Mastering Multichannel Marketing
You have probably created a comprehensive 2021 marketing plan for your financial institution that is full of exciting tactics. But will your plan enable your team to successfully support your various business units in reaching their annual goals?
If building a holistic, multichannel marketing strategy isn’t part of your current plan, the time to do it is NOW. By taking advantage of the channels that maximize returns and leverage today’s trends and lifestyle habits, you can elevate your bank or credit union’s brand and increase campaign results.
Your plan doesn’t have to be exceedingly difficult or expensive to produce results. In fact, it can be pretty simple and budget-friendly. What it does need is consistency in tone, look, and feel. This is your chance to replace the random, occasional, obligatory communications with relevant and timely messaging placed in the right channels for your audience.
It’s well-known that acquiring new customers or members is significantly more expensive than retaining existing ones. Since generating leads and converting prospects certainly won’t happen by accident, you need to make sure you’re spending your marketing dollars where they’ll be most effective.
Here’s how to get started with multichannel marketing for your bank or credit union:
1. Direct Mail
Although a lot of marketers are dismissive of direct mail campaigns, the truth is, they are still one of the most effective forms of advertising. U.S. advertisers spend nearly $40 billion annually on direct mail marketing, and with good reason – direct mail open rates can be as high as 90%, and response rates are five to nine times higher than other advertising channels.
Targeted direct mail results are even more impressive: Simply adding your recipient’s name to the direct mail piece increases response rates by 135%!
Somewhat surprisingly, as part of a multichannel marketing strategy, direct mail is also effective at reaching millennials. Three-fourths of this demographic claims that the mail they receive is valuable. Over 90% of millennials said they are influenced to make a purchase based on direct mail ads, compared to 78% influenced by email.
Which brings us to our next point…
2. Digital Advertising
Adding relevant digital advertising to targeted direct mail pieces is a powerful combination.
In 2019, Hootsuite’s Digital Report revealed that the average person spent more than a quarter of their life online. Thanks to the pandemic and the increase of remote work and social zooms, that figure is significantly higher now. So with your current and prospective customers or members online all the time, that’s where you need to be too.
From email marketing outreach and digital ads to social media campaigns and geotargeted content, a cohesive digital advertising strategy is crucial to capturing your audience’s attention. Leveraging these different platforms for outreach and engagement is a great way to keep your brand relevant in their minds.
3. Continue the Conversation
Landing pages are designed to convert visitors into leads, so developing an effective landing page should be part of your multichannel marketing strategy.
When people click on a link in your email, click on your ad while browsing Facebook, or select your result in their Google search options, they should be directed to a page specifically created as part of your campaign.
Your landing page should include copy that is directly related to the advertisement the visitor clicked on, and provide supporting information about the promotion. In addition, landing pages should include multiple “calls to action” for your prospective customer or member. Whether you want them to apply online, come into your branch, or reach out to a lender, your landing page should give them an opportunity to complete their desired action.
Finally, don’t forget to include a way to capture the visitor’s contact information on your landing page so your business development team can follow up with them later.
4. Close the Deal
Driving traffic to your landing page is great. But what happens next? In a perfect world, your financial institution’s sales team and front-line representatives have already been briefed on the campaign in progress. They’ll have received training on the product or service to promote, and will have the tools and resources they need to move forward.
In reality, the busy business development officers, branch managers, and lenders may need a little reminder from your marketing department to follow up with interested prospects in a timely manner. Provide them with the list of leads in an easy-to-read format, and have them get started reaching out using the visitor’s information provided on the landing page. Remember, they clicked on your ad and looked at your landing page for a reason – you have something they need.
It’s helpful for the marketing department to provide an internal document with key talking points, including a clearly defined list of benefits and features, for employees to reference when speaking to future customers or members. Because even though clever ads and eye-catching landing pages are nice, it doesn’t count until you seal the deal, right?
Whether you want to increase core deposits, cross-sell products, or expand into new markets, designing and executing a consistent multichannel marketing strategy will help your financial institution stand out from the competition and achieve your organizational goals.
Lightstream is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that has been serving banks and credit unions across the country for nearly 15 years. Connect with us to see how we can help you succeed.
