By Hannah Day
Today’s consumers expect a seamless, personalized digital experience, especially with their financial institution. As institutions look to grow, a one-size-fits-all approach to digital marketing is not as effective as data-driven strategies to personalize and resonate with customers on their chosen channel.
Using data to develop personalized marketing initiatives on digital channels can help community banks break through the noise, reaching new customers and deepening relationships with existing ones.
Understanding Your Customers: The Importance of Effective Segmentation
Understanding customer data and demographics is the first step in elevating your digital experience. At the most basic segmentation level, institutions should be able to differentiate between business and consumer customers. Each of these groups will have different messaging and product offerings.
On the consumer side, various segments could benefit your institution, such as high net worth individuals, recent graduates or those close to retirement. Viewing your customers in segments allows you to better understand and anticipate their needs, as well as tailor what they see across their digital experience. Examples of segments include:
Life stages: Certain life stages typically involve financial activity, and clues in a consumer’s financial data can indicate which common life stage or event could come next. For instance, a recently married couple has different financial needs or goals than one approaching retirement. If a customer recently had a series of wedding-related purchases and a last name change, there may be an opportunity to offer specific services or products more relevant to that life stage.
Credit score: Surfacing an end user’s credit score within the digital experience is one of many powerful insights that data can bring to your customer base. Financial institutions could choose to direct educational content toward a group with a lower-than-average score. This approach allows you to determine types of products to market to this group that would increase their financial literacy and education.
This segmented approach holds for business customers as well. Your institution could look at transactions for small businesses to determine the health and maturity of the company, providing you with insight into ways you can support them in their business journey. Whether they’re a startup, ‘mom-and-pop shop’ or mid-sized organization, they will need solutions that address their unique needs.
6 Tools Community Banks Can Use for a Holistic Marketing Strategy
Below are several channels to continue to explore as you nurture customers throughout their life cycle and reduce attrition.
1. Digital Banking
Digital banking should be consistent across every channel. If a user logs into their account on a desktop, your bank can serve them with a personalized pop-up ad based on their segment or past transaction history. Your institution can communicate with calls to action and drive adoption through custom text, secure digital messaging and push notifications.
3. Customer Data Management (CRM)
An effective CRM platform should provide a holistic customer view by linking sales, operations, branch, digital and call center interactions to support marketing opportunities. Your CRM should also allow you to schedule appointments, send notifications, release targeted emails or marketing campaigns and more. Updating your CRM with regular documentation like contact information, credit scores and marketing preferences can open the door to building personal connections and cross-sales opportunities.
4. Email Campaigns
Often linked with CRM, email is another tool to help your institution communicate with customers. While some customers prefer in-person interactions, others may prefer receiving emails. Targeted marketing emails can be an effective way to reach customers with relevant offers.
5. Customer Service Tools
Customer service tools like digital banking messaging and text, voice and video communication help bridge the gap between physical and digital channels. Chatbots can also be embedded in the digital banking experience to address customers’ immediate questions or needs and suggest related products or services. Authenticated chat can be managed by your institution’s employees or trained on preliminary conversations to expedite assistance.
6. In-branch experience
Although most customers are comfortable navigating digital channels, some customers still prefer the branch for certain financial activities. So, your customer experience should seamlessly flow from the digital world to the physical one and vice versa. If someone begins a loan application online, the in-branch representative should be able to help them pick up right where they left off.
Bridging the Digital Divide: Finding Ways to Reach Your Customers
The placement of marketing initiatives also varies within the digital experience. Some users—such as Gen Z or millennials—may be more likely to use and engage with ads within the digital banking experience versus an email from your institution. Having flexibility within your digital experience to personalize the messages and locations based on your segment is critical.
Community banks have always played a unique role locally and are well suited to take advantage of non-traditional methods to meet new customers. For example, in areas offering attractive outdoor adventures like hiking trails, some banks set up small booths to pass out water bottles or breakfast burritos emblazoned with a QR code to their website, blending physical and digital outreach.
Ultimately, banks that blend these tactics, leaning into customer segmentation while meeting them in the channel of their choosing with campaigns targeted to their needs, will strengthen the relationship and trust with their customers.
About the Author
Hannah Day is Senior. Director - Digital Banking at CSI. She is an experienced professional with a demonstrated history of working in banking & financial services industry.