3 obstacles that fintech companies face with their digital marketing strategies (and how to overcome them)

Fintech digital marketing is a specialised field of advertising financial technology companies. The fintech industry has seen a massive boom in recent years, reaching $100 billion in investments. But there are many challenges that fintech companies face when it comes to their digital marketing strategies. In this article, we highlight the 3 top obstacles fintech companies face – and how to overcome them.

#1- Staying relevant 

The digital marketing scene is constantly changing, with a new platform, strategy, influencer, technique or tool popping up everywhere we turn. For any business to survive, it’s crucial to stay relevant- if consumers aren’t talking about you, then they’re talking about somebody else.

Of course, you don’t need us to tell you that, at the core of it all, you need a really good product. That much is obvious. Whatever your selling point is- the thing that sets you apart from the competition- it’s no good if nobody knows about it. 

Innovation is the essence of the fintech industry, but this in itself poses new challenges, as it requires fintech companies to remain constantly switched on to what’s trending, and then create innovative solutions in order to remain the talk of the town.

How fintech companies can stay relevant with digital marketing:

• Have a mobile compatible website/app

This may seem like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many businesses don’t give a second thought to the mobile compatibility of their website. When it’s being designed, written, and checked on a computer, then how a website looks on mobiles can easily be forgotten. Fintech companies cannot afford to make this mistake. It’s worthwhile to invest in a web developer to assist you, not least because, with technology at the core of your business, you should have an all singing and all dancing website which reflects the level of your business. 

• Focus on content 

70% of consumers would rather learn about your company through content than traditional advertising. Why then, are many companies still not realising the importance of content?! Focusing your marketing efforts heavily on content, which includes your social media, gives you an edge against the rest. It’s advisable to have a blog on your website, and as we mentioned before, get innovative and creative with it- how about a ‘day in the life of a fintech CEO’? The sky’s the limit with fintech content. Blogging also has the benefit of helping you rank for search terms, with high-quality content being key to effective SEO- another key element to staying relevant and generating new customer leads.

#2- Being authentic 

Today’s digital marketing is driven heavily by data, analytics, and targeted audiences. But at the end of the day, your business is run by real people and your customers are real people. Consumers appreciate being involved with businesses which are authentic and trustworthy. As well as focusing on gaining new customers, a priority should also be nurturing your relationships with existing customers and forming an emotional connection with them. So how can you stand out from the crowd and ensure that you are showing authenticity and ultimately gaining customer trust?

Here are our suggestions for being authentic:

• Use humans not bots 

Whilst bots certainly have their place in business, it’s important to speak your customer’s language and build a real relationship with them. Respond to comments and tags on social media, reply to comments on blog posts, personalise your emails. You should be focusing your attention on helping people rather than constantly trying to sell. Empathy makes all the difference when it comes to proving your fintech’s authenticity. 

• Get to know your customer 

This follows on slightly from our previous point about connecting to your customer. In order to do this successfully, you need to understand exactly who they are. Create a handful of typical customer profiles, and then research those people and their digital habits. What are the keywords they’re searching for? What are the platforms they’re using? Who are the influencers they’re following? Understanding your customer is key to building a strong relationship with them.

#3- Budgeting 

As with any business industry, knowing where to allocate your marketing budget is complicated. Should you be paying for advertising? Or boosting social media ads? It’s hard to know where to allocate your budget, and where you should be focusing your efforts. It will be different for every business, but there are a few things to bear in mind.

What to consider when planning your digital marketing budget: 

• Inbound marketing 

Firstly, what is the difference between inbound and outbound marketing? Outbound marketing, sometimes referred to as ‘traditional marketing’, is a form of “push” marketing- with a focus on selling. Inbound marketing relies more on pulling consumers in and concentrates on providing helpful and interactive content, in a bid to boost awareness and generate new leads and convert new business. 

With budgeting, inbound marketing is a much more cost-effective strategy for fintech businesses to pursue. Inbound marketing doesn’t need to- and shouldn’t- rely on one platform or strategy. You can spread your efforts across a variety of platforms and techniques such as social media, blogging, SEO, video content, and webinars… and still be getting more bang for your buck than with outbound marketing!

• Analytics 

When it comes to knowing how successful your digital marketing strategies have been, there really is no better way to track than with data analytics tools. What’s the point of spending a huge amount of money if you aren’t going to measure your success rate? There are four metrics a fintech company should be looking for when collecting data- cost per customer acquisition, percentage of active users, average value per customer, and virality coefficient. Many analytic tools available on the market won’t eat into your budget, such as Google Analytics (free) or Hubspot (from £29 a month) and can help you identify what you’re doing right with your digital marketing strategy, and what areas you could stand to focus on improving. So before you make a start with your digital marketing, ensure you have a data analytics tool to help you monitor your success.

Final thoughts

The digital marketing scene is forever evolving, and whilst fintech companies face a number of obstacles and challenges, a strategically laid out digital marketing plan will help them on the road to success. With focus on innovation, content, and of course the consumer, there is a huge opportunity for fintech companies to take the digital marketing world by storm in 2021 and beyond.