Ready to bring in new clients? Many will tell you to advertise online. It seems like sound advice, but digital marketing can be a lot more complicated than traditional marketing. What you need is a bank marketing strategy that helps you set goals and bring in the customers you want and need.
A marketing strategy is a comprehensive roadmap that will help you plan, execute, and reap the rewards. It’s about finding the right tools and tactics to bring in results.
What Is a Bank Marketing Strategy?
A solid marketing plan can involve a variety of marketing techniques:
- Content marketing
- SEO
- PPC ads
- Email marketing
- Direct mail
- Influencer marketing
While each of these is a viable solution, a bank marketing strategy isn’t about using just one marketing method and waiting for results. Instead, it’s about starting with the end in mind, creating quantifiable goals, and using marketing tools to get the results you’re hoping for. Measurable goals might be:
- Increasing digital deposits by 10 percent this year
- Increasing mortgage refinances by 15 percent among current mortgage customers by the end of next year
- Increasing new customers by 20 percent from online resources in the next 12 months
This gives you direct goals to shoot for. It provides you with SMART goals that are quantifiable and doable. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. They offer direction while eliminating methods that may waste your time.
What a Bank Marketing Strategy Should Do
We like the term “roadmap” because it gives you a visual to follow as you move through the marketing maze. Think of a bank marketing plan as providing a solid strategy for you to follow throughout the year. It keeps you on track when “shiny new objects” get in the way, trying to draw your attention in another direction. A good strategy should:
- Adapt to a digital environment: Today’s consumers are more digitally connected than ever before. They know how to navigate the online world and have come to expect superior service from the companies they do business with. They expect personalized, convenient banking experiences that work with their lifestyles. You should be building to give consumers what they want and need.
- Identify your marketing segment: No more trying to be everything to everyone. Digital has allowed financial institutions to narrow their focus to specific demographics and be clearer and more successful in the process. Develop your customer avatar. Get to know your audience. This will allow you to speak to them clearly and concisely.
- Build trust and reputation: Your marketing plan should always consider all sides of building a business. Effective communication will help you establish a positive brand and greater customer loyalty. Your brand should remain consistent whether someone visits online or stops by a branch location. This is about staying true to your mission.
- Regulatory compliance: You need someone on your side to help ensure you remain in compliance and are careful not to misrepresent regulatory standards. This includes having a strong customer privacy policy and staying transparent in everything presented.
What Strategies Work?
There isn’t a single strategy that works for everyone. Instead, it’s all about crafting your marketing to accomplish your goals. With that in mind, digital marketing offers a variety of tools that can effectively reach out to your target audience.
Social Media
You can’t ignore social media today. Currently, 5.17 billion people use social media worldwide. They engage with an average of 6.7 social media platforms and spend 2 hours and 20 minutes a day perusing these sites. It’s a powerful platform for whatever audience you’re trying to reach. However, you can’t show up generically. Stay on brand, know your audience well, and give viewers viable information they can use and trust.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The power of search engines isn’t going to change anytime soon. Search engines offer a wealth of helpful tools that allow you to be where your prospects are searching. Consider local SEO, a way to optimize for local search and focus on your services at individual branch locations. Content marketing is also a great way to create relevant financial content that mirrors what your prospects are searching for and offers the win-win of improving your search engine rankings too.
Paid Advertising Campaigns
Paid advertising campaigns allow you to target potential customers immediately and start seeing results quickly. It’s a great tool within a bank marketing strategy, as it enables you to test different campaigns and see what resonates well with your audience. Google Ads allow you to be seen in Google rankings and on other websites, targeting potential customers based on their search queries and online behavior. Social media ads offer tools you can use to target users based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. We especially like the effects of retargeting campaigns that allow you to re-engage users who have visited your website or interacted with your bank online but have yet to convert.
Content Marketing
People go online to solve a problem. They may be looking for low rates for a car loan or to learn how to qualify for their first home loan. Content marketing allows you to provide information and engage with prospects as they are in their discovery phase. Or consider video marketing. With video, you can simplify your products and offers in an entertaining way. Provide a behind-the-scenes look at your operations or share stories about how you helped other customers. The possibilities are endless as you open up to creating content for the online world.
Solidifying Your Bank Marketing Strategy
With moving and shifting interests, the demand for new financial tools and investments is changing everywhere. Whether you cater to rural markets or big cities, you can find an advantage online to develop your niche and reach out using digital strategies. Never before have there been so many tools available that allow you to speak directly to your niche market and give people what they’re looking for.
If you haven’t developed a bank marketing strategy, it’s time to get started. It’s a great way to tap into the right markets, stand out from your competition, and thrive.
Need a hand? We’ve created bank marketing strategies for many within the financial industry. Tell us how we can help you.
