Making Data Analytics Work for Your Financial Institution
It’s the latest buzz word, trend and essential marketing must-have – data analytics. Big brands use it to inform their marketing decisions, from loyalty programs to customer communication, and they’ve seen remarkable results. According to Gartner, Inc., marketing analytics accounts for the largest piece of the marketing budget pie – 9.2%*. OK, it works for Macy’s, but how does that translate into the financial realm?
What Is It, Exactly?
Data analytics is the process of examining and analyzing data in order to draw conclusions so you get answers you can work with. Let’s say you want to determine which clients enjoy a profitable relationship with your institution. You’ve got the data – the number of accounts, balances, rates, fees, costs, etc. – and a way to pull it all together. Now all you need to do is add a data element (or two!) to your analysis and it becomes very clear where these profitable relationships live and what products and/or balances make them valuable. You have the information you need to plan an effective course of action.
What Do You Learn?
Basically, you don’t want to sell a personal loan that funds education to a retiree, and you wouldn’t ask the owner of a low-balance account to open a high-yield Money Marketing Account. Today, consumers expect you to know them, and they feel unappreciated if targeted with the wrong message. Without analyzing your data and keeping it clean, much of your marketing efforts will be lost.
Learn From Every Department.
Collecting data for use in analysis is the easy part. Think about all the data available that would enhance your marketing efforts.
Customer Relations – A young couple just opened a joint account. How can you establish your institution as a trusted financial resource? Maybe a link to your money management services?
Sales – Another couple bought a 30-year-old house 6 years ago. It could be time for an upgrade and a HELOC would interest them.
Now you can send them targeted messages that make sense.
Act On What You Learn.
Throughout your institution – product development, strategic planning, pricing, sales calling/closing activity – all departments can utilize and benefit from data analytics. Many companies use custom software tools specific to the needs of that department. The data is gathered, analyzed and translated, but remains siloed. No marketing insight is gained. No marketing action can be taken.
And that’s the key to all analytics – Action. Many collect data. Some even analyze it. But few really leverage the data to drive meaningful marketing programs. Do you have an action plan for your institution’s analytics?
Marquis Can Help.
Whether you work at a bank or credit union, it is vital to both understand and embrace the value analytics plays in financial institutions. At Marquis, we can unify your data sets and translate them into answers you can use. From there, we can guide you on which actions are proven to drive results. Isn’t it time your institution generated more value from your analytics?
Resources
*https://lab.getapp.com/marketing-analytics-data-analysis-in-marketing/