Blake Jackson, global head of marketing for Dotdigital, discusses the top five trends in the AI marketing space and why the financial services sector should keep up with the trends.
The acceleration of AI is poised to disrupt marketing across many sectors – and financial services is no exception. In many ways it’s already proving a crucial tool, with 87 per cent of marketing leaders naming AI as a key part of their marketing strategy. But is AI being maximised to its potential in the financial sector?
The risks of not using this groundbreaking new technology are clear: companies that fail to adapt are in danger of falling behind in an increasingly data-driven landscape. For financial services companies, as in other industries, AI provides the opportunity to engage with audiences in uniquely targeted and personalised ways. It also gives marketers the chance to optimise campaigns with laser-sharp precision across channels. That means forward-thinking marketers who adopt AI will now gain a strong competitive edge in both the short and long term.
It’s time for marketing leaders in financial services to truly grasp the nettle and embrace AI. And, to help you, here are five of the trends we believe will inform cutting-edge strategies in the coming years.
Utilise powerful personalisation
This year – and next – you can expect to see financial marketers increasingly rely on customer insights generated by AI. By sifting through customer data and interactions across channels, advanced AI tools can highlight patterns and audience segments that can be highly useful for marketers.
Yes, this is more difficult in the financial industry thanks to tougher government regulations and privacy policies than in other sectors. But the rise of customer demand for personalisation will still see AI tools being used widely. As an example, a financial company might use AI to send a tailored greeting to a new customer, acknowledging how they reached their site, or how they can access an offer they had engaged with.
Whether you’re looking to turn first-time customers into repeat buyers, or convert existing customers into brand advocates, personalisation can be one tactic to help to build loyalty and retention. By leaning into marketing automation platforms, you can easily execute campaigns that will reach your audience in this targeted way. For example, customers looking for a mortgage provider are more likely to engage with a bank that uses relatable language in its communication efforts or offers community-based advice forums for customers to engage together.
By having AI tools that can create quick, effective messaging and experiences geared towards the distinct preferences of individual customers, you can build a truly personalised service. This data-driven approach will help encourage brand affinity and loyalty through individual engagement, which could prove to be a key competitive differentiator this year and beyond.
Gain efficiency with intelligent automation
If you thought marketing automation was already smart, it’s in the process of becoming much smarter because of AI. With the help of AI automation, financial services businesses can detect fraudulent behaviour in customer transactions faster, helping to prevent financial loss and other, more complex issues. On top of this, smarter workflows will increase efficiency even more, giving marketers in financial services far more space for creativity, strategy, and optimisation.
Take, as an example, a customer abandoning a company’s site after looking for a quote for a new credit card or offers on a savings account. By using AI-powered automation, you’ll be able to send emails and personalised messages to this customer at the optimum time after the quote was abandoned to remind them of the deal.
This type of call-to-action can be used across different platforms as well, ensuring you are reaching your customers at all available touch points without overwhelming them. Whether it’s retargeting prospects on social media or answering queries via live chat, marketing automation can help you to reach customers on their preferred channels while maintaining consistent branding and communications.
Ultimately, with AI being able to take on the heavy lifting of granular segmentation, dynamic personalisation, and coordinating personalised experiences across multiple channels, marketers can maximise efficiency gains and consistently deliver engagement at every customer touchpoint.
Scale up your targeted campaigns
New AI tools have given marketers more automation possibilities than ever before. In addition to the above, with the help of AI-driven insights, campaigns can be scaled quickly and effectively to capture more customers and overcome challenges like limited budget and resources.
Through AI powered marketing automation, you can create workflows that ensure emails reach your subscribers at the most receptive times. Setting reminders for important events, such as statements being due, or insurance policy renewals are a great way to capture your customer’s attention. Triggered messaging can also be used when prospects fill in forms or make inquiries, saving time and keeping clients and prospects engaged.
Using AI, financial companies will be able to create tailored experiences that evolve with customers’ preferences. This highly personalised messaging can then be efficiently delivered across channels quickly and easily, leading to maximum engagement.
Produce new content with generative AI
In financial services, content creation has long proven to be something of a bottleneck, particularly for companies without large marketing budgets, dedicated writers, or designers. But generative AI really does look as if it can change that – and in many cases, it already is. A recent survey tells us that as many as 73 per cent of marketers are already using generative AI tools.
A great use case for marketers here could be to utilise generative AI for content creation – leveraging it to collate data from multiple sources, monitor trends, and suggest content angles specifically tailored to your client interests and history.
That said, simply copying AI output is ill-advised. Generative AI is unable, yet, to produce “market-ready” copy or designs in most cases. So, you must know when and how to use AI for producing content – such as for generating email subject lines, or simply as an ideas generator – and be ready to edit it before publishing.
Get this right and you’ll be able to maintain a consistent tone across your messaging and content, and produce more of it, creating a better experience for customers.
Why adopting AI now will give you the edge
The age of AI-powered financial marketing, then, is already upon us. From advanced analytics to automated creative optimisation, there’s no doubt that AI will increasingly power marketing strategies across financial services – and those who get ahead of the curve now will be the ones reaping the rewards in the months and years ahead.
Whether it’s utilising AI to enhance customer insights, intelligent automation, precise targeting, or an optimised channel mix, you’ll achieve truly standout engagement with customers and prospects.
However, the future of financial services marketing isn’t all about AI. It’s about leveraging these new technologies to create a personalised experience. By strategically integrating automation software, financial institutions can deliver an exceptional customer experience across all touchpoints. This will not only solidify brand loyalty but also position them as frontrunners in what is an increasingly competitive marketplace.
