Andra Searles

Marketers at financial institutions witnessed a slew of emerging trends and transformations last year.  Financial marketing strategies have adapted by expanding the use of digital channels and increasing customer personalization.   Financial institutions can expect a greater emphasis on utilizing data to produce engaging customer experiences and financial education resources. 

Here are the 7 major bank marketing trends to watch in 2021:

1. 1. Branches Are Cool Again
   2. Digital Is Here to Stay
   3. Data: Use It Like You Mean It
   4. The Power of Personalization
   5. Married to Customer Engagement
   6. Content Is [Still] King
   7. FinTech – Buy vs. Build

1. Branches Are Cool Again

While visits to the in-person branch have been on a steady decline overall, a few leading organizations are efforting to bring back the heyday for branches by making them engaging hangouts with increased digital services – from interactive kiosks to digital financial education modules and more. Branches provide great opportunities to engage customers and provide highly personalized financial education.  Expect further investment in employee training and branch redesigns as leading organizations continue to deploy digital financial tools.

(Source: Bain & Company, “Reimagining the Digital Bank Branch of the Future: Let’s Get Practical”)

2. Digital Is Here to Stay

While even the in-branch experience is becoming more digital to continue to attract customers, financial marketers are adjusting financial marketing strategies to explore and put greater onus on engaging with customers through more digital channels. In fact, Forrester reports that digital marketing spend in the U.S. is projected to reach $120 billion by the year 2021.

3. Data: Use It Like You Mean It

Financial marketers have no shortage of customer data at their fingertips — from purchase histories to demographics and more — but growing financial institutions are being driven by marketers who are using that data to create meaningful segments and targeted campaigns to serve their customers better and grow revenue. In other words, you don’t need to become an expert in machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) to use data to fuel your financial marketing campaigns.

4. The Power of Personalization

Data and personalization: they go together like peanut butter and jelly. But really, with the right data at your fingertips, personalization becomes easy…and lucrative. In fact, personalized financial education offerings at one bank actually netted them a $2 million increase in product sales.

5. Married to Customer Engagement

How many times a day do marketers talk about customer engagement? Well, there’s a reason for the never-ending emphasis. We know that highly engaged customers are highly loyal customers, and customer loyalty = increased revenue over time. After all, existing customers spend 67% more than new customers.

6. Content Is [Still] King

Financial marketers can continue to expect that content is a key way to keep your customers engaged and fortify a sense of trust and brand loyalty. EVERFI’s digital education modules offer a great way to deliver relevant education to your customers without having to build that content out from scratch.

7. FinTech – Buy vs. Build

It is increasingly common for financial institutions to partner with FinTechs to address their most stubborn business needs. Without the same legacy restraints of financial institutions, FinTechs can help banking institutions remain relevant and competitive in an increasingly crowded market, and with steep competition for customers.