing a market report. The beauty of guides is that they are great at attracting leads.

12. Referral Marketing

Your customers can be your biggest cheerleaders. They won’t hesitate to spread the word if they love your services. This is where a strong referral program comes into play.

If you’re a financial services company without one, it’s high time to start. If you’ve paused yours, it’s time to hit the restart button.

People tend to trust recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues more than any business spiel. A referral program could be the golden ticket to attracting more qualified leads for your bank or financial institution.

Of course, your customers will appreciate a little thank-you for their efforts. Consider offering rewards or incentives that get even better as they refer more people. After all, who doesn’t love a good perk? So, let’s get that referral ball rolling!

13. Retargeting Campaigns

Retargeting campaigns can be a real game-changer for engaging with potential customers. Sometimes, leads get far down the funnel only to change their minds. But with retargeting, you can revisit these almost-customers when the time is ripe.

Before you launch into action, test your messages to ensure they hit the mark. Keep your communication easy to understand and friendly. And remember, everyone likes things to be simple and rewarding – so make it a breeze for your leads to convert.

A little nudge like a discount or a free service could be the ticket to win them over. So why not give retargeting a shot?

 

Our services include:

• • Content Marketing
  • Digital Marketing
  • Website Design and Development
  • Brand Creation and Nurturing

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As a company, we proudly partner with various clients, from major corporations to small and medium financial firms. These partnerships span across the globe, from the UK and abroad. So, be it the UK, USA, UAE, or Singapore, our team is always ready to meet your marketing goals.

Looking for a Top Financial Marketing Agency to Boost Your Firm’s Online Growth?

Please reach out to Goldmine Media and see how we can drive your business forward, whatever your goals are.

So, if you’d like more information on how we can help with your marketing, please contact Goldmine Media. Moreover, you can reach us by calling 0845 686 0055 or emailing findoutmore@goldminemedia.co.uk.