Are you getting the best possible return on your marketing spend? There is a lot at stake. The average credit union with more than $1 billion in assets increased its marketing spend between 2011 and 2023 by more than 300%.1
Banks and credit unions need smart marketing to help them thrive in a fiercely competitive industry where the depth of customer relationships is paramount.
But what does smart marketing look like? It is data-driven, AI-enabled, responsive, and personalized. If your institution exclusively runs , it might be time to consider adding trigger-based marketing to your strategy.
Batch-Campaign Marketing
Batch-campaign marketing refers to traditional marketing efforts that can include such channels as emails, digital ads, social-media broadcasts, and so on. These campaigns are typically scheduled at regular intervals and are often based on data, past campaign performance, and historical market research or trends. The effectiveness of traditional marketing efforts varies and is notoriously difficult to track. And while these efforts can reach a broad audience, they lack the personalization and immediacy that modern consumers expect. The limitations of batch campaigns include:
- Old or generalized data: Traditional marketing typically uses broad demographic data such as age, gender, income level, and geographic location. This data can be somewhat outdated or generalized because it doesn’t account for real-time changes in consumer behavior.
- Limited personalization: Messages are not tailored to individual customers’ needs or behaviors. Unlike , which can use real-time data to tailor messages to individual consumers, traditional marketing tends to be less personalized. This can result in messages that are less relevant to specific audience segments.
- Reactivity: Batch campaigns are reactive and not responsive to real-time customer actions or changes. These traditional campaigns often depend on market research studies, surveys, and focus groups. While these methods can provide valuable insights, they might not capture the most current trends or individual preferences.
Trigger-Based Marketing
- Deepens relationships: It builds stronger connections with customers by addressing their needs and preferences in real time. As one study found, this type of marketing contributed to a 20–30% increase in customer engagement because marketers reached the right individuals with the right messages at the right times.2
- Is data-driven and personalized: Marketing actions are based on real-time data (also known as triggers) and meaningful customer factors such as account balances, payment histories, and interactions with the institution’s website or app.
- Is proactive: Marketing managers can access and analyze vast amounts of data to understand customer behavior and make informed decisions about customers’ current and future needs.
Examples of Trigger-Based Marketing
In today’s fast-paced financial landscape, trigger-based marketing empowers institutions to stay ahead by responding instantly to customer behaviors and needs. The following scenarios illustrate the power of trigger-based marketing and some of the automated actions that systems can take. In each scenario, an analytical engine’s algorithm feeds a triggering event to a marketing platform that can take actions across various communication channels using the most appropriate medium. This approach helps ensure the right message gets to the right customer at the right time.
- Trigger: A significant increase in a customer’s savings account balance.
Action: The marketing platform automatically sends a personalized email suggesting ways the customer can maximize their new funds. This timely communication provides valuable advice and strengthens the customer’s trust and engagement with the credit union. - Trigger: A customer visits a bank’s website or opens the app and searches for “how to close my checking account.”
Action: The platform displays an unintrusive ad that offers three months of the bank’s premium checking service for free. - Trigger: A customer searches in the bank’s app for “current auto loan rates.”
Action: The marketing system automatically sends a text message inviting the customer to apply for a zero-application-fee auto loan and offering one-quarter of one percent off the interest rate for applying today through the app.
These examples demonstrate how trigger-based marketing can proactively address customer needs, foster stronger relationships, and drive business growth.
Modernization Is Closer Than You Think
It’s time to modernize your marketing strategy. Trigger-based marketing offers a more effective and personalized way to engage with your customers, leading to greater returns on your marketing investment and increased customer loyalty. Contact us today to learn how Prowess Consulting can help you make the switch to trigger-based marketing and drive better results for your institution.
To learn more about what we do at Prowess Consulting, view our latest research and follow us on LinkedIn.
1 ABA Banking Journal. “Are credit unions overspending on marketing?” July 2024. https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2024/07/are-credit-unions-overspending-on-marketing/.
2 Increase in customer engagement defined as higher interaction rates on social media, more frequent visits to the website, and increased participation in online banking services. Source: Journal of Financial Services Marketing. “Financial institutions digital transformation: the stages of the journey and business metrics to follow.” April 2023. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41264-023-00223-x.
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