Financial technology has emerged as a way to improve and automate the delivery of financial services. Competing with traditional methods, the global fintech marketing was valued at $127 billion in 2018 and it’s growing at an annual rate of more than 24%. It’s given rise to new opportunities and brought cryptocurrency to millions of users.
At the same time, fintech marketing has evolved as companies try to establish market share in this growing sector. With such explosive growth in fintech, there are unparalleled opportunities to attract new customers right now. According to the Independent Community Bankers of America, 30% of consumers are planning to increase their use of non-traditional financial service providers. However, only 39% plan to keep using organizations that have provided them traditional services in the past. This adds up to an opportunity to gain entrance or grow market share in a traditionally difficult market to change consumer minds.
The opportunity is especially prevalent with Millennials. Most have advanced their careers to the point where they are making money. They are comfortable with technology and understand the advantages of fintech. Here’s the big opportunity with Millennials:
- 45% report they actively seek resources on navigating their financial situation
- 37% report there are few online resources available to help them become better educated on financial topics.
Filling that gap with fintech marketing content will be an effective way to attract leads.
Fintech Marketing Strategies
When it comes to financial marketing, you’ve got two ways to proceed. You can either hunt down prospective customers (outbound marketing) or you can create marketing material that helps them find you (inbound marketing). Both strategies can work, but outbound marketing can be very expensive as you target large groups that may not be interested in your products.
Inbound marketing puts you front and center in places where customers interested in fintech products and services are looking. As they progress through the customer journey, you are visible at each stage and establishing credibility and trust.
The Customer Journey
Prospects follow a predictable path as they journey through the buying funnel. Your job is to nurture them at each phase to increase their trust.
Awareness > Engagement > Evaluation > Purchase > Post-Purchase
The customer journey starts at the Awareness phase, which sits at the very top part of the marketing funnel. You need Fintech marketing strategies that will build awareness of your brand and offerings.
During the Engagement phase, your job is to educate consumers and demonstrate the value of your products and services.
Whether it’s B2B or DTC, most consumers are now doing their research online before ever reaching out to a company or salesperson. At the Evaluation stage, consumers have already formed an opinion of your organization. They begin to research you and your competitors.
As your prospect makes their buying decision, they move into the Purchase phase. Even if they chose your products or services, it’s important to make the buying process seamless. Nearly 75% of online shopping carts are abandoned before finalizing a purchase. Make it as easy to convert the sale as possible.
During the Post-Purchase phase, you need to continue to market to reinforce that buyers made a good decision. You will also want to survey customers to make sure they are happy with your products and help them with any problems they have. Happy customers give referrals and tend to renew.
The Four Pillars Of Fintech Marketing
Your financial marketing strategies should incorporate these four pillars:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Content Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Marketing Automation
SEO
SEO polishes your content, website, landing pages, and marketing materials to optimize how search engines will view your content. This is critical when consumers are researching fintech products. If you’re not in the mix when they search, you likely won’t get seen.
Content Marketing
The most effective marketing delivers relevant content at just the right time for prospects. You need to create fintech marketing materials for each stage of the customer journey. Each piece should provide relevant information that educates.
Email Marketing
As customers become aware of your content and start to engage with you, you want to collect email addresses. Targeted fintech marketing emails can drip feed content to nurture this lead and drive them to the next stage. Just like your content, your email marketing should provide real value and not just sales material.
Marketing Automation
Trying to manage all the elements of effective inbound marketing can be difficult if you’re trying to do it yourself. That’s why most Fintech markets are using Marketing Automation to drive prospects through the customer journey. By automating as much of the process as possible, you can make sure not to skip important steps and maintain your focus on your core business.
As you deploy your SEO, content marketing, email marketing, and marketing automation solutions, keep these fintech marketing strategies in mind:
Mobile-First: The majority of traffic online is now mobile. Much of the fintech activity by consumers happens on smartphones.
Social Media: 87% of consumers term financial institution’s use of social as “annoying, boring, or unhelpful.”
Video: Video can educate and engage. It can drive an increase in organic traffic by as much as 157%. Product demo videos can increase purchase intent by 144%.
Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP): What makes you different than any other fintech solution on the market? You need to showcase your USP and provide consumers clear-cut reasons to choose you over a competitor.
Omnichannel Communications: Consumers are now demanding 24/7 customer service and support. They expect to interact with you on their preferred channel: phone, email, text, social, and chat. You need to provide a customer-centric approach and be there when they need you. Consider ChatBots to engage customers when you can’t immediately connect.
Don’t Miss Out
82% of commercial banks say they plan to increase their Fintech investments over the next three years. The big guys are jumping in with both feet. Don’t miss out on the opportunity you have right now to established yourself and grow your market share.
