These days, it’s all about personalization. From social media algorithms to Netflix recommendations, people want information that’s relevant to them and their interests. The same goes for recommendations about financial products and services. As mentioned in a previous post, 50 percent of people want personalization from their financial institution (credit unions specifically in this study). What’s the best way to do that? In this article, we’ll review some strategies you can use to personalize your own marketing campaigns to your account holders to drive higher engagement and promote more brand loyalty.

Getting started

Perhaps the first step to creating personalized marketing campaigns is by recognizing that not everyone receives information in the same way. Some people are email junkies. Others are constantly scrolling social media. Maybe some of your audience (probably most, actually) are glued to their phones and only get news via mobile channels, and maybe others prefer to do their online banking from their desktop. You may need to do a little trial and error to see which channels your account holders respond to the best. Having some demographic information on hand and doing a little research beforehand should help you. For example, if your demographic skews towards people under 25, it's more likely they prefer to receive information through their mobile phones vs desktop.

Narrow your audience

Once you’ve got a grip on the channels your audience prefers to communicate through, it’s time to drill down even further. Where are your account holders in their financial journey? Are they just starting out? Or have do they have the proverbial house and picket fence and are now focused on saving for retirement? Personalizing your campaigns means tailoring the content to your audience as much as possible. This will also help you focus your message.

Strike a friendly tone

Unless you’re drafting up a formal loan contract that requires stricter language, we recommend you keep your communications on the friendlier side. Finances can be a tough subject for people to grasp – you want your account holders to know that you can take care of them and help them understand exactly what they’re getting from you and how it benefits them. If they can’t understand it, they won’t be interested, and you’ll lose them.

Keep it data-driven

We’ve said it plenty of times before and we’ll say it again: People give you their information for a reason. Use it wisely to tailor offers and services that fit their needs. There's been a lot of talk (and rightfully so) about how data is being collected and for what purposes. People may be reluctant to share their data and/or location. But if you can offer them something of value in return, such as information that’s specifically helpful to them in the moment, and be clear about how the information they’re providing will help them have a better experience – they’ll be more likely to share their information with you. In turn you can provide helpful advice about financial literacy, programs and services that are specifically relevant to them and their needs at that time.

The takeaway

If you want to drive higher engagement and strengthen relations with your account holders, you must personalize your communications to them. When you keep them friendly, topic-specific and targeted towards the people who are most interested, you’ll help your financial institution drive higher engagement and ultimately revenue as a result.

If you’re looking for a unique way to personalize your marketing campaigns, consider mobile lock screen notifications. Larky delivers customized push notification campaigns directly through the mobile banking app, so your account holders receive relevant information at the right time and in the right place. Contact us to learn more or schedule a demo to see for yourself.

‍