The pressure is on for financial marketers to deliver in 2019. What with cryptocurrency, new tax laws, and fluctuating interest and inflation rates, consumers are in an uproar over their hard-earned money, ready to switch banks/credit unions at the drop of a bank note. Improving customer service and strengthening brand loyalty are paramount, so marketers must be on top of advanced analytics and data mining — or see their customers stampeded by the competition to greener pastures.
Marketers need to use hyper-personalization with customers from now on. That means that each account holder must come to realize that their financial institution doesn’t just know a lot about them — but cares a lot about them.
Financial institutions must be ruthless in weeding out nonproductive and conservative roadblocks in their marketing departments. Restaffing with the best and brightest when it comes to new marketing technology and social media is a sine qua non for successful customer retention.
The rise of the chatbot, while initially challenged and ignored by many financial institutions, is now firmly entrenched in the marketing philosophy of every major money handling venture. These algorithmic drudges can handle thousands of routine questions and requests at a time, while learning more about financial products and instruments to suggest to fit consumers immediate and personal needs. This frees up the regular staff to handle more intricate and emotional matters with customers face-to-face. And that is always a win-win situation for marketing.