When it comes to customer acquisition, the financial services industry hasn’t exactly been at the front of the pack in the race for new members. As the process of shopping for a new bank has changed, so have the methods to acquiring customers. So, how can banks keep up and retain customers for the long run? A mix of traditional and modern customer acquisition strategies are available. It’s no easy task, but that doesn’t mean it has to be daunting, especially aided by the four industry insider secrets below.
Amp Up on Emerging Technologies
In the race for customers, financial institutions seek to differentiate themselves through cutting-edge products and services. Like most other industries, emerging banking technologies are a very sharp tool to implement in the quest for customer acquisition. Today’s customers, especially millennials, seek easy and convenient ways to bank. So much so that mobile and online banking have become an expected service across the board.
Going forward, features like mobile check deposit, mobile bill pay, credit score engines and money transfer services will all become more and more ubiquitous.
Secret #1 – Attracting customers could be as easy as beating your competitors to the chase.
Banking Customer Acquisition Depends on Social
Today, over 70% of all Internet users use social media platforms. So, it’s a bit of a no-brainer that social media is an ideal platform to utilize for interaction with current and potential customers. Think of it as the modern version of “word of mouth marketing.” Social channels, especially Twitter, also give banks another avenue for engagement, helping build rapport with customers.
Secret #2 – Facebook and Twitter are the big two as it relates to both customer numbers as well as analytic tools, helping you measure your ROI. Also, using a paid strategy can prove to be rewarding—as you’re able to drill-down to customer location, demographics, interests and more.
Demonstrate Thought Leadership
Capturing your potential customer’s attention might be easier than you think; especially when it comes to properly optimized content. Also, the blog-to-product/service website model can be tracked fairly easily, allowing banks to measure ROI and tweak as necessary. And the best part, there’s always a new financial topic to tackle, so finding content is never too much of a challenge.
Secret #3 – If you aren’t developing a customer blog, it’s time to consider this strategy. It’s a great way to pique customer interest about relevant topics while also packing your content with keywords and relevant search engine friendly call-to-actions.
Find your Edge with Analytics
Outpacing your competition requires the right optimization strategy (and a little bit of patience). By making the right decisions at the consumer-level and delivering things like customized, targeted offers, you could be boosting your customer satisfaction by leaps and bounds. For example, offering products based on customer lifestyle preferences could be the ideal solution.
Secret #4 – Another strategy could entail focusing on customer pain-points within their current bank and highlighting how your business can solve those issues while offering an easy way to switch through a simple online or mobile application process.
As the market for financial products grows larger each day, how can banks unlock their true potential and turn key insights into customer acquisition? There certainly isn’t a magic formula, but identifying the right customers to target and leveraging past performance through data and analytics can prove to be fruitful for long-term success.
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