The marketing landscape has been an ever evolving one. It has been constantly changing over the last few decades and much of the changes are driven by the advent of new technology, evolution of customer needs and customer tolerance.
Have you ever noticed how the key terms used in the banking and finance industries, with regards to driving customers have gradually changed? Let’s say, terms like customer relationship management and brand management have been replaced by customer engagement and brand experience respectively. Apparently, there’s hardly any difference but from the perspective of marketing for the purpose of retaining loyalty and retention, the authoritative tone is done away with to pave the way for a more understanding and interactive communication.
Now, whether you own a brand, a company or associated with a corporate organization, you need to cope with these changes and adapt them faster than expected. The next obvious question is how? The straight answer to this is by integrating and incorporating the key trends of the marketing landscape into your sector, assuming it to be bank and financial in particular.
I will quickly touch upon the three key trends and factors that have been rising to importance in the banking and financial sector since the last few years. Come 2019, and these trends seem to be the ingredients of your recipe of success in marketing. So, here you go:
Virtual & Augmented Reality
The difference between Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is that while the former calls for an absolute shut out of the physical world by virtue of a complete immersion experience, the latter adds digital elements to a live view, most often by using a camera or Smartphone. If you are already into the game Pokeman Go or the Snapchat lenses, you know what I mean.
It is just a matter of time when AR will be largely adopted as a technology with immense possibilities for the various sectors. Out of these, banking and finance is one of the industries that have already started seeing a change in customer experience following the adoption of AR.
The reason why I think AR will be particularly impactful for the banking industry is because more and more millennial, today, are becoming consumers and preferring self-service, which again comes accompanied by banking AR solutions.
AR technology has the capacity to redefine customer experience in banking and finance. Its pronounced use will ensure accuracy and quick service provision, which are the two primary demands of the customers of the financial sector. A lot more will be possible eventually.
Sounds interesting, isn’t it? We will discuss the phenomenon in details soon.
Sonic Branding
There’s constant speculation about how a financial brand can be made more friendly and personal. In the digital age, where visual messages and in abundance, the challenge has become trickier. In such a scenario, sonic branding or audio branding can come across as a major cut through, a way of humanizing financial brands, especially the banking industry, in the online channels.
The rise of the voice connected devices like the Google Home and the Amazon Echo is a sign of how the importance of audio branding will be pushed up the agenda quite soon. Finding the right sound might still be a challenge, which is why; brands still seem to overlook the importance of sonic branding.
However, researches in the field already show that more and more people believe that sounds, especially instruments, leave them with a greater impact than visuals. Let’s discuss the trends in details in the following sections.
Marketing Gamification
The idea of gamification draws on your awareness of the fact the video games are no longer restricted to playing games on your computer as a means of relaxing and unwinding perhaps. They are lot more than that because video games, today, are somewhat sports with people paying to watch games, played by teams that are salaried!
Your mind works in a certain way when you play a game and expect to win or be rewarded from it. Well, gamification, broadly, is the process of using this very mechanics and thoughts involved in gaming for the purpose of engaging customers and solving problems and it is being largely adopted by the finance industry of late.
In the banking sector, gamification marks a pleasurable journey from transaction to customer engagement and experience. The notions of gaming and marketing are the same, if you take note, and they are pleasure, engagement and reward. Reaping these very benefits, customers become more emotionally attached and eventually, get engaged with the gamified banking solutions.
For each of the trends, there’s a lot more to be discussed and evaluated. So, stay tuned for a complete overview of these factors, their uses in marketing and how you can make the most of the technologies for a promising future.