The finance industry is no stranger to change. Recently, the pace of change has accelerated spurred on by the dynamic shifts in customer’s changing digital behaviours. Here, we explain strategies for financial marketers to not only optimise efficiency but to catalyse unprecedented growth.
Changing digital behaviours
In response to the ever-evolving landscape, your finance brand isn’t just competing with industry peers anymore; it’s now directly challenging industry giants like Amazon and Netflix. Consumers now expect frictionless, efficient, and personalised digital experiences when engaging in financial activities.
Content Square’s 2023 report, analysed 2.7 billion user sessions across 502 financial services websites, to unveil the trends shaping the digital customer experience.
1. Enhanced engagement drives better outcomes:
Websites experiencing higher engagement saw a substantial -58% reduction in bounce rate and 41% deeper sessions were observed. Users deeply engaged with content explored more pages in a single session. Notably, the activity rate on financial services sites increased by 11.8% year-over-year.
Takeaway for brands: Prioritise creating compelling and relevant content to boost engagement, leading to lower bounce rates and more in-depth user sessions.
2. Identifying and mitigating friction:
Frustration factors impacted 27.8% of all financial services sessions, with slow load times, multiple field interactions, and rage clicks being the top causes. Interestingly, visitors to insurance sites experienced more friction, with 1 in 3 visits affected by frustration.
Takeaway for brands: Address users’ UX pain points, particularly focusing on simplifying interactions and eliminating sources of user frustration. Investing in addressing UX frustration can reap great rewards, with a study by Forrester finding that every $1 invested in UX design generates $100 in return.
3. Optimise channel mix for new visitor acquisition:
While direct and SEO traffic constituted 58.7% of new visits, paid traffic, comprising only 10.9% of all visits, drove an impressive 16.7% of all new visits.
Takeaway for brands: Strategically invest in paid traffic sources to maximise new visitor acquisition, complementing your organic efforts.
“ The activity rate on financial services sites increased by 11.8% year-over-year.”
4. Efficient experiences counteract one-and-done visits:
Slow load times impacted 14% of all visitor sessions in the financial services sector. Notably, websites with faster load times experienced 9.2% fewer one-and-done visits.
Takeaway for brands: Prioritise optimising website speed to reduce the likelihood of one-and-done visits, emphasising the importance of a seamless user experience.
5. Device preferences:
Desktop traffic constituted 61.1% of all traffic to financial services sites, marking a 1.5% increase from the previous year. While mobile web traffic share slightly increased, maintaining a multi-device digital strategy is crucial for attracting new visitors to financial service sites.
Takeaway for brands: Recognise the continued dominance of desktop traffic but adapt by maintaining a strong presence on mobile devices. A versatile digital strategy ensures accessibility for a broader audience, attracting both desktop and mobile users.
Key considerations for tailoring approaches
Adapting to evolving digital behaviours and aligning with shifting consumer needs is essential for an effective marketing strategy. Acknowledging these changes alongside other influencing factors enhances audience targeting. Alongside consumers’ online habits, you should also take into account the following:
- Sustainability: Consumers are increasingly focused on environmental sustainability. Many are willing to pay more for greener products and expect their finance brands to actively support sustainable initiatives. This shift requires your finance brand to incorporate sustainable practices into your products and services.
- Affordability: The wealth gap continues to widen, making it imperative for your finance brand to consider how it can support customers of all financial standings. This includes offering more inclusive and accessible financial products and services.
- Experience: Your finance brand should go beyond transactional interactions and actively seek to delight customers. This could involve personalised financial guidance, seamless tech integration, or exclusive rewards, creating memorable experiences that foster loyalty and attract new customers.
The rise of “Super Apps”
A survey conducted by PYMNTS and PayPal across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia revealed that 72% of consumers globally are keenly interested in super apps. Notably, consumers in the UK exhibited the highest interest, with 74% expressing a desire for super apps.
Super apps integrate multiple financial services, such as checking and savings accounts, investments, and payments, into one comprehensive digital experience. They are known for their high degree of integration and customer-centricity, effectively serving as the user’s personal financial operating system.
For financial marketers, understanding this shift is crucial. As customers become accustomed to these all-in-one solutions, traditional finance brands might need to adapt to meet these changing expectations. Integrating various financial services into a seamless experience, much like a super app, can set your brand apart in a highly competitive market.
Strategic responses for changing customer behaviours
In 2023 and beyond, finance brands must decisively adapt to changing digital behaviours to significantly enhance efficiency and drive robust growth. The significance of understanding the nuances of customer behavior and tailoring digital strategies to provide seamless, personalised experiences across all devices cannot be understated for financial marketers.
