The fintech industry is buzzing with innovative payments solutions, and it’s no surprise that the average American uses three fintech apps to manage everything from payments to bills to insurance, lending, investing and financial planning. With an abundance of options at everyone’s fingertips, marketing fintech products to consumers has become increasingly complex.
Standing out and distinguishing your brand isn’t just about having a unique selling proposition; it requires a deep understanding of the payments landscape to build effective fintech marketing strategies. Below are four reasons consumer fintech marketers should have deep knowledge of the technologies, trends and regulations shaping the fintech ecosystem today.
1. To position your company to stand out
Situated at the crossroads of financial services, banking, e-commerce and technology, fintech is both incredibly complex and defined by the simplicity of the solutions it offers to customers. It’s also a lucrative (and therefore crowded) space. With a sea of fintech options available, consumers are faced with a wide and often undifferentiated array of choices. How can marketers help their brand stand out?
As a starting point, marketers need to carve out their company’s niche and messaging. That requires a deep understanding of financial and payment ecosystems to properly analyze competitors, uncover market gaps, understand consumer segments and needs and effectively position a brand’s offerings.
Whether it’s highlighting innovative features, superior user experiences or cost efficiencies, understanding the dynamics of fintech and related experiences is crucial for brands to differentiate their offerings and tell compelling stories.
2. To educate consumers by communicating what matters most
Communicate functionality in a way that matters:
At its most effective, consumer fintech marketing is about simplifying complex financial concepts and technologies in ways that resonate with end users. That means highlighting the key benefits of fintech products, like faster transactions, reduced fees and improved security, to effectively convey a company’s value proposition and address consumers’ specific pain points and needs.
Education plays a vital role in this, as consumers may need help understanding what a product does or why they need it. It’s not enough to tell consumers how the product functions; marketers must illustrate how it can positively impact their daily lives and solve real-world problems better than competitors. This type of messaging can only be effective if marketers understand both sides of the business – the technical aspects of the products or solutions and the real-world needs, preferences and behaviors of the consumer.
Communicate the brand to drive trust:
On top of making new fintech relatable, good storytelling also builds brand loyalty and trust. Trust is particularly important for a brand/user relationship focused on money and the movement of funds. Effective storytelling tactics can include social media campaigns, videos, relationships with brand advocates, influencer marketing and consumer experiences. For these tactics to really take hold, marketers must communicate with the authority and ease of market experts.
Building brand loyalty through creative storytelling and consumer experiences: The Fletcher Group led a national campaign that generated extensive media coverage and created memorable experiences to put the Netspend brand and its product front and center with consumers, reaching an audience of more than 5 billion.
3. To collaborate in-house on regulations and risks
Financial technology continues to disrupt a legacy market, but they must still adhere to the regulatory requirements of traditional financial services. Whether regulations represent longstanding banking guardrails or are evolving to meet 21st-century trends, they aim to protect consumers from problems like predatory practices, unsecure financial products, and risks like security breaches, fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes.
With new financial technology rapidly reshaping how money moves around the globe, new fraud and theft risks can pop up quickly. Likewise, regulators are working to adapt and interpret existing regulations to apply to the latest fintech offerings. In addition, consumer trust is at stake in every financial transaction a fintech company executes or facilitates. Simply put, consumer fintech marketers must take risk and compliance seriously.
A great way for fintech marketers to approach this complex arena is to forge strong relationships with their brand’s in-house legal and regulatory experts to avoid any potential issues from the start. Yes, these reviews do add extra time to campaign plans up front, but they’re an essential step to keep marketing strategies on track and out of hot water.
A robust collaboration between these teams helps ensure that all marketing and communication efforts comply with relevant banking, payments and data protection laws and keeps marketers informed about significant changes in the regulatory landscape that could impact continuing marketing strategies. Financial regulations are ever-changing, and marketers should look to these experts for interpretations of how existing rules may apply to new and emerging products.
Leveraging and translating the knowledge of a brand’s regulatory and legal experts also helps marketers educate key stakeholders—from media and influencers to analysts and even regulators themselves—about the relevance of these regulations to their business. Marketers can establish their brands as trustworthy industry leaders by proactively addressing regulatory challenges and prioritizing compliance and risk management in their fintech marketing strategies.
4. To keep abreast of evolving consumer market trends
Understanding the diverse preferences among consumers is crucial in the fintech industry. Staying abreast of ever-evolving consumer trends at a high level is vital, but it’s equally important for brands to conduct their own market research to generate specific insights on their industry and target buyers.
This targeted research provides specific insights into the consumer audience, shaping both the broader business strategy and the fintech marketing approach. Armed with these research insights, marketing teams can develop messaging and campaigns that hit home with their buyers, tailoring it to key segments based on factors like preferred payment methods, spending habits and risk tolerance.
In the fast-evolving fintech sector, keeping a finger on the pulse of market trends is essential for devising marketing strategies that not only resonate with consumers but also drive meaningful engagement and results.
Studying the industry generates expertise: The Fletcher Group regularly runs market research campaigns on behalf of clients. Whether targeting early adopters of digital wallets, frequent users of peer-to-peer payment apps or individuals seeking budgeting tools, a nuanced understanding of payments allows us to deliver compelling marketing campaigns with personalized messages that resonate with our client’s end users.
Fintech Marketers: understanding the tech, communicating the benefit.
Taking the time to study the financial technology and payments ecosystem at large, not just the products and services offered by one brand, is imperative for consumer fintech marketers. Armed with an understanding of the technology shaping financial services, a view of the other players in the field and an appreciation for the rules governing this space, marketers can create relatable campaigns that connect with consumers and create real growth.
TFG: PR and Marketing Pros with Fintech Expertise
At the Fletcher Group, we’re payments and fintech experts. We’ve worked in fintech since before the term “fintech” came into being. Our deep industry expertise allows us to speak the same language as the fintech CMOs and CEOs we consult with. We’re able to capture a brand’s unique corner of the ecosystem, simplify complex product functions, communicate the trustworthiness of new technologies and identify the next consumer trend before it hits. Get in touch with us to learn how we can help you connect to your target audience in meaningful ways.
