Promotion of banking services on the Internet. Tools for promoting banking services using Internet technologies. List of sources used

With growth interest rates In terms of loans, the need to increase the volume of attracted deposits has also increased over the past few years. In response to this need, many banks are likely to raise deposit rates. However, this is not all that banks can do to promote their services. For them to also use the power of marketing strategies.

The strategies you'll learn in this article will help you grab the attention of potential customers and increase conversions.

1. Local SEO will help potential clients find you

According to the CA Web Stress Index, 88% of consumers conduct online research first before opening a bank account. You may be the closest financial institution and have best rates on deposit accounts, but if your competitors, and not you, occupy the top positions in the organic search results of Google and Yandex, then you are missing out on new clients. Do potential clients even know about your bank?

Local SEO is the key to maximum increase online visibility of each of your branches. Here are some basic strategies for getting local customers to know about you:

• Add and confirm information about your branches on Google and Yandex maps. This information typically appears above organic search results and provides a breakdown of what is needed and important information for your customers: branch address, opening hours, phone number, website link and directions on how to get there. Positive reviews will increase your credibility.

• Location-based content: Create pages on your website for each branch of your bank. Fill them out contact information and high-quality images of the building and interior. Don't forget to add a few paragraphs of unique content describing your services, employees, etc., and include a link to the contributions page. Together, these elements will help each local affiliate page rank higher in search results.
• Company review services: Many people browse sites like Banki. ry in search of services in the market. Make sure these sites have the correct information for each branch of your bank. Please ensure that the address, phone number and opening hours are up to date. Again, having positive reviews on such sites will help strengthen your position.
• : Creating content that is valuable to your audience is effective way Reach new potential customers while providing helpful resources that improve engagement with existing customers. This is an effective marketing strategy for promoting services on the Internet for any product. Alternatively, you can create content that answers questions from your existing and potential customers.

Using these strategies will also increase the likelihood that potential clients will find you through Google searches and review sites. Once a visitor has entered or visited one of the branches, it is time to present him with an attractive offer on deposit accounts.

In a competitive environment, you cannot rely on just one marketing channel. Define your ideal customer personas, then develop an omnichannel strategy to reach them.

Describe who you want to find. For example, what financial products will they use? This is their first step towards organizing their finances, or after many years they want to change financial institution? Each of these groups of people has their own needs. Once you have mapped out this information, develop a marketing and outreach plan for banking services.

When creating your desired customer profiles, it's important to analyze what you think might be attractive to your audience. and their impact on various industries are important in order to keep this solid market visible. When it comes to increasing deposit volumes, it is much more profitable to sell services to baby boomers, with significantly more assets being managed by investment advisory firms.

Knowing which audience you want to reach, integrated marketing strategies that include multiple touchpoints like personalized email campaigns (see below), customer account statement inserts, educational website content, and digital advertising will help you increase the investment of existing customers and convert new customers.

3. Use contextual advertising

In 2018, before making a decision, people tend to turn to search engines to study the product or services they are interested in, including banking. This is why it is so important to ensure your online visibility. It would seem that this is completely obvious, but many financial institutions do not use the full potential and do not turn to.

By using strategies like pay-per-click (PPC) advertising using tools like Google AdWords, local businesses have the opportunity to outrank their competitors and rank at the top of search results. The effectiveness of contextual advertising campaigns is due to the fact that they can be targeted to a specific audience. This is achieved through keyword groups of specific advertising content, geotargeting and many other parameters.

• Create an advertisement for each service. Select target keywords that will make these ads visible to the right people. Your advertising should always be relevant.
• Use smart geotargeting. Precise targeting is key factor to attract qualified traffic and conversions. If your targeting is too broad, you risk running out of budget by wasting it on the wrong users. If you have multiple branches, it's smart to reach potential customers within a small radius around each of your locations.
• Analyze your opponents. Monitoring your competitors is a standard practice in search engine marketing. If you see an ad from local competitors on search engines, look at what services they advertise and how they differ. This will help you understand what their customers are interested in and how they address those interests. You can also set up your ad to appear when a person searches for one of your competitors. This provides an opportunity to position your bank as the best solution for their needs.

The world of contextual advertising is a vast one, and there are many elements that we haven't covered in this article: budget, ad extensions, display advertising, remarketing/retargeting, and much more. If you are planning to expand your online presence using contextual advertising, best option The best way for you to do this is to partner with a digital marketing agency that has experience in providing this kind of assistance to banks.

Many financial products are designed to help people at different stages of their lives - getting higher education, moving, purchasing a home, starting a family. Advertising in social networks, such as Facebook and VKontakte, allows marketers to target people based on changes in their lifestyle, demographic characteristics or behavior.

Social media platforms offer powerful targeting tools that allow you to reach targeted advertisements to specific audiences based on their interests and lifestyle. Coupled with a deep understanding of your audience, you can create social media ads that drive highly qualified traffic to your site. For example, a Facebook campaign promoting business accounts could be shown to business owners or executives of a certain age group within a five-kilometer radius of your branches.

This targeting also allows you to create ads tailored to the needs of your specific target audiences. You can get the most out of your ad spend by only showing ads certain persons. For example, Facebook campaigns take into account events in users' lives, such as marriage, graduation, moving, or career changes. You can further narrow your targeting to a specific list of customer email addresses (for example, credit customers who also do not have a checking account with your financial institution). By considering these audiences and following social media advertising best practices, banks can reach potential customers with timely and relevant offers.

5. Create an effective mobile presence

Nowadays people spend most of their time on the Internet and in their mobile phones. If your bank doesn't already have a website that allows you to make simple transactions anywhere, anytime, not only will you not grow your deposits, but you may also lose existing customers.

If your bank doesn't already have one, create a simple solution that allows customers to perform basic functions like checking balances and transferring funds. People's lives are busier than ever, so offering time-saving options with mobile-first thinking will make your bank more attractive and increase your profits.

6. Keep your customers informed and loyal to them

There was a time when a smile and a small gift were enough to get new customers. Now your local bank is competing with... large banks, as well as with fully online banks. This means that you need to do your research and then do it right. Determine who your desired customers are and try to understand their experience with banks.

For example, changing your checking account may be difficult for busy people, so don't suggest it to them at the very beginning. Instead, you can entice them with a competitive loan offer, and only then offer other products, such as opening a current account without commission.

Let the bank teller cover the bulk of your internal marketing strategy. In the era electronic transfers payments and mobile banking customers do not need to visit a physical bank branch. When they come to you, make every effort to ensure that they are polite and personalized service. This is what very often distinguishes a local bank from larger, more impersonal institutions. While processing the transaction, the cashier can recommend to the client products that are suitable for him, for example, more profitable ones savings accounts or investment services.

As for wealthy clients, you should call them personally. Both people and companies will appreciate your special attention to their needs.

Overall, don't take any client for granted. Remember, you are not the only bank trying to attract potential customers or sell additional products to existing customers.

7. Good storytelling is an important part of your internal strategy.

Prioritize storytelling in your internal strategy.

From your website and social media to traditional paper marketing materials, all your content should be aimed at informing and educating your audience to help them make better financial decisions.

Effective storytelling can produce significant results. According to research, people most often buy from companies that involve them in training. Invest in relevant educational content by creating high-quality content for your website and blog articles.

Get ideas for articles from common daily questions from your customers, and also talk about the services that are most useful to your target audience. This way you will not only create effective resource to your audience, but also show them why your services are the best solution for their needs.

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Bank advertising in the very general view can be defined as a targeted information impact, during which potential consumers are informed about the range of financial services provided, the bank’s reputation is formed and maintained, mutual understanding, goodwill and cooperation between the bank and counterparties are created and maintained.

Possessing a developed marketing mix, market leaders regularly implement large number marketing communications. With their help they expand the general segment financial market in all its possible directions (promotions to attract new clients, announcement of new banking products). All this goes through advertising as the main means of conveying information to the target group. This leads to active advertising of leaders in various media.

Advertising by market leaders is characterized by the use of the best advertising conditions in the media, high quality and volume of advertising messages, clear positioning of the bank, its products and services within the advertising message in all respects. competitive advantages. Advertising of goods and services on the World Wide Web is gaining rapid momentum. The advertising market on the Internet is developing and the advantages that this media network, successfully competing with traditional means of mass communication, the Internet is becoming a channel for promoting banks and banking services.

The Internet provides ample opportunities for advertising various goods and services. Despite a number of shortcomings, the Internet is a powerful resource in promoting various banking products. At the same time, the Internet serves as a driving force for improving the services and marketing strategies of banks.

Just a few years ago, most banks practically ignored the Internet, not seeing their potential clients online. “There is no money on the Internet,” some marketers said bluntly. Now, hardly anyone will dare to make such a statement: as the results of a survey by the Voice of Runet service showed, 88% of Runet residents used the services of banks last year.

The Internet advertising medium allows you to clearly identify segmental groups of consumers and find the necessary audience. It can be divided according to numerous criteria (gender, age, viewing time, property qualification, geographical division etc.). Moreover, it is necessary to note here the possibility of differentiating the audience based on behavioral characteristics, which became possible only thanks to the Internet.

Thus, the Internet can “sell” audiences to advertisers not only based on age and gender, but, for example, depending on the social context and hobbies of the audience. This greatly simplifies the communication between the advertising company and the consumer.

The accelerated development of the banking services segment also leads to changes in the relationships between its participants. A restructuring of banks' self-service strategies inevitably entails changes in strategies and solution providers. Still imperfect payment systems non-cash means. But it is the banks that must promote the system of non-cash payments. Consumers do not use multiple services non-cash payments due to lack of necessary information. Queues at ATMs eloquently demonstrate the need to switch to non-cash payments, and the Latin saying “We can only do what we know” confirms that advertising of these banking services is needed.

Level of competition at banking market Siberia can traditionally be considered high. IN current economic conditions The position of a particular bank is largely determined by the success of promoting its services and the correct understanding of the needs of its clients. Together with market participants, KS analyzed what marketing tools bankers use and how their efforts in this regard are assessed by outside experts.

Market conditions

The current economic situation has an undeniable impact on the marketing promotion of banks.

As stated Manager of the Municipal branch of Otkritie Bank Sergey Sutormin, the operating environment has deteriorated and business margins are declining. The expert considers the key trend of recent times to be the transfer of clients to larger, more stable and reliable credit organizations: “They are interesting because they have the opportunity to direct serious investments into the development of technologies, to provide comprehensive service, select competent teams.” Thus, the gap between large and small banks is widening, also in terms of marketing capabilities.

The economic situation has also led to banks reconsidering their business models. “Partly thanks to the crisis, both banks and clients recent years came to understand that their mutual interest is not limited to lending alone. Since 2014 classic market banking services, which has developed in Russia since the 1990s, began to transform. There has been a shift in focus from lending to risk-free transactional business, increased financial and non-financial cooperation related to supporting clients’ businesses, active development digital banking - transition to remote technologies when developing products, services and sales channels for banking services,” explains Sergey Sutormin. In particular, Otkritie Bank adjusted its strategy, relying on the development of a transactional business model, which could not but affect the marketing strategy of the financial institution.

The approaches of other banks have also changed. In particular, BINBANK, which acquired MDM Bank last year, changed its promotion strategy and, first of all, began to work more actively with its own client base, developing cross-sales areas credit products. By conviction Director of the Marketing Department of BINBANK Mikhail Semikov, this approach is designed to optimize the cost of attraction and ensure a flow of quality borrowers. However, how justified such measures are can only be judged with the passage of time.

Another feature of the market that can be noticed with the naked eye when analyzing the marketing activities of banks is the growing propensity of the population to accumulate funds. This makes deposits a more attractive product and, as a result, accumulates funds for the promotion of this particular product category. According to Director of the Omsk branch of OTP Bank Andrey Kamionko, the increase in the population’s propensity to accumulate funds occurs even despite the reduction in deposit rates.

More globally, the banking market is affected by a general redistribution investment portfolios and the outflow of investment from real estate towards deposits, as evidenced by general manager Uniservice Capital Alexey Antipin: “The financial services market, even in Russia as a whole, is extremely limited, and mostly people as investment instruments use deposits (including foreign currency) and real estate for stock market active participants no more than 2 million. There is also a noticeable outflow of investment from real estate due to market instability in favor of deposits.” Thus, here too, deposits are a product that market participants are increasingly betting on when promoting.

Promotion specifics

What are the specifics of promotion in the banking services market? Which promotion methods work well and which ones work worse? What promotions, special offers and loyalty programs are in greatest demand in the financial market?

Before discussing this issue with the bankers themselves, KS talked with independent marketers who can evaluate the efforts of their colleagues from the outside. Speaking about the specifics of promoting banking products, managing partner of the InMar Relations agency Vladimir Kosykh draws attention to the fact that banks need to sell essentially two essentially opposite products - loans and deposits: “And if we talk about the retail market, consumers of these two products almost do not overlap with each other - some prefer to save money, others to spend. On the one side, financial services- a market in which the role of trust in the brand is great - its reputation. On the other hand, it is very easy to compare offers in this market: there are literally 2-3 clear quantitative indicators, i.e., the role of price competition is great.”

Among the recent trends and changes, the independent expert, as an observer, notes a reduction in advertising aimed at issuing loans, and an increase in advertising about attracting deposits and credit cards. We are also talking about cutting budgets. “Some banks are closing, and it is important for the players remaining in the market to attract clients of closed banks to their services. But for this, personal communications are usually used. According to my observations, the share of communication channels that allow one to clearly target the audience and/or even reach out personally is increasing. First of all, this is the Internet, SMM, and direct marketing - personal communications via the Internet and social networks. The share of advertising with “transparent” ROI is increasing (return on investment indicator - “KS”), and this is “product” advertising - promotion of specific financial products“Kosykh continues.

In channels that do not allow clearly targeting the audience (television and outdoor advertising), advertising remains, but its share in the budget is decreasing: “And there is less and less “grocery” advertising of banking services. In such low-targeted channels, brand advertising remained. Special and promotional events remain. But now it is increasingly an event for a limited audience. And the number of cross-branding events - joint ones with other brands - is growing. Before the crisis, banks were extremely reluctant to participate in such “united” events, preferring to do their own,” explains Vladimir Kosykh.

It is complemented by executive director of a branding agencyKIAN Anna Litvintseva.“The marketing activity of any banking brand is usually built in two key areas: building the bank’s brand and working with the promotion of individual services. As for promoting the main brand, image channels come to the fore here, since one of the key and most significant characteristics of a banking brand for consumers is its reliability, stability and size. That is why, as part of image promotion, banking structures often organize serious, expensive events and attract top stars: their task is to demonstrate the strength and power of their own brand, win the trust of consumers and instill confidence in their reliability,” Anna Litvintseva shares her observations and conclusions.

As for the promotion of specific services, in this case, communication channels and tools largely depend on the target audience of a particular service. “Loan consumers are usually a younger audience, with whom digital channels and social networks are very effective. Audience bank deposits- adult and wealthy, more status channels are attracted to work with her. However, of course, one of the most effective tools for promoting banking services from all points of view is working with own base contacts (calls, SMS and email distribution). About 50% of all bank sales come from this channel,” notes KS’s interlocutor.

Bankers themselves admit that in their market the role of marketing is very important, and often it is the “packaging” of goods and services that determines the demand for them. “The services of all banks are almost the same, they differ in details, but not all clients understand these details well, therefore, when promoting banking products and services, information should be conveyed to clients as simply and clearly as possible. In our experience, either constant communication in several channels, at least three, or very interesting and successful creative that accurately hits the target audience works well,” explains UniCredit Bank.

The bank also notes that it always welcomes positive universal human emotions and recommends never using politics, alcohol or religion. “In our campaigns, we adhere to simple and understandable communications for everyone, and show real footage from life. As for trends, there is more emotional advertising, and less rational advertising. Banks have become more advanced and are moving towards those channels that are familiar and convenient for a modern person,” the bank notes.

Following global trends, the Internet, especially its mobile part, is occupying an increasing share, as Mikhail Semikov talks about. Loyalty programs, as well as special offers, are getting a second wind, but in them the interlocutor of “KS” considers it important to look for a proper balance: “As a rule, minimizing the price gives the maximum response from customers, but this step gives a short-term result in the form of single and inconsistent transactions; however, the bank is interested in establishing the longest possible relationship with the client. Therefore, discount promotions and loyalty programs are giving way to bonus ones, which make it possible to provide both a rational benefit for the client in the moment and the basis for long-term cooperation between the client and the bank.”

Andrey Kamionko believes that it is important to focus on working with your own client base. But he immediately adds that all efforts must be adequately supported in the bank office by the interested and client-oriented attitude of employees. Otherwise, your efforts will not bring the desired effect.

“KS” calls on the professional community of marketers to exchange views on assessing the activities of banks in the field of promotion. Please send your feedback on this issue to [email protected].

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Key words: services, promotion, internet, bank, advertising.

Modern market relations dictate their own conditions for doing business. As Bill Gates said in his book Business at the Speed ​​of Thought: “In the future, there will be two kinds of companies in the market: those that are online and those that are out of business.” This trend has also affected banking sector. Huge number projects and programs are implemented using the World Wide Web, but despite the enormous potential of the Internet in terms of attracting new clients, most banks either do not use these tools and methods at all, or do not use them effectively enough.

Any service promotion strategy must be based on something. The required base will differ depending on the method of promotion and the goals set. In this article, we will focus on the following elements, which are the most significant and effective:

1. Landing (“landing page”) is a separate page of the site or, in some cases, several pages, the main goal of which is to persuade the user to take some action.

3. Official website. Serves as the main source of information for clients. If the landing page does not “hook” a potential client, using the official website he can find other services and offers that can attract him.

1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The first and key way to promote banking products is to optimize pages for search engines. This method allows you to receive interested potential clients who are likely to order banking services. Operating principle this method shown in Figure 1.

A systematic approach to this method allows you to achieve excellent results using a minimum amount cash. The user himself searches for the service he needs and receives an excellent offer.

In search results, blocks of advertisements are displayed up to the top pages. As a rule, these are 2-3 links that also answer the user’s questions.

In addition to search results, contextual advertising can be displayed on the pages of partner sites search engine. For example, such advertising may be contained on a page with text comparing offers from different banks. The client will read the information and can immediately follow the advertisement to the desired site, and then order the service. The main disadvantage of this method is high cost, especially in competitive niches.

3.Usage affiliate programs. This method opens a group the latest ways promotion of banking services on the Internet. Since they appeared relatively recently, competition in this area is low, which means it is possible to effectively attract new customers.

The essence of affiliate programs is that it is not the bank itself that will promote the services, but the partner, using the company’s database. The bank can work with partners directly or cooperate with affiliates (intermediaries). Standard scheme The use of affiliate programs is presented in Figure 2.

The bank contacts the affiliate or directly to partners with an offer. If an affiliate participates in the chain, then based on his service he creates an offer that is visible to partners. You can set restrictions, for example, only for those who specialize in financial proposals or make the offer available to everyone. For each transaction performed, the affiliate receives a certain percentage.

Next, the partner accepts the offer and begins to use various types promotion of services. The client first goes to the partner’s website, and then to the bank, where the transition is recorded and statistics are kept. The statistics are transferred to the affiliate, and the affiliate already pays money to partners.

Currently, the following trends in the development of these methods can be traced:

1. Gradual narrowing of segments. The needs of potential clients are becoming more and more specific. To fully satisfy them, it is necessary to conduct careful monitoring and analysis, as well as provide up-to-date information. For each request, the most comprehensive, useful and relevant information must be provided. This will provide a very strong competitive advantage.

2. Strengthening interactions. The live influence of bank employees on potential clients has the strongest impact. It often happens that the client simply does not understand the bank’s offer, so he refuses it or postpones the deadline for making a decision. Live communication allows you to solve a number of problems. However, not every company can afford to have staff dedicated to these tasks.

3. Increased interactivity and minimalism. This area Internet marketing is becoming more relevant than ever. On the Internet, users make decisions much faster. If the offer fails to hook them quickly, they will simply close the window. Therefore, it is important to convey information as accessible, simple, short and interesting as possible. Various media files, as well as figurative and visual forms of content, cope well with this task.

Promoting banking services on the Internet will be most effective only if a systematic approach is used. All methods are based on the strong interconnection of all elements. A bank specialist for promoting services on the Internet must have a deep knowledge of the entire field in order to ensure maximum efficiency of the entire system. In addition, it is necessary to base it on the needs of clients. All the considered methods can be conditionally called Internet marketing tools, and marketing, especially modern marketing, presupposes the fullest possible satisfaction of needs. For these purposes, it is necessary to carry out careful segmentation; fortunately, the tools provide this possibility.

List of sources used

1. Gates B. Business at the speed of thought. / B. Gates. – ed. 2nd, Spanish – M: EKSMO-Press. – 2001 – 480 p. – ISBN 5-04-006117-X
2. Ermolova N. Business promotion in social networks / N. Ermolova. – Moscow: Alpina Digital. – 2013 – ISBN 978-5-9614-2280-1
3. Zhivenkov K. Effective advertising in Yandex.Direct / K. Zhivenkov. – Moscow: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber. – 2015 – ISBN 978-5-00057-604-5
4. Rabkhen B. From clicks to sales / B. Rabkhen. – Moscow: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber. – 2014 – ISBN 978-5-00057-205-4
5. Development of electronic banking services. Reznik I.A. abstract of the dissertation for the candidate's scientific degree economic sciences/ St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance. St. Petersburg, 2008

Scientific article on the topic “ Modern methods promotion of banking services on the Internet” updated: March 13, 2018 by: Scientific Articles.Ru