Banks and credit unions are increasing their spend on marketing tech, data-driven techniques and content marketing. According to the ABA “Martech” now comprises about 22% of the average bank’s budget. The stacks are getting increasingly complex and expensive and still offer little hope in terms of hacks, leaving Facebook and Google as the only real winners.
As we dig into how marketing technologies work, we learn that as the competition goes up for a product, so too the price of advertising. Banks have trained customers to be very transactional , forcing costs out and customers into digital channels. With the primary focus being cost optimisation, the core products have become commoditised and transactional. There should be little surprise that competition is high.
Some of this is the fault of FinTech, the focus on the technology, not the customer. Shiny cards and slippery slopes of on-boarding have accelerated the commoditisationand people’s pain. Check out the rise of Buy Now Pay Latter (BNPL) if you’re not there yet. . Very little of this has solved real customer problems about their financial lives and customers deep needs around that which makes the world go around. Financial stress is one of the leading causes of mental illness and involves in in every four thoughts people have. This money issue is real and waiting for disruptive financial institutions to stand and deliver against. After 20 years of trying we’ve also realised the answer is not Personal Finance managers , apps that tell people how many bills they have and how little money they have. the answer lies in helping people build better habits, not telling in them how bad they are.
As banks seek to tell a different story, identify markets and campaigns where there is less competition, build relationships through engagement and lower advert auction prices, banks and credit unions are increasingly treating customer experience as a marketing asset. As they do so they are increasing the personalisation of the experience, being more flexible in product design and targeting essential consumer populations.
Generation Z is one such demographic and based on one analysis is one of the top 5 retail banking marketing trends. The analysis points to the view of the Financial Brand which notes that whilst Millennials are still the most important generational segment for financial marketers, Gen Z is right around the corner.
Banks and credit unions spent the better part of two decades trying to figure out the Millennial market. Financial marketers had better start wrapping their heads around Generation Z, lest they repeat their mistakes. Those banks and credit unions that align themselves with this Gen Z mindset will succeed, while those that don’t will become irrelevant.
Generation Z is comprised of 6- to 23-year-old consumers who are tech-savvy and “starting to graduate, manage finances, earn disposable incomes and account for 1/3 of the population.
According to the Centre for Financial Inclusion “Financial capability is the combination of attitude, knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy needed to make and exercise money management decisions that best fit the circumstances of one’s life, within an enabling environment that includes, but is not limited to, access to appropriate financial services” We all want the best possible financial future for the next generation. Research shows that developing financial capability from a young age will make a difference. Whilst this can be at home or at school, digital presents banks an opportunity to provide leadership. There is a real and emerging opportunity for the financial service industry to sincerely commit to financial fitness for the next generation.
The industry has a unique and privileged opportunity to support and advocate for a commitment to the financial capability and wellbeing of our children and grandchildren. For banks and financial institutions around the world seeking to exist on purpose, customer service and value, the opportunity to embed a commitment to financial wellness in their suite of services should be a priority. The first step is knowing the research related to financial habits and economics, listening to financial education specialists who are already in the space, finding out about the pluses and minuses of gamification, when compared to other educational models, and then strategizing how best to advocate personally and in your workplace.
From Moroku’s perspective, the world’s leading financial services gamification company, the advice is on how to win is crisp Proving the point around how important Gen Z is, Spanish heavy weight, Santander, have weighed in with their new piece of video content. But not everyone, including the team here at Moroku, is convinced they have nailed it as viewers turned to Reddit and Pinterest calling the ad scary and creepy. Watch the video below and contemplate how your content strategy might be similar or different for this critical segment.
For Gen Z, digital interactions are shifting from websites to mobile. They are growing up fast, with or without you. They are finding new ways to do old things. They’re demanding better — from themselves, from each other, and from the brands they do business with.
Get in touch today and kick off your children banking project