A 3-step guide to personalize banking services and foster loyalty

2. Adapt your content accordingly

Once financial institutions know what their target audience is, they can focus on optimizing their communications to have a lasting impact across the different customer lifecycle stages.

Creating a segmentation based on customer attitudes rather than profiles seems to be the key to success with a customer-centric approach. Banks and credit unions that prioritize customer satisfaction based on the overall journey rather than individual touchpoints will be the real winners.

Starting with the customer acquisition stage, it is important to differentiate the messaging for prospects who are budgeters or non-budgeters. 

For budgeters, it is preferred to focus on campaign ads that provide long-term, value-added benefits, and emphasize new opportunities to trigger the member’s excitement about the future.

Non-budgeters, on the other hand, it is best to emphasize security, financial guidance, and overcoming obstacles in the marketing messaging.

Overall, the emphasis should be placed on the financial institution’s commitment to the financial well-being of its account holders, regardless of their different financial objectives.

Using the ebankIT Campaign Manager, financial institutions can design tailored campaigns that resonate deeply with each customer. By utilizing data-driven insights, they can accurately target individual clients, deliver personalized messages, and boost conversion rates.

Furthermore, as different channels resonate with different customer segments, financial institutions can choose the most suitable one to convey their marketing message and effectively reach their campaign's intended audience.

By leveraging a variety of options such as email, SMS, push notifications, and secure messages, banks can ensure their presence where their target customers are most engaged.

3. Build long lasting relationships

Financial institutions must go beyond simply knowing their customers and rather try to build long-lasting relationships with them in order to foster loyalty. In an era where it is extremely easy to change banking services, financial institutions must go above and beyond to provide the best financial experience.

A poor customer experience can quickly motivate people to switch banks, leading to 20% client loss. According to McKinsey, 72% of clients expect companies to recognize them as individuals and understand their preferences.

The timing of a message is just as crucial as its content. Clients are more likely to respond when an offer or service is presented during key moments, such as when they are actively managing their finances or browsing for related products.

Timely ads aligned with customer needs increase the chances of conversions, while untimely messages can be ignored or seen as intrusive. By leveraging precise timing, banks can ensure their ads resonate and lead to higher engagement and improved customer satisfaction. 

A common personalization strategy is to remind account holders about services or banking products they have explored and expressed interest in but have not yet committed to.

Customers appreciate being recommended products or services that complement what they have already browsed or subscribed to. Financial institutions should keep track of impressions and stop serving ads to customers who haven’t responded.

Building strong client relationships hinges on providing convenience and supporting account holders through different phases of their lives.

The road to hyper-personalization

As the relationship flourishes and users begin using the products and services of the financial institutions, the next step is to embed the banking services into their daily financial lives through micro-transactions.

For instance, a banking app could round up each debit card transaction to the nearest dollar and automatically transfer the difference into a savings account for non-budgeters for instance or help them manage small, recurring payments by providing insights into their subscription services (e.g., Netflix, Spotify) and offering one-click options to cancel, pause, or bundle these payments for better financial control.

The key is to keep budgeters engaged by providing summaries of their spending patterns, offering cash back and other rewards to incent regular usage, stimulating their engagement through gamification strategies.

The focus for non-budgeters is on providing services and tools that help them control their spending and stay within their weekly budgets. Card controls and alerts that empower members to decide when, where, and how their preferred payment methods are used will help them stay on track with their financial goals. 

In conclusion, understanding the psychology behind account holders' spending is crucial for financial institutions aiming to deliver personalized and effective banking experiences.

By identifying and segmenting users into budgeters and non-budgeters, banks can tailor their services and communications to meet the distinct needs of each group. This approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also fosters long-lasting relationships, ultimately driving loyalty and growth.

As financial institutions continue to innovate and integrate hyper-personalization strategies, they position themselves to better serve their clients, ensuring a seamless and supportive banking journey that aligns with individual financial goals.