Successfully navigating how to market a financial services company requires seasoned expertise and precise execution and results in effectively resonating with target audiences, generating positive ROI and helping financial services companies achieve their business goals. What is financial marketing? The unique blend of strategic communications, PR strategies for financial firms, brand communications, content marketing, social media and reputation management for financial services firms.

As a financial services marketing agency, Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) serves as a trusted partner and strategic advisor to a range of financial services clients, keeping up with the latest industry trends, nurturing relationships with key influencers and reporters, and maintaining a firm grasp on how to get important decision-makers to engage and take action.

How Does Financial Services Marketing Work?

What is online marketing of financial services? Within an inundated industry with competing marketing materials and thought leadership, effective financial services marketing focuses on the development of quality content that breaks through the noise and achieves tangible results. The ultimate in how to market a financial services company varies with each unique organization and its goals. From thought leadership, such as bylined articles, story placements and speaking opportunities, to influencer and media relationships and placements and the navigation of complex reputational issues, marketing of financial services requires a comprehensive, personalized approach that aligns brand identity and mission with your unique stakeholders’ goals and opportunities.

What are the Benefits of Financial Marketing?

One of the oldest industries in the world, the modern world of financial services must compete with rapidly growing competition and deliver the types of enhanced and personalized digital experiences that customers expect. While there are endless benefits of financial marketing, below is an overview of the top five:

Build Trust with Prospective Customers

Financial services consumers want to do business with financial companies they trust. Respect and authority come from establishing a remarkable company culture, building helpful and innovative digital experiences and promoting industry thought leadership.

Resonate with Target Audiences 

More and more, financial consumers want to connect with financial companies that offer exceptional digital experiences and convenience. The right marketing message can connect your offerings with your target audiences.

Optimize the Digital User Experience

From better messaging, UX and technology, financial services brands must continue to optimize the end-to-end user experience to stay competitive and meet the growing needs of consumers.

Personalize Marketing Initiatives 

Leveraging data to make relevant recommendations to existing customers and introducing them to new services is a marketing win-win.

Enhance the Customer Journey 

Understanding how a user’s experience differs from one touchpoint to another is imperative to enhancing the customer journey and ensuring consumers are able to access what they need when they need it.

Marketing For Different Financial Products and Services

Whether we’re introducing a branded content studio at Money 20/20 as part of an integrated content marketing campaign, generating brand awareness for Janus Henderson Investors, launching the first actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) and driving assets under management (AUM), or consistently securing top-tier media coverage as part of an ongoing PR strategy for a personal finance product, we deploy creative ingenuity and flawless execution to generate tangible business results for our clients. Armed with a breadth of expertise from financial services conference marketing and generating leads for FinTech companies to social media and PR campaigns to boost new account openings and contributions, CSG’s team of experts helps exceptional clients market financial products and navigate industry complexities and competition in the following areas:

  • Asset Management
  • Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
  • Employee Benefits
  • Financial Associations
  • Financial B2B Vendors
  • Financial Insurance
  • FinTech
  • Marketing For Different Financial Products & Services
  • Payments
  • Retail, Commercial & Investment Banking
  • Wealth Management

Common Financial Marketing Challenges

The financial services market has experienced sweeping changes in recent years — including  disruptive technologies, stringent regulations and evolving consumer relations — which have created several challenges in determining how to market a financial services company.

Here are five major marketing challenges that the industry currently faces:

Commoditization

The digital age has created opportunities for more players to enter the financial services field. With increased competition, many companies have the same things to offer and consumers could be less incentivized to have brand loyalty.

Lack of Consumer Trust 

The financial services industry has suffered from consumer trust issues over the years, making it more difficult for marketers to truly connect with their audience.

Marketing Automation

While automated marketing makes it easier for brands to push out targeted ad campaigns, the financial services industry has been slow to adopt this approach due to internal and compliance factors and leadership reluctance.

Intangible Offerings 

Oftentimes, the art of marketing a financial product is about selling an idea over a tangible product, which can be difficult. You have to sell future possibilities, which can be tricky when there are no guarantees.

Regulations

You can’t talk about financial service marketing without talking about regulations. When it comes to financial advertisements, there are strict rules around what they can and cannot contain. These guidelines can stifle creativity and lead financial marketers to rely on established marketing methods that they know adhere to regulatory rules — a strategy that fails to account for evolving customer expectations.

Financial Services Marketing Strategies

Developing traditional and digital marketing strategies for financial services should consider a range of personalized elements, such as your organization’s unique goals, objectives, strengths and weaknesses, as well as target markets, new and emerging markets and available resources. Tailored and effective financial services marketing might leverage the following strategies:

  • Customer outreach. Customer outreach is one of the oldest, simplest and most effective marketing strategies for banks and financial institutions. Customer outreach involves reaching out to customers to fill existing needs surrounding education, awareness and resources. Customer outreach might result in the form of free consultations, webinars, eBooks or financial education programs.
  • Self-service and digitization. It’s no secret that we live in an increasingly digital world. Offering digitized financial products and customer service or experience portals that allow customers to seamlessly engage with your organization digitally is imperative today.
  • Social media. Social media is a vital piece of your organization’s overall digital marketing strategy. It might be short-term content, but results-driven social media is a long-term strategy that helps your brand build trust, leverage marketing opportunities and grow and nurture your customer base.
  • Automation and big data. Is your organization taking advantage of big data? Today, customer experience platforms and automation tools make it easier than ever to utilize and apply data as part of your marketing strategy for financial services. Big data can help you identify and offer services to customers before or after they are needed, as well as target specific audiences who need additional customer service or digital financial education.
  • Digital storytelling. Storytelling is one of the most effective marketing mediums that can be executed through a number of platforms — social media, video, ads, blogs and more. Compelling content marketing strategies leverage your brand’s unique story and offerings to capture interest, evoke emotion and drive action.

How to Know If Your Financial Marketing is Effective?

Successful financial services marketing answers one question: is the campaign or strategy helping your organization achieve its goals? Is it transforming prospective customers into brand champions? Is it boosting your organization’s reputation or trust in the industry? Is it delivering a compelling message that resonates with your target audience? Determining these answers can be found in tailored data analytics.

How to Calculate Financial Services Marketing ROI?

One of the best ways to measure the effectiveness of digital marketing for financial services is by calculating the return on investment, or ROI. Return on investment simply compares the profit that resulted from a digital marketing campaign to how much the campaign cost to create and deploy.

The basic ROI calculation is:

ROI = (Net Profit/Total Cost)*100

How to Choose a Financial Marketing Agency?

Searching for the right partner to help your organization develop a winning financial services marketing strategy? The right agency with a deep bench of expertise can give you valuable guidance in discovering your audience, developing content marketing that gets results, building thought leadership, engaging with effective media and measuring the success of campaigns and tracking results. To find a marketing partner that fits your vision for your company, follow these steps.

Set Your Objectives

What objectives do you want to achieve with Financial services marketing? More leads? Greater awareness? Promote thought leadership and industry authority? Figuring out what you’re trying to accomplish will help you find a partner that has experience in the exact areas you’re targeting.

Create a Budget

Understanding budget is vital when searching for the right marketing partner. Being transparent with your expectations, limitations and budget is key to identifying an expert team that can make the most of your resources.

Research Financial Services Agencies

When evaluating financial services agencies, consider their website, social media channels and other telling elements, such as:

Write a List of Questions to Ask

Asking the right questions is a great way to determine which agency will be the best fit for your organization. Consider the following questions:

  • What can you do for my company?
  • How much is this going to cost me?
  • How will we communicate on an ongoing basis?
  • What big-picture marketing strategies will you come up with?
  • What is the timeline for implementation?
  • Who do I talk to if I have other questions, comments, or concerns?

Have Meetings

Meet with the stakeholders of your company to help them understand what you’re trying to accomplish by hiring a marketing agency. Communication is a must when selecting a new vendor or supplier, including a marketing partner. Having internal alignment on the matter will help ensure that you choose an agency suited to your values, goals and projected circumstances.

Set Expectations

Once you decide to hire a financial services marketing agency, make sure everyone on your team understands the expectations that will come along with the new marketing campaigns. This is the time to set parameters for communication, such as designating a company liaison who talks to the marketing agency and setting up communication channels and systems.

Onboard Your Financial Marketing Agency

After that, it’s time to onboard your new marketing agency and begin your work together.

Develop Your Financial Marketing Strategy With Us

What is financial marketing? The key to standing out in an increasingly competitive market. With a personalized strategy and the right expertise, marketing of financial services can help your organization resonate with key audiences, influence the right decision-makers and achieve its goals.

Contact us today if you’re searching for a partner to navigate traditional or digital marketing for financial services. As an award-winning marketing agency for finance, CSG partners with financial services clients to develop thought leaders, create content marketing that delivers results and navigate complex reputational issues.