Fintech is a rapidly growing market that is seeing a considerable boom in the current economic environment. The first quarter of the year 2021 has seen record investment rates into Fintech of over $22 billion.
Financial technology companies are disrupting other financial services worldwide. These companies are forced to digitize their operations or risk losing to the more modern Fintech
companies.
If you’re reading this, you’re about to launch a Fintech company, or thinking about starting one.
How you’re going to be conducting your marketing is probably a worrying thought in your mind.
Without a proper plan, any business will fail no matter how successful the overall industry is.
Fintech, also known as financial technologies, is a term that is used to describe any type of technology that can do financial services. It does this through software such as online banking
and mobile payments.
Fintech can be developed to work on the internet, mobiles, the cloud, or through software. The main aim of these technologies is to allow customers to access financial services with ease and
from anywhere they want to. These days, Fintech technology has changed the way consumers
interact with and manage their finances. In fact, in 2020 there was an 8.9% growth in the
amount of time people spent on banking and payment apps.
As a general rule, any financial service that uses online or software means to provide services
to customers can be considered a Fintech service. Here are a few:
1. Cryptocurrencies — The use of blockchain and cryptocurrencies has given many industries the upper edge in most cases. It allows for improved efficiency, reduced costs, and more transparency between transactions.
2. Payment apps — Apps such as Venmo and PayPal have changed the way people send and receive money around the world.
3. Payment Gateways — These services have advanced the way businesses charge customers for their products. It has completely eliminated the need for banks for every transaction.
Fintech looks like an amazing and lucrative industry to get into. Going into it the right way, there
is a lot of potential for your business. But you should know that as a start-up you’re going to be
facing many challenges. From strong competition levels to a market that is quickly becoming
saturated, there is a lot to keep in mind.
You need to be able to:
● Reach new markets and audiences
● Educate the consumers on what your Fintech is
● Build trust with them so they use your service
When creating a marketing strategy, here are some factors you need to consider to improve
your success rate.
1. Your approach needs to be more customer-focused
Your customers are a good indicator of what they want from financial services and how your Fintech could be a good solution for them. By listening to your customers, understanding their needs, and then catering to them, you are creating a reason for them to use your Fintech.
For example, let’s take a few customers who are used to traditional banking methods. Most of them may be completely fed up with the long wait times, hidden fees, and lack of transparency.
If a Fintech service is advertised to them explaining how it is overcoming these issues, these customers are then given a reason to make the switch.
Even major Fintech companies such as Stripe have their own forums called Stripe Sessions to
utilize customer feedback and ideas.
2. People require learning through experiential marketing
As with any new software or product, customers will first need to physically experience it to
understand it. Sometimes, simply explaining the process of how it works will not cut it.
Therefore, you need to figure out how you can provide this experience to potential customers.
As a company with no brick-and-mortar stores, this can be challenging and requires you to think
a little out-of-the-box. For example, you could try:
○ Attending events in different states related to Fintech
○ Hosting pop-up stores in corners across target areas
○ Organizing meet-ups with other B2B companies or event coordinators
This type of marketing is vitally important to allow potential customers to try the product first.
Once someone uses a Fintech product and sees for themselves how useful it can be, they are
much more likely to become a customer.
3. Developing your brand name
A “brand” or a unique definition for your company has the potential to determine how successful
your Fintech product is going to be. Trying to develop this brand is a tough process and requires
you to follow some basic principles. Remember, there is no fixed or pre-written strategy that can
work for any business. Your branding strategy will depend on your product and the target
market. Here’s what you need to keep in mind when creating a brand name:
○ Keep it short and simple so it’s easy to memorize and remember
○ Keep it unique in the way it is spelled so that you stand out in search engines
○ Keep it descriptive of the service you are offering
These factors won’t always apply and will need to be tailored to your Fintech service. However,
the general idea is that you need to create a unique “identity” to stand out from the rest of the
competition.
4. Use relevant and cost-effective marketing channels
The marketing channels you use should be able to scale your business while also keeping the
costs low. The goal is to have as low a Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) as possible. This way, you
can reach a lot more people at much lower costs. This is going to be vital because you don’t
want to be strapped for cash in the beginning stages. Here are a few to consider:
● Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising — Google and Social Media ads are a great way
of reaching potential customers. Though on the expensive side, this is a great
starting point for any marketing campaign. Through testing, you can probably
bring these costs down.
● Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — This is a long-term strategy that needs to be
built early on. You won’t see immediate results, but in the long term, it can prove
to be an important marketing tool. It can potentially drive organic traffic for free to
your website in a few months.
● Public Relation Articles — Media publicity is a good start for a new Fintech
company. As a service, you are essentially creating new methods to improve the
future of the economy. These benefits have the potential to attract the interest of
journalists and media companies. This format gives you access to wide coverage
of new customers.
5. Using affiliate and referral programs
This involves providing incentives to selected “affiliates” and “influencers”. The point is to promote your brand through them to their interactive audiences. These are people who trust these influencers and will listen to what they have to say. Especially in niche communities, these influencers can drive the way their audiences behave.
A referral program, on the other hand, allows customers to become your brand ambassadors.
People are more likely to trust reviews from people they know than from a random website online. On top of that, you are also building loyalty towards your brand by providing rewards for their contributions.
Fintech brands that are the most successful are those that have reached the right audiences.
They understood their branding and their product. And so, they reached out to these audiences using clever marketing campaigns.
We cannot know what works for a brand or product beforehand. A clear and concise marketing plan with factual data can be the difference between success and failure. Use the points mentioned above to help create a Fintech marketing strategy that can help boost your business when it launches.
Our experts will help you develop a Fintech marketing strategy.
