Digital Marketing strategies for Credit counseling agencies

With the evolution of technology happening at a breakneck speed, financial institutions have to adapt and bring selves at par with the changes, to use gathered data and advanced analytics to gain substantial advantage via personalized communication and enhanced customer experience.

Changes are though visible in all the fields but are more pronounced in the field of marketing, there is a vast array of new  technologies  and strategies available, for which banks, credit counseling agencies and credit unions must  not only be agile but also open to willingly accept the change. Creating and establishing an efficient marketing communications strategy— as per client’s perspective — enables growth, loyalty and profitability. Diving straight into the marketing process without proper planning and not taking advantage of the available tools of technology available is a sure-shot failed project, from the start.

Some trends to look forward for the credit counseling agencies-

1. AI and Machine Learning (ML) – The importance of AI based tools can’t be emphasized more for financial institutions. As they maneuver beyond its use in detecting risk, fraud and compliance, AI and ML have taken centre-stage and are becoming mainstream technologies, thus the fact that marketers must understand their benefits and uses, is undeniable. It is imperative for every financial marketing organization to have a well thought of AI strategy in 2021. Use of keywords and search histories to configure consumer intent, is in the past now. With the availability of AI based tools and techniques and machine learning, credit counseling agencies and credit unions can identify the consumer’s intention automatically, thereby effective use of sources such as social media, online account transactions and related behaviors can self-determine the match and the resultant intent to offerings.

(P.C. – Unsplash, @photoshobby)

2. Chat-bots – The use of this technology has already gained stronghold as a key component of various online portals, whether they be of customer care or marketing or banking, etc. With the current trend witnessing a surge in the usage of this application, the use of chat-bots is only going up north. The initial purpose of chat-bots were that to replace human customer service representatives who were managing predictable inquiries, routine tasks or frequently asked questions, in a bid to save extra financial costs, chat-bots were launched and hence their efficacy has improved the fortunes of many. The best part about Chat-bots is the convenience offered, i.e. they can be integrated with a website, an application, or even with a social media platform. The information gathered and stored, can later be used to better customize financial marketing strategies. As more and more credit counseling agencies and credit unions have gained ease for using chat-bots, more has been the increase in the use of chat-bots for sending personalized advisory mails as well as, enhanced and productive engagements with customers and members, has been observed. We at Zivanta Analytics can assist you with this technology to help you gain the exact traction you are seeking.

3. Mobile Marketing- With such a large population now having access to mobiles and prefer performing search inquiries and accessing their financial accounts via their mobile devices, it is high time now that credit counseling agencies and credit unions urgently re-work their marketing strategies focusing on mobile, and not only now keeping it limited to providing account information, but also designing it in a way to inform, engage and advise customers who are on-the-go. This doesn’t halt at ensuring that your site has been designed and created with mobile users in mind from a design perspective, but also seriously focus and emphasize on the content provided. It is of prime importance to work as per the intent of the consumers who in all likelihood are going to search your website on a mobile, and, those as well who shall engage in a transaction on digital devices. Therefore, it is for the agencies and banks to ensure that it is convenient for their client to access the information that may be needed and to productively engage with them using on-time insights generated via analytics.

4. Geo-location Targeting – Geo-location is a part of latest technology offering that can help with the use of devices to help in knowing the location of a customer or a future client. The location of the mobile device can be tracked and monitored via Bluetooth, Internet, IP address and/or GPS.

With the help of this financial institutions can target specific messages created for a those users who lie within a particular geographic region simultaneously, at the same time. With the help of geo-location, credit counseling agencies or credit unions can keep a track on consumer behavior on the basis of information available as per their last location’s, this can be further enhanced with the use of data analytics tools. This information generated and stored over time, can assist financial institutions in predicting the locations/areas frequented by the users and thereby, tailor personalized offers with the help of that information.

5. Interactive website design and content – Consumers are always looking for beauty and comfort, leading to an easy consumer experience, therefore establishing a healthy company-client experience in the initial step itself. Therefore, the website should not only be pleasing to the visual senses, offer ease of usage but also be knowledgeable at the same time and that can be possible only if there’s engaging and relevant content to capture the interest of the users.

(P.C. -N26s polished Google-style website)

The financial market is under lot of stress and generating adequate ROI as well as maintaining and enhancing their customer base is of prime importance. Therefore, enhanced use of technological tools and data analytics will prove to be a game-changer and the key to go forward.