As the current year runs to an end, the time has come for marketers to begin examining and preparing for their 2019 Digital Marketing Strategies. With a constantly changing marketing landscape, it has become imperative to stay on top of the latest 2019 digital marketing trends.
Fortunately, several financial services organizations are becoming quickly aware of the unlimited potential of digital channels when creating a robust marketing plan for financial services.
Looking forward, there is one common theme among marketers in the financial space: authenticity! Fintech marketers’ goals are simple in 2019: to capture the hearts of customers and to convince them that their financial products are transparent, helpful and seamless.
As Millennials have become more skeptical regarding the honesty of marketing and advertising professionals, honesty has become an essential prerequisites for brands. From consistency with your brand message to remaining clear, direct and authentic, fintech marketers need to work extra hard to really deliver the best fintech marketing initiatives in 2019.
The three (3) major emerging Digital Fintech Marketing trends for the year 2019 are hardly surprising. However, what makes them imperative is the manner in which they complement each other, the emergence of certain marketing technologies and the market conditions in 2019.
The Digital Fintech Marketing Trends of 2019
Customer-Centric Marketing
This should be nothing new. The customer must be the focal point of everything we do. Personalized marketing strategies have been around for a long time. The only difference is that it has evolved beyond “Hello/Hi, my name is….” With all marketing automation software products available on the market today, marketers can deliver truly personalized experiences to their customers in 2019.
Financial marketers must make the consumer experience their priority in 2019 if they hope to remain competitive in the coming year. Traditional financial institutions will need adequate resources to personalize the consumer experience and leverage customer data to reach out to the right people at the right time with the right financial service offer.
In 2018, we’ve seen a large number of fintech startup companies thriving simply because they make life easier for their customers. Think of companies like Digit, Credit Karma or Acorns, all startups that have invested heavily in mobile first beautiful experiences.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence equip us with actionable discoveries in a market environment where customers demand market personalization at every opportunity. By consumer-centric focused branding, you are simply ensuring that your brand is constantly thinking about your customer’s requirements with useful, relevant and personalized communication.
The next question is, “How does the recurring theme of authenticity play out here?” 2018 has shown us that consumers engage with the brand in brief periods called micro-moments. In fact, the average consumer picks up his phone more than 150 times a day quickly checking out on various updates. The second this engagement becomes negative or unpleasant to the consumer, they will turn their attention to other things. Consumers will by default, direct their attention towards brands who pay attention to, and learn from their behavior and also forge genuine relationships with them.
In 2019, the customer will lead the journey and the conversation. Brands will benefit from using the voice of the customer to adopt and engage authentic consumer-centric marketing.
Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots
Digital fintech marketers should also look into implementing chatbots, one of the most commonly used forms of artificial intelligence. Chatbots are fully equipped to help brands offer a highly personalized form of customer service. They are also a very cost-effective and faster option than employing an actual workforce.
Chatbots can offer a personalized service, and they do take a break or feel tired. Ever! Above all that, they can be utilized for information gathering and targeted marketing techniques. They increase overall customer engagement and interaction by sending personalized messages and creating forums and platforms for automated interactions with customers.
Most companies outside of e-commerce/retail have so far only dabbled into Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence as a means of marketing, despite its proven success rate. In 2019, we predict to we will see both insurance and banking companies experiment more with AI and releasing solutions that can engage customers more frequently, get information to their users in an expedient fashion and overall improving the brand image for traditional financial institutions.
Channeling – Omni-channel, Multi-channel or No-channel.
Over the last few years, marketing professionals have been deciphering which channels are best suited to deliver their message. And the answer is simple: best fintech marketing strategies are omnichannel, aka delivered through all different channels based on specific user personas and target audiences!
The channel itself is no longer the primary question financial marketers are concerned with. The real question is how do fintech marketers personalize their message in order to fit each channel with its own idiosyncrasies. Today’s consumers are much less concerned with which channels they receive the message from, and are more about the message itself.
To maximize reach and product relevance, financial marketers must work on establishing effective two-way communication platforms between brands and consumers.
As digital brands start reexamining their communication style rather than being obsessed with specific delivery channels, they will also gradually transition towards becoming more consumer-centric by broadening their reach and improving consumers’ engagement rates.
Digital marketing strategies in 2019, should become more personalized than ever before for fintech marketers. Authenticity and data-driven customer-first initiatives are solid foundations guaranteed to improve the overall image and engagement rates for any financial organization out there. Incorporating these strategies into your business planning model in 2019 will boost your potential for success and keep you ahead of your competition.
