Automate Print & Mail: Financial Services Marketing and Advertising Tips & Strategies

Financial Services Marketing & Advertising Tips and Strategies

The financial services industry is highly competitive, making it difficult for institutions to stand out. Financial services marketing aims at differentiating one’s institution from that of others and attracting prospects. Unlike marketing strategies used by companies in other industries, financial services marketing is a little complicated. In this case, you are not asking people for a certain amount of their money in exchange for something they need. Rather, it is asking people to entrust you with all of their finances, which is a pretty big deal.

It is difficult to explain complicated financial concepts to people and make them trust your brand. Moreover, as the benefits are long-term, you cannot attract prospects with on-spot offers. Hence, it is important to plan your financial services marketing strategies smartly. Let us discuss some of the most effective marketing tips that work great for financial institutions.

Build Trust Among Prospects

Most people shy away from trusting another person with their money; after all, it is hard-earned and precious. So, how can financial institutions earn the trust of their audience?

Firstly, even though people are reluctant to trust others with their money, they do require financial services eventually. Therefore, they will be looking for financial firms for everything from opening a savings account to investing in deposits. You just have to make them believe that your brand is a trustworthy one. It can be a big challenge, and you would have to put your best show on for gaining their complete trust.

Some of the commonly used ways to build trust in the minds of your prospects are to define your moral values and live up to them, increase brand visibility, and encourage personal interactions.

Virgin Money has set an example of fun, interactive, and face-to-face interactions by introducing lounges that can draw people and increase engagement. These lounges are open to all, hence winning the trust and affection of the general public.

Though Virgin Money has set an extraordinary bar, other financial institutions can motivate people to visit their branches and talk to an advisor. Sending out postcards for the same with an exciting offer can be highly effective. Since direct mail offers personal touch and trustworthiness, you use this channel to create trust and improve your brand reputation.

Highlight Your Differences

Why would a customer choose you over the others? It is time for you to come out and highlight what differentiates you from your competitors. Banks and other financial institutions should come up with new offers, additional benefits, and useful products that can catch anyone’s attention. From offering higher interest rates to providing expert financial advice for free, they can choose to do something different that sets them apart. As a matter of fact, every financial institution, be it a traditional bank or a fintech company, has something unique to offer. Their services might be similar, but there could be slight differences. Institutions should leverage such services and market themselves.

Last year, Metro Bank executed an offline marketing campaign featuring 8 of their own employees. They placed billboards around the city highlighting their outstanding customer service. The campaign was a big hit as they differentiated themselves from their competitors. Seeing that Metro Bank grabbed the first spot in the Competition and Market Authority’s Service Quality Survey conducted in 2019, it can be said that their campaign idea was on-point.

Make Your Content Relatable and Personalised

Since the financial language is already difficult and complicated with lots of jargon, make sure to leave it behind while planning your marketing strategies. Your content must be simple, understandable, and, most importantly, relatable. When people view your advertisement in any form, they should be able to relate to it instantly, which in turn attracts them towards your brand.

You can print and mail letters explaining your services along with some testimonials of your existing customers. Real-life examples, reviews, and testimonials are great examples of user-generated content that you can use for marketing.

For people to be able to relate to your message, you should make sure that you have targeted the right audience. Hence, you need to segment your audience and personalise your content. Furthermore, choose the right marketing channel to get your message across.

Lloyds Banking Group was able to convert 707 prospect SMEs (that was 280% above their target) through a direct mail campaign by proper segmentation and personalisation.

Focus On Your Prospects

Talking about audience segmentation, it is important to identify the demographics that fit with your customer profile. For example, if you want to promote your education plans, it is best to target parents and teenagers. Similarly, you can target senior citizens for offering post-retirement financial services.

Identify your prospects through your customer profile and then reach out to them with a convincing message after studying their needs and preferences.

Sometimes, even psychographic and geographic factors come into play. Not all of your customers would want all of your services. In this case, you need to identify prospects carefully for certain types of products and services and then tailor your advertising messages accordingly.

Go Digital!

Traditional banking has been in existence for decades. However, the last decade has seen a rise in digital banking. Today, more and more customers want to handle all their banking activities over the Internet, rather than actually visiting the bank for everything.

Monzo is an online-only bank that has been doing great for six years now. Since its establishment in 2015, it has encouraged all the other financial institutions in the UK to transform digitally. Soon, they received a unicorn status. Monzo is a successful example of digital banking. It is clear that financial institutions that offer services like online banking are performing exceptionally well as people love the convenience offered by such services.

Going digital will definitely bring you a lot of popularity, but don’t forget to promote your digital services. Again, you can send direct mail to your prospects informing them about your digital services and also making a great offer.

Combine Online and Offline Marketing Efforts

Having discussed digital transformations, let us not forget how powerful omnichannel marketing can be. Along with posting great content on your social media pages, offering digital services, and undertaking other such digital efforts, financial institutions can resort to offline marketing channels for a smart backup.

Direct mail marketing works best when used in combination with digital marketing. In fact, you can drive online traffic to your website and social media through direct mail. Including QR codes and pURLs as a part of your direct mail pieces can help you do that.

It is advisable to automate your marketing efforts to get the best results in less time. PostGrid’s direct mail automation solutions can help you conduct speedy and effective campaigns.

Wrapping Up

Financial services marketing might be complicated, but it is not impossible. Banks, credit unions, fintech, and other financial institutions should become customer-centric, optimise their content, narrow down their audience, and offer tailored solutions.

People should be able to trust your institution and see it as something better. Hence, don’t just concentrate on converting prospects but also on retaining customers and making them choose you over and over again. With direct mail marketing, you can keep in touch with both your prospects and customers and make them feel special. Additionally, direct mail is noticeable and persuading, making it one of the best marketing channels for financial institutions.

Want to automate your offline marketing efforts for higher results? Contact PostGrid to save time, eliminate manual effort, and get amazing results on all your direct mail campaigns.