EVERFI Content Team

Long gone are the days of purely transactional consumers. Financial institutions must focus more closely than ever before on creating an engaging consumer experience. According to a recent article by Jim Marous in The Financial Brand, “83% of consumers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services.” In fact, consumer engagement is so important that Salesforce found 59% of people will pay more just to have a great experience! So, what can your financial institution do to improve consumer engagement?

5 Ways to Improve Customer Engagement in Banking

1. Gather Actionable Data About Consumers Using Technology
2. Engage Consumers by Educating Them
3. Provide Relevant & Personalized Offers to Consumers
4. Leverage Trusted Relationships to Create and Strengthen Relationships
5. Create High-Quality Engagement Across All Channels

For any savvy financial institution, improving consumer engagement marketing is a no-brainer, since it helps to build loyalty and drive product and service growth.

1. Gather Actionable Data About Consumers Using Technology

Personalized products & services are only possible when financial institutions know what their consumers want and need, so it’s crucial to gather data to inform engagement strategies. Moreover, not personalizing can backfire because it can make the consumer experience feel inauthentic.

2. Engage Consumers by Educating Them

Financial institutions can win loyalty, build trust, and promote products and services more effectively by leading with education to promote financial health. The more personalized the education the better, since consumers have different needs depending on who they are.

3. Provide Relevant & Personalized Offers to Consumers

Pairing a digital course about first-time homebuyer education with a special mortgage offer, for example, could improve the experience of consumers in their late 20s and early 30s. (But probably not for older adults; it’s important to align the education and the offer to the right consumer segment!)

4. Leverage Trusted Relationships to Recruit New Consumers and Strengthen Existing Relationships

Providing a bank at work program to corporate & institutional clients can help reach new audiences through their trusted employers. Providing personalized education, relevant deposit products, and competitive offers through these workplace channels benefits both consumers and financial institutions.

5. Create Consistent High-Quality Engagement Across Experience Channels

Consumers engage with their financial institutions by visiting branches, going on websites, using mobile apps, calling representatives, and corresponding via chat/email. Providing great service across channels elevates the consumer experience by showing that financial institutions will meet consumers wherever they are.

There is no single silver bullet strategy to improve consumer engagement, but every institution has the opportunity to improve by focusing on educating and engaging consumers in a highly personalized way. Experience matters more now than ever, so we can expect that the financial institutions that focus most closely on creating great experiences now will be the ones who are most successful in the future.