The banking industry has access to more data than ever before. This creates segmentation opportunities that were unimaginable in the past, but it also brings new challenges in organizing communication flows in a way that goes beyond databases.
According to a study, only 14% of customers feel that banking offers are sufficiently personalized, which is surprising in the era of Big Data.
Transformations and Opportunities
Bank marketing is undergoing a period of rapid transformation , as banks adapt to new technologies and trends in the financial sector, borrowing strategies and business models from fintechs. Today, banks are no longer just traditional financial institutions; they are becoming key players in digital ecosystems, using Big Data and artificial intelligence to create personalized experiences and optimize their services.
By integrating Big Data, banks can analyze vast amounts of information about customers, from financial behaviors and transactions to their activity on social media, in order to build detailed profiles and offer real-time personalized offers. These strategies help financial institutions improve customer segments, create highly relevant marketing campaigns, and predict customers' financial needs before they explicitly express them.
Moreover, the use of AI for predictive analytics and the automation of banking processes allows banks to reduce operational costs and improve efficiency, reaching a level of personalization that was impossible to achieve just a few years ago. Banks now use diverse data to create detailed customer profiles.
As a result, they plan more relevant marketing campaigns, analyze customer behaviors and needs, and reduce the risks of making inappropriate offers.
Personalization of banking services is essential and increases customer loyalty.
According to a study, only 14% of customers feel that banking offers are sufficiently personalized, showing that adopting modern technology can make a significant difference.
How can customer behavior and preference data be used to create personalized messages? For example, email campaigns with financial offers tailored to customers' life events, such as saving for education or purchasing a home.
Integrating personalization across all channels—social media, email, mobile apps—creates a unified and deeply personalized experience.
How an agency complements an in-house team
Why would a large bank with a robust internal marketing department need an external marketing agency? The answer lies in the different perspective that an agency brings.
Especially since it has access to large volumes of data, an internal team can sometimes become too absorbed by its own internal processes and objectives. The agency, on the other hand, can look at things from the outside, bringing cross-industry experience to create workflows and communication strategies.
Creating a structure
Taking the BlackSquare-BCR relationship as an example, the most important contribution wasn’t necessarily the creation of in-app messages, landing pages, or newsletters. First and foremost, we helped structure communication flows for various products, with long-term benefits both for our client and their customers. We took on task management based on a flexible delivery calendar. We created an interactive working template where the client could provide real-time feedback and contributed to improving the process of turning products into coherent digital communications.
In the process of creating deliverables, we contributed to tone differentiation between brands and the creation of complex, interconnected messaging flows (from educational messages to product promotion, explaining functionalities in order of importance or particularities, cross-sell, thank you messages, follow-ups, etc.).
A good agency audits and optimizes existing processes and brings an external perspective, identifying weak points in the current workflows:
- Is customer segmentation being used correctly?
- Are the messages consistent across all channels?
- Are the results measured correctly?
In addition, it proposes a communication framework tailored to the bank's needs and its customer segments. The created framework should be:
- Scalable: To accommodate rapid changes in the industry.
- Customized: It should integrate emotional tactics, tailored to the segments, alongside factual financial messages.
BCR traditionally had a marketing strategy focused on offline channels. The trend of moving banking services online, accelerated by the pandemic, along with the launch of the George banking app, brought notable changes, in which BlackSquare has been closely involved.
Overall, the banking industry is at a turning point. Technologies like artificial intelligence and automation are redefining what it means to be close to the customer. However, despite all the digital tools, the essence remains the same: trust.
Marketing agencies working with large banks not only implement campaigns but also build mechanisms that support long-term trust. Through a well-thought-out communication flow, brands not only manage to capture the attention of clients but also remain relevant in their lives.
