Fintech Marketing – How’s that different?
Pratik Shah, Global Head of Marketing, InstaReM, talks about fintech marketing and why establishing a fintech brand in 2019 is hard work. He also shares a few thoughts on the facets that new or existing fintechs may explore while making themselves visible in the increasingly dynamic and cluttered space from his own professional experience.
From being a buzzword some years ago, FinTech has now reached early mass-adoption stage. Thanks to the innovative fintech offerings, consumers are now able to do cheque deposits and rebalance their portfolios during their morning commute, and businesses are now able to compare financing terms and secure a loan in less than 24 hours without really having to visit a bank. Almost every day, a new fintech challenger emerges who promises to disrupt incumbents in some or the other financial service. Perhaps that’s why establishing a fintech brand in 2019 is hard work. No longer is there a first mover’s advantage, nor is there a crisp product differentiation.
Yet, given the externalities (submission of forms, KYC etc. which calls for investment in terms of time), the fintechs’ retention of customers (% of customers who keep using the product) is typically still better than that of e-commerce companies, where loyalty is typically defined by where’s the next discount coming from. However, one could argue that customer loyalty is diminishing even in fintechs, given quicker e-KYCs, UPI and other “instant” activation approaches – and the overall commoditized nature of product offerings.
That is why sustained marketing and brand-building is vital for fintechs. The irony is that nothing works like word of mouth in the financial services industry (do you remember who recommended LIC to you?), and there’s no better marketing tool than a personal recommendation from a friend or someone in the family. But even to reach the “strongly-recommended” stage, the brand needs to be built carefully, brick-by-brick, or rather click-by-click!
Because when it comes to dealing with money, customers expect the brands they can trust. But as a fintech startup, you enter this market as a completely unknown, with a serious trust deficit compared to the incumbents. Discovery and trust are your biggest challenges. While the promoter’s personal brand equity (assuming there is a record) helps to get early customers, sustaining and growing the business requires carefully creating and nurturing the brand.
From my professional experience, here are a few thoughts that the new or existing fintechs may explore while making themselves visible in the increasingly dynamic and cluttered space:
Customer Acquisition: Think lifetime value
Unless you are a first-mover with a terrific value proposition and well-established credibility, be prepared to shell out extra dollars to acquire customers. Be assured, these costs would be much higher than the typical e-commerce acquisition costs. A better way is to avoid the myopic customer acquisition costs (CAC) and focus on lifetime value. Provide more segmented product offerings, and / or products (if available in the ecosystem), attractive loyalty schemes to get the user coming again, delighting the customer and letting the customer experience a positive brand touch.
Keep active during the consideration period
Unlike an e-commerce buy, a fintech customer typically takes a longer time to convert. Customers generally do their homework. Hence, it is advisable to offer customized and personalized content. Educating potential users is an effective approach to build your reputation as an expert and doing this through relevant and actionable content is one way to demonstrate that you’re looking after your customers’ interests. Online reviews of the company will be read, other products and companies compared, and in the end, a comfort and trust factor will kick in subconsciously. The only thing that can potentially expedite the decision could be a convincing recommendation, a good pitch or a promotion that is too good to let go. Think of what this could be? Referrals can play a major role.
Keep onboarding simple
Right from a potential customer viewing your advertisement till the time she registers on the site (the cost of acquisition of the customer would not be trivial), the customer experience would play the most important role. How’s the UI? It doesn’t have to be flashy or overwhelming. Does it inspire trust? Is the navigation simple enough? Does the website give relevant information? A smooth, hassle-free onboarding is the first step in the customer’s journey with the brand. There is absolutely no margin for error here. There is a fat chance that a longish and cumbersome onboarding experience may put off customers at the outset.
Think outside traditional keyword research
Yes, keyword research would be the very foundation of all your fintech inbound marketing. It means that your content gets put in front of the right people (target audience), at the right time and if this can be done properly, you have converted them into leads, which may subsequently turn to a potential sale.
But what happens to those who are not looking for your service as of now, but are still a potential market? Think outside of the keyword research box. Go to related terms and ensure you broaden the list. Use social media to aid discovery.
With stronger incumbents in place – and with search algorithms changing almost on a weekly basis – it might be a daunting task especially for a new fintech to get those coveted search ranks. Try guerilla ppc tactics.
Partner Strategy
Partners and aggregators are an important part of the financial ecosystem. Make sure you have a well-developed partner strategy and a dedicated team to manage and nurture it.
Simplify
Traditional financial products can appear baffling, especially to younger consumers. It is important to ensure that the product is well-understood by the target audience. So lead messaging and product explanations should be as simple and economical as possible, while still getting across your value proposition.
Be Transparent
This is another area where most fintechs have a huge advantage over traditional firms. This involves making the navigation of the website and its terms and conditions as transparent as possible throughout the customer journey.
Participate in Industry events
This gives a real-life touch and feel opportunity for an online business; both community and industry-driven events are the key. From a long-term view, the credibility of the brand needs to be built. And the brand needs to be visible. And yes, while ensuring all of the above aspects, make sure you don’t slip on compliance- whatever the marketing temptation. Fintech CMOs may need go an extra mile to identify the sweet spot between compliance and a compelling marketing message.