Abstract:
The financial services industry grapples with marketing complexities, and adopting robust content strategies is crucial. Consumers increasingly turn to online resources for financial education, emphasizing the need for thought leadership. Financial content marketing is significant. 47% of buyers engage with 3-5 pieces of content before interacting with sales reps. 90% of loan and mortgage consumers start with online searches.
Despite challenges in reaching the right audience and generating traffic, successful financial content marketing yields benefits such as building engagement and influencing behavior. The shift towards digital platforms in financial services is evident, with over 14% of overall online advertising spend attributed to the sector. Mobile searches related to financial planning have surged, emphasizing the industry’s digital transformation. Insights into consumer calls reveal that calls significantly impact consumer spending, convert to revenue at a higher rate than web leads, and demonstrate faster conversion and higher retention rates. Implementing conversation intelligence and prioritizing personalized customer experiences emerge as critical strategies for navigating the evolving financial services landscape.
Synopsis:
Educational Financial Content Matters:
- Consumers seek financial content for education.
- 47% view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep.
- 90% of loan and mortgage consumers start their journey with online searches.
Challenges with Financial Content Marketing:
- Challenges include reaching the right audience and generating traffic.
- 52% cite reaching the right audience as a top challenge.
- 37% of financial organizations face a lack of resources in content marketing.
Benefits of Financial Content Marketing:
- Successful financial content marketing builds engagement and influences behavior.
- 77% of financial marketers use social media marketing.
- Audiences spend an average of 1 minute and 51 seconds engaging with financial content.
Digital Matters in Financial Marketing:
- Financial services contribute over 14% to online advertising spend.
- Mobile searches for “financial planning” increased by 70% in the last two years.
- 51% of U.S. consumers use contactless payments.
Benefits of Outsourcing Financial Content:
- Outsourcing improves content ROI.
- 64% of calls to financial services providers come from organic search.
- 82% of marketers actively use content marketing.
Key Takeaways:
- Financial content marketing is crucial for the success of financial organizations. It helps build engagement, influence behavior, and generate leads; however, challenges such as reaching the right audience and developing traffic need to be addressed.
- Digital platforms such as social media and mobile have become increasingly important in financial marketing. Financial organizations should also consider outsourcing their content marketing to improve their ROI and focus on organic search, which drives most calls to financial services providers.
Financial Industry Stats:
Stats from the Financial Services Consumer Journey:
- 90% of loan and mortgage consumers, 85% of check-cashing consumers, and 76% of tax return preparation consumers start their journey with an online search. (LSA)
- Over the past two years, there has been a 70% increase in mobile searches related to financial planning and management. (Google)
- The number of mobile queries for “What should I invest in?” has increased by 65% YoY. (Google)
- There has been a 115% increase in mobile queries for “retirement calculator” in the last two years. (Google)
- Queries for “bank near me” on mobile have grown by over 60% in the past two years. (Google)
- In the past two years, there has been a 75% rise in mobile searches for “financial advisor.” (Google)
- 93% of check-cashing consumers, 81% of loans and mortgage consumers, and 54% of tax return preparation consumers needed one company in mind while searching. (LSA)
- The average amount spent by loan and mortgage consumers after running a search is $28,435, while banking consumers spend an average of $3,432, and accounting consumers spend an average of $683. (LSA)
Stats from Digital Ads and Online Advertising:
- The financial services sector accounts for over 14% of overall spending in online advertising. (eMarketer)
- Keywords related to financial services are among the most expensive in Google and Microsoft Ads, with some costing $50 or more per click. (WordStream)
- The average conversion rate for a financial services search ad is 5.10%, whereas for a financial services display network ad, it is 1.19%. (WebFX)
- The average cost of a financial services lead is $160. (Sales Lead Automation)
- Over 50% of banks do not measure or measure in less than 25% of their campaigns’ ROI. (Blue Fountain Media)
- Nearly 80% of consumers use mobile apps for their financial services or banking needs. (zipdo.co)
- The financial services industry in the United States spent $21 billion on digital advertising in 2020. (statista.com)
- Digital wallet users will increase from 3.4 billion to 5.2 billion within four years. This indicates a considerable change in how consumers use digital payment methods. (tech-azure.com)
Stats on Consumer Calls:
- 66% of banking and 57% of investment customers purchase by calling the service provider. (Google)
- Most check-cashing, accounting, and tax return preparation consumers call a business after running a search. (LSA)
- The price at which financial services consumers are most likely to purchase is $416. (Google)
- During the loan vetting process, 72% of applicants make at least two phone calls to their financial institution. (Market Cube)
- 64% of calls to financial services providers come from organic searches, and 36% come from paid searches. (Invoca)
- Most calls to financial services providers come from organic search, with around 49% of phone leads from organic searches coming from mobile devices. (Invoca)
- 52% of financial services phone leads from paid searches come from mobile devices. (Invoca)
- January is the month when financial services providers receive the highest call volume, and noon is the time of day when they receive the most calls.
Stats on Call Conversions:
- Calls will influence over $1 trillion in U.S. consumer spending this year. (BIA/Kelsey)
- Phone calls convert to 10-15x more revenue than web leads. (BIA/Kelsey)
- Callers convert 30% faster than web leads. (Forrester)
- Caller retention rate is 28% higher than web lead retention rate. (Forrester)
- It has been reported by 84% of marketers that phone calls result in higher conversion rates and more excellent order value (AOV) when compared to other forms of engagement. (Forrester)
- 41% of organizations report having increased phone conversion rates by 25% or more in the past 12 months. (Forrester)
- 85% of marketers consider inbound calls and phone conversations to be essential to their digital-first strategy (Forrester)
Stats on Conversation Intelligence:
- 43% of marketers have improved or expect to improve customer acquisition and retention due to scaling conversation intelligence across the enterprise. (Forrester)
- Scaling conversation intelligence across the enterprise has led to 48% of marketers already providing or expecting to provide better customer experiences. (Forrester)
Stats on Marketing Personalization:
- Customers who call financial services call centers have to wait on hold 1.3 times longer than the average hold time of other industries. (Talkdesk)
- Customer experience is now the top priority for 88% of companies in their contact centers. (Deloitte)
- 63% of financial services organizations ranked customer experience as their top priority. (Adobe)
- According to a survey, 85% of financial professionals believe responding to customer expectations faster is an urgent business need. (Bizagi)
Stats on Lost Revenue Due to Poor Customer Experience:
- 32% of consumers find phone calls the most frustrating channel for customer service. (Aspect)
- 75% of consumers will hang up within 10 minutes of waiting on hold. (Invoca)
- 38% of customers will cease doing business with a company after experiencing bad calls. (Invoca)
- 59% of consumers say rude agents create a terrible call experience, 58% say long hold times, 54% say too many transfers, and 46% say having to repeat information. (Invoca)
- After a positive call experience, 57% of consumers are likely to choose an institution for their loan. (Market Cub )
- After a bad call experience, 64% of consumers would opt for a different financial institution. (Market Cube)
- 49% of customers are likelier to do business with a company that personalizes customer interactions, demonstrating a caring attitude towards earning their business. (Invoca)
Conclusion:
The financial services industry faces challenges in reaching the right audience and generating traffic. However, a successful content marketing strategy can build engagement and influence behavior, making it essential to their overall marketing strategy. Focusing on organic search, prioritizing personalized customer experiences, and outsourcing financial content can help organizations navigate the evolving landscape and achieve growth. Organizations can drive brand loyalty and achieve success by utilizing financial content efficiently.
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