The major digital themes dominating the banking industry will include integrated marketing, quality content and multichannel distribution. Are you ready?
The new year means new opportunities for financial marketers to help bring in more business for banks and credit unions. Consumers will be thrust to the forefront, as financial marketers focus on making meaningful connections with customers and members. At the same time, financial institutions will begin to differentiate from their competition by humanizing their brand, and delivering interesting, valuable information to consumers with a consistent voice that they can relate to.
1. Getting back to basics with better branding
With more and more consumers doing their banking online instead of at the branch, the year 2015 will see financial institutions differentiating themselves more digitally though effective branding. CEB found that 58% of consumers have tried a new brand in the last three months that they didn’t even know about one year ago, so the importance of brand awareness and engagement is paramount. Whether rebranding entirely or refreshing the current brand, financial marketers will be tasked with making their institution stand out in an industry that promotes many of the same products and services.
Typical branding efforts include logo design, corporate identification and style guide development that will extend across all marketing channels for increased visibility. As the online hub for financial institutions, the corporate website will seek to deliver on the brand promise with customized images, consumer-centric messaging, and personalized user experiences (UX). Financial marketers will emphasize unique brands, and position brands by extending the bank or credit union’s mission and values throughout web content in a manner that is truly felt by the consumer. In a cluttered online space where financial institutions compete over consumer attention, banks and credit unions will seek to convey brand continuity with a distinct look and feel across all marketing channels.