Success in Marketing – it’s only with Data, AI, Metrics and Growth

Marketing in the digital age has evolved significantly over the years, with the transition to digital being driven by many cultural, technological, and societal changes. It is no longer just a means of enhancing customer relationships effectively, but also the primary approach to building new bonds with desired audiences.

In banking, accountholders are demanding more personalized and relevant content, and financial institutions that fail to adapt will undoubtedly be at a severe competitive disadvantage. Branches are being frequented less, opening the door for digital marketing to drive stronger consumer relationships. This is accomplished with more personalized communication and improvements to in-person and digital experiences, and better engagement with tailored recommendations, faster customer service, and more relevant content.

Digital marketing has a strategic role to play in driving business growth, enabling community banks and credit unions scale their reach and engagement across a variety of digital channels. For instance, at one extreme, younger and future accountholders stay well away from branch visits. How else do you reach them if you don’t leverage digital?

Despite being transformative, far too many financial institutions and their C-suite executives fail to take advantage of what should be a strategic growth initiative. Instead of being stuck in traditional, “analog” marketing, it will pay for them to become aware of the sheer power and potential in contemporary digital communications.

Data and AI are not just buzzwords

Today, marketing prioritizes the use of data insights to understand customers as individuals with unique needs. Technology helps do this at scale to deliver personalized experiences while measuring performance and ultimately driving strategic growth. With modern consumers being so connected and accessing information from their fingertips, they expect nothing less than this personal interaction – be it from a retail business or their financial institution. Therefore, leadership at institutions must rise to this challenge, letting their accountholders know they not only recognize this, but will treat them as unique individuals with unique needs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing marketing in terms of personalization, automation, predictive analytics, content generation, improved marketing insights and cost-effectiveness. A key advantage of digital marketing is the ability to effectively leverage data to gain insights into customer behavior. The immense amount of data available today when combined with AI gives financial institutions tremendous insights into the needs and preferences of their accountholders.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions”
This quote resonates more than ever today. With data-driven marketing , every click, view, and interaction can and should be tracked and analyzed. Only then will financial institutions understand their customers better, tailor their messages to be more effective, and optimize their marketing outcomes. What is not measured cannot be assessed or improved.

It is no longer enough for financial institutions to blindly execute marketing campaigns in a vacuum. Digital marketing systems that fail to provide detailed performance metrics are enablers of this phenomenon. They may provide a checkmark for management that your campaigns are digital, but they are doing nothing worthwhile for your institutions.

Banks and credit unions must invest in analyzing the performance of their campaigns and this can only be done when you have metrics handy. A failure to monitor campaign performance squanders opportunities to optimize their communication and improvements to ROI. Precise metrics can help analyze and maximize the performance of marketing campaigns. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as impressions, click-through rates, conversion rates, influenced product sales, and ROI are some of the important metrics that need to be easily available.

Elevate, don’t relegate, digital

Financial institutions that relegate digital marketing run the risk of becoming less relevant and attractive to their customers and membership. A well-crafted top-down digital marketing strategy is one that can strengthen sustainable growth for a financial institution. Digital marketing is not just about selling products and services. It is about building strong relationships with your accountholders and increasing retention. By engaging them through personalized content and tailored offers, you can build trust and loyalty, leading to sustainable growth.
Therefore, to be successful in marketing today (and tomorrow!), the formula is not complicated. Aim to leverage data and AI insights effectively to deliver personalized and meaningful communications consistently. Then measure outcomes, optimize, and repeat. Or, in other words, set your financial institution up for assured growth.

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