Most financial institutions boast about how their exceptional customer service is above their competitors. This is because customer service is often the greatest marketing strength a financial institution has. But what is customer service? How do you measure if your service is better than everyone else? Is the service you are offering actually what customers desire? Financial marketing is different from every other industry because of what account holders are looking for.
What are Customers Looking For?
When a customer goes shopping in a retail store, they like to be engaged, smiled at, and even guided towards a particular product by an associate. However, when it comes to financial products, customers prefer to be more independent. They don't like someone on their back telling them what they should do. They rather be provided with enough information so that they can come to their own conclusion. The same goes for account support and troubleshooting.
How Account Holders Like Their Problems to be Fixed
Consumers like helping themselves as opposed to speaking with a customer service representative. Financial institutions that offer valuable and effective troubleshooting information online have an advantage. In fact, when presented with the option, an overwhelmingly majority of customers solve their problem without requesting human support. Not everyone is financially smart, but everyone wants to feel like they are in control of their money.
How to Engage Customers
A financial marketing campaign must effectively engage customers in order to obtain their business and loyalty. We are in the age of technology, and people are constantly searching for a new piece of technology that will make their daily lives easier. When it comes to money, some people are more active in their finances than others. Finance is also a very sensitive topic for most people. So how do you go about attracting people? You need an emotional connection. You can't simply just interact with people. Effective financial marketing means establishing meaningful interactions with customers that not only gain their trust and loyalty, but also gets them more actively involved in their financial life.
You do this by developing services and products, and by providing information and resources that improve the financial health of account holders. ATMs, mobile banking, remote deposit, and online bill pay have all made banking easier, but have they done enough to improve the finances of customers? Perhaps, financial marketing isn't about posts to social media sites and releasing fancy new applications. It's about proving to customers that you can make them money and help them reach their goals.
