Sharad V. K., Special to Gulf News

Financial institutions have for a while now set their attention on improving their return on investment (RoI). This is due to the economic uncertainties, intense competition, restrictive regulatory environment, overhauling legacy driven processes, and disruptions from technology while trying to meet customers’ requirements.

Financial institutions are now considering alternative operational models and using emerging technologies to expand their benefits. Digitization in financial institutions is becoming a norm as firms try to move their product and service offerings online so as to increase convenience and touchpoints with the consumer. It’s also meant to change their tactics in sales and marketing so that they provide personalized services to customers.

Most of the marketing trends for 2020 are geared towards building stronger relationships, improving customer experience and using data to tailor consumer experiences. Let’s take a look at trends that will help financial institutions give consumers what they want, expect, and demand.

* Omnichannel marketing: Most consumers today manage their finances online and expect a seamless and real-time experience when accessing financial services. Institutions, therefore, need to adopt digitalization and improve their digital channel design and engagement. Omnichannel marketing will give financial institutions a powerful strategy for winning customers who expect simplicity and convenience on whatever physical channel or electronic device they use.

* Adopt cross-departmental integrations: For years, financial institutions have been working around departmental silos. Every department has their own initiatives and goals and no collaboration is entertained. Today, however, it’s all about the customer experience.

CMOS must rally their employees so that departments are working towards meeting customer needs. So a well-integrated sales, marketing, customer service and operations team is the requisite for creating a great customer experience

* Personalization: Consumers today demand a personalized experience, so leveraging data/tools to offer specific product/services is the new norm. This can help marketers target customers better. The future of marketing automation and lead generation is artificial intelligence and machine learning. AI is also essential in delivering individualized experiences to customers.

* Make data-driven decisions: Financial institutions have to leverage data they collect from different channels, including social media, sales channels and transactional information. Great marketing is now determined by the data collected and what you do with it.

Using data to understand how the consumer engages with your brand and his subsequent journey from a mere lead, then to a prospect and finally to a client will help financial institutions tailor messages to each point of the customer’s journey towards purchase. It also helps them know where to concentrate their money in the sales funnel to gain maximum impact.

* Content creation focused on micro-moments: Get content that is tailored towards meeting financially based customer micro-moments. This will require an SEO content marketing team that anticipates a customer’s economic concerns in reaching their financial goals. Create video led articles, helpful guides, blog posts, educational materials, eBooks, infographics and other helpful content that fuels and answers their financial life goals.

* Voice search: It’s expected that by 2020, the number of voice searches will have increased by 50 per cent. Since half of all online searches will be voice searches by 2020. The voice search revolution is dramatically altering how consumers engage with businesses and continued change is expected.

Marketers who optimize their SEO for voice searches will gain an advantage in today’s new landscape. As voice search is easier than typing, marketers have to optimize their content for it. Financial institutions have to adopt voice command transactions. This will include using voice commands to execute payments, do transfers and deliver alerts and updates Financial institutions have to understand new technologies and strategies and find out how best to leverage them for RoI. Using data and analytics to address their needs and goals and an integrated marketing approach will be a must in making the customer experience seamless We all know there’s no stopping marketing automation and technology. These advances help marketers scale more effectively, make better decisions, and save money. However, these advances sometimes come at the expense of the relationships the company/brand has typically built with its client base Although automation might cover basic tasks, it’s important to maintain a personal touch or offer direct help when possible. Companies can do an amazing job scaling marketing activities including marketing automation, but they still need to make a rule to occasionally visit their clients in-person to improve the relationship and get to know them better.

Source - Gulf News