Blog - Financial Services Marketing

A Tom Petty song from 2002 offers a surprisingly relevant perspective on creativity in the age of AI. As technology makes it easier than ever to produce content, the ability to think differently, exercise good judgment and create something genuinely original may be more valuable than ever.

Acquiring a new bank customer costs five to seven times more than keeping an existing one, and JD Power data shows a growing number of customers are open to switching. Banks and credit unions can deepen relationships and reduce churn by investing in consistent cross-channel experiences, AI-driven personalization, and frontline staff enablement. Engagement-based loyalty programs and financial wellness education add another layer of stickiness that competitors struggle to match. See how to keep customers before someone else courts them away.

A content marketing strategy gives banks and credit unions a competitive edge that ad budgets alone can’t match, especially against national players. Building one takes four phases: defining goals and audience, selecting formats and channels, producing content on a planned calendar, and reporting on business outcomes. Get the framework for building a content strategy that competes with the big players.

Community banks hold just 2% of Gen Z’s primary banking relationships, even though roughly half of this generation says they’d consider switching. The disconnect comes down to awareness and digital experience more than anything else. Gen Z expects mobile-first banking and brands that align with their values around sustainability and social responsibility. Learn how community banks can close the gap and win Gen Z on the platforms they actually use.

Bank redlining is still a real regulatory and reputational risk, even for institutions that never intended to discriminate. Unintentional exclusion through geotargeting, loan promotions, or algorithmic decision-making can trigger the same consequences as deliberate bias, and the DOJ’s record $13.5 million settlement in 2023 shows regulators aren’t slowing down. Routine audits of marketing, data practices, and automated systems are the best way to stay ahead of fair lending scrutiny. Discover what to check before regulators do.

Silent attrition happens when customers fragment their financial activity across multiple institutions without ever formally leaving their primary bank. The account stays open, but the revenue quietly drains away, and with neobanks growing fast and the average retail customer now holding three deposit accounts across different institutions, the problem cuts across every segment. Banks that invest in advisory relationships, strong digital experiences, and personalized engagement can slow the bleed and deepen the relationships they still have. Learn how to spot silent attrition before it costs you.

SEO for financial services requires a different playbook than most industries. Regulatory compliance, Google’s YMYL classification, and AI Overviews all shape how your content needs to perform. Getting it right takes alignment across marketing, compliance, and IT. Learn how to build an SEO strategy that drives results without putting your institution at risk.

Ah, summer. The weather is warmer, schools are out, barbecues are firing up, vacations are occurring, and pools and camps are opening. All these good vibrations have a ripple effect, though, as they create behavioral, economic, and psychological shifts in society that financial institutions must be mindful of for a few months on an annual basis. But what better opportunity for strategic banks and credit unions to craft meaningful marketing strategies than a known period where society changes in a predictable manner for a finite time? In this issue of Compound Interest, we will some bank promotional ideas for summer that banks and credit unions can take advantage of.

In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank got clobbered, giving Wall Street the jitters and sending the press into a frenzy. Given this frenzy, we were curious if U.S. banks were cracking under the pressure of the 24-hour news cycle, so we sent out a simple one-question survey to bank CEOs across the country. “Will your 2023 bank marketing be less, about the same, or more than in 2022?” To our surprise, not a single bank that responded said that their budgets would be lower than those in 2022. Not one. In this edition of Compound Interest, we’ll touch on some quick tips for bank marketing budgets. We’ll also discuss why banks are not flinching and how smart marketing might be just the ticket for banks looking to grow in 2023 and beyond.

Every bank and credit union communicates with customers/members around holidays, whether through holiday promotions, bank holiday hours, or fun social posts that tie into the spirit of the season. In this edition of Compound Interest, we will discuss bank marketing tactics that financial institutions can implement to make the most of holiday communications.