Help your customers manage their money.
Banks have a high level of competition, and effective marketing can have a large impact on consumers who are choosing new services. As you develop a marketing campaign for your bank, consider how you can work with customers at all stages of their financial planning to make their banking experience stress-free and convenient.
Education
One of the most common pitfalls for banking customers is a lack of knowledge about how they should handle their money. As a bank, you are immediately in a position of expertise; use that expertise to help educate a potential customer base. Start by targeting people who might need financial help: soon-to-be college graduates or people with a history of credit problems, for example. Spread the word about your bank and help create awareness about banking options by holding community education sessions, publishing a "Banking 101" blog, or volunteering to speak at colleges about financial planning for young professionals.
Peace of Mind
When customers fall on hard times or when they face an economic downturn, finances become a top concern. Banks can gain a market advantage by using strategies that create peace of mind for their customers. You might offer special accounts with low monthly fees, for example, or design a program that will help keep track of bills and spending each month. To attract customers who are worried about their finances, use an emotional appeal that is designed to convince them that with your financial services, everything will be okay; everything from the wording of your advertisement and website copy to the demeanor of your customers service associates can be part of a marketing strategy that calms and reassures customers.
Convenience
Modern consumers are busy and accustomed to the ease of handling their business online. Make your bank a natural choice by marketing the convenience of using your services. If you offer a banking application for a mobile phone, promote it heavily in your online and offline advertisements, and include direct download links from your website. Update your systems to allow digital deposits or offer a pick-up service for deposits from business customers. If you operate mainly with in-person business, make your bankers part of the program by helping them conduct quick, friendly transactions that do not require much time or effort on the part of the consumer; focus marketing materials on you convenient locations and low-effort banking.
Ease of Comparison
When consumers set out to choose a bank or a banking service, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of choices that are available. To make your bank more approachable, focus your marketing efforts on the ease of comparison between products. You might use marketing materials that talk about the different types of accounts, make recommendations based on where customers are in their lives, or target special-needs consumers like frequent international travelers or new parents. In doing so, you can let your customers know that you can help them choose an account that is right for their needs.
Tags: your bank, your customers, financial planning, make your, marketing materials, their money