Product marketers at smaller retail banks are better served creating digital content than marketing through intermediaries, an EY report has concluded.
The 2024 EY NextWave Consumer Finance Research polled US retail banking and wealth customers about their attitudes towards smaller financial institutions.
It found nearly two thirds of those surveyed (62%) said that “online research plays a major role in selecting their next product, twice more than seeking advice from a financial professional.”
The report’s authors – Adrien Cailleau, manager of consumer banking and wealth and Toshiharu Mogi, EY’s Parthenon Principal, strategy and transactions – underscored the importance of digestible digital content to influence buyers.
“The most effective way to draw consumers is to be present in the digital marketplace,” they said.
“They want products or services that are better suited to their financial goals and life events, whether it comes from their primary financial relationship or a third party.”
The research found that consumers are increasingly drawn to bespoke marketing approaches and found that mass targeting marketing strategies would potentially miss 61% of consumers’ major life event purchases because each generation has different needs.
Partnership promotions are also likely to play well in the current market, the survey found. Financial institutions that offer “cross-brand opportunities” on digital platforms can help “improve client retention and re-engage existing customers,” the researchers found.
Some 82% of those polled expressed interest in receiving cross brand offers.
Readers looking to review the entire EY report, you can do so, here.