Banking has never been synonymous with innovation and change. Banks have long made their mark as being safe, trusted pillars of the community. However, a recent market review by Onovative has found something interesting. While customers still want their bank to be safe and trusted, it appears that the most successful banks are willing to step out of their comfort zone and into innovative new products.
We could not be further from bank marketing experts, but the Onovative data clearly illustrates the correlation between proper digital marketing and better performance. Across all of the reviewed banks, far more top performers have personal lending and technology major product promotions on their websites. What is particularly interesting is that means they have personal lending and technology products that deserve marketing promotion.
One could come to a different conclusion and say that the more successful banks have the budget and resources to effectively use their website as digital advertising real estate. While I'm sure the available budget helps, this excuse doesn't hold water anymore. The cost and time required to highlight a product on a public website is quickly approaching zero. Marketing firms focusing on the digital front now make most of their money on growing a social media presence, original content and video production. Part of the reason they have moved on is because website manipulation and updating has become so painless and easy, there is no longer any margin in it. Platforms like Squarespace and Wordpress have eliminated the need for direct interaction with hosting providers and HTML. So the excuses are dwindling and the value is increasing.
The next thing to do is have a unique or interesting product to market. It is one thing to have the ability to highlight products on your website, it is another to have something worth marketing. Financial institutions have long battled with fees, interest rates and customer service but times are changing. Consumer and commercial customers alike are looking for real differentiators. If you want to move your organization into a Return on Assets (ROA) of over 1, the first thing you should do is take a look at Onovative's interactive chart, click on the "Over 1 ROA" and be honest about whether or not you have the products and marketing plan to match the banks that are already there.
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