Embrace Personalization as a Small Financial Institution
In recent years the personalized nature of community banks and credit unions has suffered but is becoming increasingly important once more! In this day and age, customers are looking for valuable insights and advice from their financial institutions to feel confident in their financial decisions. It can be challenging to provide the right direction without knowing a customer’s goals or priorities, and many organizations don’t have the capacity to offer this. However, pulling in the resources needed to create a personalized experience can improve revenue. Other benefits of personalized banking may include increased engagement and conversion rates, improved customer loyalty and retention, and a more substantial marketing ROI.
When someone walks into a branch, they don’t just want to hear about your latest products or special offers; they want to know how these products and specials will meet their needs. In fact, a recent Capco Study reported that 72% of their respondents rated personalization as “highly important” in terms of their financial services. A high value on personalization trends throughout each generation, with millennials being the highest at 79%, followed by 75% of Gen Z, 74% of Gen X, and 58% of baby boomers. Leave the transactional ways of communicating with customers and members in the past by embracing personalization with these strategies!
Tailor Product Experiences During Acquisition
Continuity is critical to maximizing acquisition efforts and creating stronger customer relationships. Tailor the welcome for a freshly acquired user by acknowledging how they arrived on site and the value proposition that attracted them there in the first place. This will ensure that their first interaction with your organization won’t leave them confused and searching for what they came for someplace else.
An example would be creating a custom landing page that matches the tagline and special offer on a credit card ad that drew a customer to your website. This landing page should only contain essential information related to the promotion with a direct call to action. This is much more effective than drawing users from the same credit card ad to your homepage or another product’s page, which will result in confusion and a lack of acquisition.
Put Time-Relevant Information Front and Center
Putting time-relevant information for current events front and center can establish you as a reliable resource for your customers and members. In terms of recent events, providing direct assistance via a phone number to call or other relevant information during a hardship in the community can establish trust among customers. For example, if there is an influx of scam calls targeting personal banking information, putting a banner on your website linked to contact someone for assistance or providing tips for avoiding becoming a victim can help position your organization as a resource in tough times.
Another form of time-relevant information pertains to resources relevant to your current offers, which will help those unsure if they are willing to jump on your offer. Sharing tips relating directly to your existing campaign is best conveyed on social media or blog posts. In recent years, social media has grown as an educational platform, with 63% of Gen Zers going to social media for financial advice. In addition, a blog with relevant information outfitted with the right keywords can help drive relevant traffic to your site and engage those who are already visiting your offer and are unsure. For example, if you were to run a personal loan campaign in the summertime, posting on social media about the “Best Personal Loan Uses for Summer,” and a blog about a similar topic will provide the essential information a user may need to apply for that loan. In the long run, as they consider other offers, they will come back for more relevant information to aid their decision-making process.
Drive Product Discovery with Recommendations
Don’t leave the personalized journey incomplete without product recommendations to drive upsells and cross-sales. This means addressing customers who could benefit from complementary financial products or providing new users with extra motivation to decide. The best way to do this is to add complementary products to specific pages on your website that will either upsell or further a buyer’s decision. For example, an Auto Loan product page could also include a section about adding available (GAP) Guaranteed Asset Protection or promote a rate discount when direct depositing from a checking account paired with a link to open one. Add motivation to a new user’s decision-making with links on a checking or savings account page to show how vast your ATM network is or promote innovative mobile banking services may be enough to position yourself as a contender among larger institutions. The same concept can also be added to email marketing efforts but should be less prominent to ensure the main promotion is front and center.
Is your financial institution ready to embrace personalization? Strategis is a full-service marketing agency developing strategies proven to increase the (ROI) through a wide range of personalized methods. Contact us today!
