Focus on these data-driven tactics to create a more personalized banking experience for higher customer engagement, retention and ROI.
Article Highlights
- U.S. consumers embraced digital banking during the pandemic and plan to continue
- Consumers want and expect personalized content and offers from their bank
- Leveraging data from multiple sources can identify customer behaviors and preferences, and help you create more personalization in banking communications
- Personalized, relevant content builds loyalty and keeps customers engaged with your brand
The pandemic forced most U.S. consumers to connect with their financial institutions primarily through digital channels, using their devices to do everything from performing everyday banking tasks to researching information about financial products and services. Eighty percent of those consumers intend to stick with digital banking post-pandemic, according to a FICO study.1
As in-branch visits have decreased and digital interactions have increased, the personal connection between customer and brand has become endangered. Ensuring that every single interaction feels like a personalized connection is essential today for financial institutions to grow and maintain customer loyalty.
Consumers Want and Expect a Personalized Banking Experience
As with nearly every other industry, customers have come to expect personalized content and offers from their financial institutions.
- 66% of customers want their bank to understand their personal needs and expectations2
- 52% expect all offers to be personalized2
- 79% of millennials, 75% of Gen Z, 74% of Gen X and 58% of baby boomers say they value personalization and consider it a priority when choosing a new bank3
- Over 70% of consumers across all age demographics say personalization is highly important to their banking experience4
To meet these consumer expectations, financial institutions can start by examining their data for insights and opportunities, then use that information to show their customers that they know them by creating more relevant messaging. Below we share strategies to help you do just that.
How do you leverage data for better banking personalization?
Digging into and analyzing your data lets you better target the right customer with the right information at the right time. When you can customize the experience and deliver it on their preferred channels, your customers will be much more likely to respond to your campaigns, messages and offers.
Here are three ways to use your data to create a better personalized banking experience for your customers.
Acquire different types of data from multiple sources.
There are many ways to collect personal, behavioral, demographic and transactional data. For example, you could learn more about a customer during account registration by asking a few questions about their financial goals, lifestyle and interests. Consider sending out a brief survey on a regular basis. Look at customer interactions on your website and mobile app. Use preference centers to deliver content that’s tailored to a customer’s topic interests, preferred frequency and channels. Don’t forget about other data sources like area home values from public records or current mortgage balances from your customer data. Once you gather different types of data you can turn the insights into actionable information, giving customers the personalized banking experience they crave.
Use data to build robust customer profiles.
To create a single view of a customer, look at your metrics to get an idea of common journeys and how your customers interact with you — from account opening through their entire relationship with your brand. This could include page views, content viewed, services they enroll in, time spent in your mobile app, etc. Your data might reveal important life changes or new stages, like starting college, a new move or retirement. Once you understand a customer’s needs you can better customize your messaging by providing personalized advice and information, versus merely selling.
Leverage data to segment customer groups.
Your customers don’t all have the same needs and goals at the same time. By grouping customers into segments based on life stage, need, interest or geographic location you can offer more relevant messaging and offers to each group. For example, instead of sending the same email to everyone, new college graduates could get tips for creating a budget, young families could get information about the benefits of college savings accounts, and baby boomers could get a checklist to help them determine if they’re on track to retire when they want.
How do you deliver a great personalized customer experience for banking?
Every interaction provides an opportunity to provide customers with personalized experiences and recommendations. Turn the data insights from above into actionable personalization strategies that you can incorporate into your financial marketing plan.
Successful personalization tactics should focus on these three elements:
- Engagement, by getting a customer’s attention
- Relevance, by delivering information that matters to each individual customer
- Trust, which comes when engagement and relevance are done well
Try including one or more of the below examples of personalization in banking into your consumer marketing campaigns and communication channels to address those three elements.
- Personalize acquisition campaigns with as much data as you have — before someone becomes a customer. For instance, create a one-on-one experience for a prospect who visits your website by showing them offers and relevant content as they navigate your web pages. This could be based on an action they take — for instance, they research a product, and you offer a piece of related content or a product comparison tool.
- Personalize every step of the onboarding process whenever a customer opens an account or registers for a new product or service. With more people opening accounts on digital channels, focusing on creating a strong, personal relationship from the start is key. For example, you could send new customers a series of welcome emails that are personalized based on the product or service, and whether they’re a new or existing customer.
- Provide customized messaging based on factors like customer life stage, recent activity, or financial goals, and then create targeted offers where relevant. For example, you could show a customer’s current debt account balances along with a consolidation offer that could lower their monthly payment — and show what that payment might be.
- Build trust and provide value by tailoring product and service messages based on what’s important to your customers. Recommend products or services based on transaction behavior and demographic insights, and customize offers and promotions. Be sure you can communicate seamlessly across different channels at appropriate times. For example, when a customer views mortgage offers on your website or app, put them in touch with a mortgage agent or direct them to an application.
- Reach customers where they are. For example, offer personalized insights and advice when customers are logged into your bank’s mobile app. Or deliver customized dynamic ads on their preferred social media channels.
- Deliver educational, value-added content based on customer interests and behavior, offering solutions that help customers make better financial decisions. For example, an article about “Signs it’s time to replace your roof” could help a homeowner realize it’s time for an update. Then you could explain how a home equity loan could be a smart financing option. Relevant, useful content helps build trust.
- Increase customer engagement with your mortgage loan products by using highly personalized information such as estimated home value, estimated equity and an estimated HELOC or refinance payment amount. Consider including a picture of their house and any other customized information or suggestions that show the customer you know them and want to help.
- Develop personalized trigger email campaigns based on an action taken by the customer, such as a loan payoff, new address, new account, updated profiles and so on. The email messages then correspond to the action — for instance, confirming a new password, acknowledging a recent transaction or reminding a customer to finish an action they started, such as filling out a loan application.
- Personalize customer interactions with location-driven messages, based on a customer’s geographic information. This could include sharing a list of recent home sales in the area or current mortgage interest rates based on ZIP codes. You could even send content about community events you’re hosting or sponsoring.
- Deliver banking personalization with a human touch. Online chats are fine for many situations, but don’t underestimate the power of human expertise, with personal emails or phone calls, for example, to deliver a better customer experience.
Personalization in Banking Leads to More Loyal Customers
By leveraging data to maximize banking personalization opportunities — across channels and touchpoints — you’re better poised to stand out from the competition, improve customer retention and gain more meaningful interactions that result in a higher ROI. And when you can prove to customers that you know them, you not only gain their trust, but you also stand to benefit from more long-term, profitable relationships.
CCG’s financial marketing experts have helped financial institutions across the country build loyal, profitable, long-lasting customer relationships. Our financial marketing services include customer data and analytics, content strategy and development, digital and interactive, and more.
Schedule a free consultation or call us at 303.986.3000 today to see how we can help you.
Sources
1 “New FICO Survey Finds Overconfidence Could Put US Consumers at Risk from Scams,” Businesswire.com, posted Feb. 16, 2022, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220216005456/en/New-FICO-Survey-Finds-Overconfidence-Could-Put-US-Consumers-at-Risk-From-Scams, accessed March 8, 2022
2 “Lessons from Nearly 2,800 Financial Services Leaders on Resilience in the Face of Crisis,” Salesforce, posted Nov. 19, 2020, https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/financial-services-leaders/, accessed March 10, 2022
3 “How Personalized Banking Helps FinTech Companies to Retain Clients,” Finextra.com, posted March 4, 2022, https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/21932/how-personalized-banking-helps-fintech-companies-to-retain-clients, accessed March 8, 2022
4 “How to Build Humanized Digital Banking Through Personalization,” The Financial Brand, posted March 17, 2022, https://thefinancialbrand.com/131333/how-to-build-humanized-digital-banking-through-personalization, accessed March 10, 2022
