At Setup, we are in a unique position where we talk to Marketing experts in various industries. Surprisingly, there is a lot of overlap behind their school of thought, advice, and noticeable trends. We recently spoke to Karen Doyle, a Senior Content Writer at Hiscox USA, and Erich Meier, the Director of Marketing at Priority about the Financial Services Industry. Since we wrote a blog over a year ago about the Financial Services Industry, we wanted to know the latest scoop and if any priorities changed. 

What innovative changes are happening in the Financial Services space? What changes made are going to remain permanent moving forward?

Doyle mentions that consumers care about a company’s values more now than ever, so companies need to do their part to personalize their products and experiences towards the consumer’s needs. 

“Many of the changes in financial services, as in other industries, have been driven by the pandemic and some of the geopolitical issues we’re seen over the past couple of years. One of the most striking, I think, is that consumers are considering a company’s values when they make purchase decisions. It’s not just who has the lowest price or who can get it there faster, it’s also, what does this company stand for?

From a customer acquisition perspective, I think this means that companies need to personalize their marketing, and they have to provide more useful content that does more than sell. Companies can get ahead of their competition now by offering value that goes beyond the product or service they are selling. Understanding what else their customer needs and how that can be provided is key.

I do believe that these changes will be permanent, and those companies that don’t see that are going to find they’re seeing increased competition, even from smaller players. In financial services, this can be particularly tricky, since the sector is so heavily regulated that it can be difficult for the established firms to make the changes that may be required to compete.”

Doyle’s observations are mostly human-centered and about meeting the customer where they are. This is similar to last year’s contributors' answers who saw a rise in technology (like touchless payments) to help consumers lead a life of convenience. 

Read the full blog here - Innovating in the Financial Services Industry 

Our other contributor, Erich Meier, Director of Marketing at Priority, shared more about technological advances occurring in the Financial Services space. 

“Embedded finance has been a central theme for 2+ years. Embedding financial tools into existing customer experiences and giving consumers more ways to pay is crucial for businesses of all types. Beyond the customer experience, embedded finance is also speeding up the way businesses collect, store and send money. As we head into an uncertain economic cycle, it's important for businesses to manage cash flow. Legacy systems keep money tied up for too long, causing headaches for business owners and their vendors, suppliers and subcontractors. Reducing friction for merchants and B2B customers is key in accelerating cash flow, which will ultimately lead to downstream benefits throughout the entire ecosystem.” 

Their CEO recently did a great interview with PYMNTs that highlights a lot of this thinking here.

Are there other industries or companies outside your own that you have looked to for inspiration and why?

Doyle stated, “There’s a lot of amazing content out there right now, including some great podcasts like How I Built This and Duct Tape Marketing. Intuit has some great content on their blog – for consumers and small businesses alike, and they serve a similar audience to ours, so their marketing inspires us. There’s actually a lot of interesting marketing by insurance companies, particularly in the B2C space. Even though we are technically B2B, we know our customers are people first, so we get inspiration from B2C companies as well.” 

What lessons can other industries learn from the financial services space?

“In Financial Services, we recognize that content is king, and that we can provide a lot of added value to our customers – and our prospects – with blog content, thought leadership, and so forth,” said Doyle. “We can do a lot of educating in the financial services space, and we take the opportunity to do that. If you take a look at the blogs of insurance companies, banks, financial advisors, and other finserv companies, you’ll find an amazing amount of information on just about any subject that relates to financial services. It’s not a big sales pitch, it simply informs and educates so that consumers and businesses can make the best choices for their specific situation.”

Similar to last year’s respondents, Doyle mentions the importance of content and its educational value to consumers, as more and more people are exploring investing in certain spaces like real estate, crypto, sustainability efforts and the like.

What aspects of marketing for the Financial Services industry are unique from other industries?

Meier answered that the Financial Services industry moves at a rapid pace. “The landscape can change in a matter of weeks depending on new innovations, prevailing economic trends, Fed activity, acquisitions, etc. We're an aggressive and ambitious company, so our marketing team has to be extremely nimble while being able to manage resources and priorities. It's a double-edged sword - we don't necessarily have the marketing resources (in terms of total staff) of some of the industry giants, but our size allows us flexibility and a speed-to-market that creates a competitive advantage for us. We're able to shift our focus to new opportunities that have a tangible impact on our revenue within a matter of hours, instead of weeks.”

What are some predictions you have for 2023 + on?

“You could ask 10 different experts about where the economy is headed, and you'd likely get 10 different responses,” shared Meier. “The general notion is that we're anticipating a tightening credit environment and some softening of the economy until the Fed gets inflation under control. Marketers in this industry will likely have to make some tough decisions about how to allocate their budget; likely moving toward more targeted customer acquisition strategies and less awareness-based marketing. Companies who are already scrutinizing and optimizing their budget allocations to high performing channels will be well positioned. We're continuing to focus our efforts on proven channels while allowing some flexibility to test and learn. Additionally, the chickens are coming home to roost for many startups who've yet to prove they're profitable. This could lead to increased consolidation in the industry, allowing companies to acquire technologies that further diversify or strengthen their portfolio of offerings.”

Industries thrive when their Marketing has a human element, as evident by Doyle’s responses. Marketing is also changing at a rapid pace, so being ready to course correct and adapt is crucial. We are so thrilled to highlight experts in their space so that we can learn and grow alongside our readers. If you would like to regularly receive content like this, please subscribe to our newsletter below.