Why Content Marketing is a big opportunity for banks

All of us are fed up with endless telemarketing calls and spam email from banks. Imagine the number of banks and BFSI companies in the country. Imagine the daily one call from each one of them.

As per the survey on debate.org, 94% responded opined that telemarketing should be banned. Companies and good brands can’t remain good by disturbing and irritating potential customers. Banks need to understand telemarketing is an irritation and interruptions.

The good news is there is an alternative and valuable, brand-boosting alternative. This is Content Marketing. More than mere marketing the Content Marketing is about helping customers. Past, present and future.

Someone asked me what do you really mean by Content Marketing? 

Content Marketing is a part of inbound marketing designed for specifically targeted people, based on customer personas and stage of their buyer’s journey. This buyer’s journey is different from buyer’s journey we consider in designing customer experiences. 

Here journey means the stages of the buying process i.e. awareness, consideration, and decision.

“Pushing out content you want to publish is a lot different than executing a successful content marketing program that connects with customers by delivering meaningful experiences that are contextually relevant.” Ardath Albee, CEO & B2B Marketing Strategist, Marketing Interactions

Content marketing is not merely content creation. It is smart, deliberate content creation and distribution. Today with so many BFSI service providers, customers are most confused.

Confusion about the safety of the money, options for better returns, liquidity, risk cover, financial planning, and the list is endless. Financial literacy is the major concern in India.

As reported in the Mint newspaper in June 2017, “According to its literal definition, financial literacy is the ability to use skills and knowledge to take effective and informed money-management decisions. For a country like India, this plays a bigger role as it is considered an important adjunct to the promotion of financial inclusion and ultimately financial stability. 

As per a global survey by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, (S&P) less than 25% of adults are financially literate in South Asian countries. For an average Indian, financial literacy is yet to become a priority. India is home to 17.5% of the world’s population, but nearly 76% of its adult population does not understand even the basic financial concepts.”

Isn’t the above fact is a goldmine for the banks? Content Marketing is the way to bridge this huge gap of illiteracy.

Educating customers through consistent and deliberate content creation is what the banks should do. 

We have about 50 plus Indian banks in India (excluding cooperative and foreign banks) and 76% financial illiteracy means banks are missing this mega financial literacy opportunity. Which means the banks are only focussed on sales. Which means the banks are facing cut-throat competition and red ocean margins.

This must change. 

The Social media specialist Michael Stelzner writes in his book Launch,

” Don’t think about people as targets of the sale. The question isn’t who can you land, it’s who can you help? ”

He further writes which is very important,” If you are only focused on the sale, you are missing a mega opportunity.”

Content Marketing has the power to change the scenario quickly. We have JAM based Mobile penetration. Jio lead internet penetration. What we need is the relevant content creation and methodical content marketing strategy.

What banks can do with CM is not only Ebooks, videos, infographics, articles, true stories, calculators but an entire TV Channel. 

Content Marketing Institute reports, “Jyske Bank has created one of the most high-tech, in-house television production studios in Denmark. In fact, the company refers to itself as both a bank and a media company. Jyskebank.tv produces amazing financial programming, as well as compelling stories that the bank believes, are relevant to its core audience of younger consumers and small enterprises.“

This is the scale of opportunity. Many new tech banks are coming up in India, existing banks should look at the Content Marketing opportunity closely and seriously.

“Great marketers have immense empathy for their audience. They can put themselves in their shoes, live their lives, feel what they feel, go where they go, and respond how they'd respond. That empathy comes out in content that resonates with your audience.” Rand Fishkin, Wizard of Moz, Moz.

You may be interested to read:

1.     Before Content Marketing Begins

2.     When Content Marketing Fails

3.     New Skills Every Content Marketer Needs

‘Not For Profit’ ways are the NEW Marketing

I was early for the meeting the other day so I opted to spend time at Starbucks Store. With the Kindle app installed in my mobile, I read the ebook for an hour. Neither anyone asked me what I would buy to justify my occupying their chair there, nor there was any compulsion to buy anything. Like me, I was not alone, there were a few more like me completely engrossed in their mobile phones. Continue Reading....

At last ...

At last there is a realisation in industry that BRAND is about ROMANCING the Customer and not just LOGO and Advertising. The origin of this blog was for this purpose. 

For many years BRAND builders have always ignored Customer Experience while for CUSTOMERs it was always like that. & this was a mismatch. 

Common sense says : how customers are concerned with the brand if they are not experienced? 

But still all creativity is expended in advertising and so called superficial brand building exercise.

Theme of upcoming brand summit by Paul Writer is Lovable Brands; Romancing the Customer. 

Unless brands are touching and making customer experience memorable , its not branding exercise at all. Earlier companies realise this better resources can be allocated. 

It would be apt to mention what Seth Godin has blogged earlier this week: 

" Most important marketing decision the CMO makes...

Is the goal to get people to notice what we make?

or

Are we setting out to make something people choose to talk about?

If you don't know your boss's answer to this, find out. If you do, act accordingly.

Hint: getting people to talk (or care) about your average stuff for average people is a lot more difficult than it ever was before "

My entire blogbook WOW ! & Weird is devoted on this very theme. 

Happy to see our BRAND Builder community is going to discuss on this in this summit. Happy days for CUSTOMERs , AT LAST.

Exposure is Given, Manage your Behaviour not Exposing Medium

Lousy product reviews on FB or Twitter and whole efforts on product and marketing fails.  On the contrary superlative reviews can boost the sales and brand image beyond imagination.

Therefore companies have stared focusing on their social bushiness strategies.

Bigger question or issue is: With Social Media (SM) is taking center stage companies need not only design their social media strategy but has to change business strategy altogether.

Yes, emergence of SM, organisation is exposed to the world i.e. potential customers, existing customers, suppliers , potential employees and investors, everyone. Therefore advertising and marketing campaigns will have to be realistic and under claiming.

Ad Guru David Ogilvy has said “Great Marking only makes weak /lousy product faster .”  This was in times of no SM. Imagine what can happen in times of SM?  Movie JOKER is the latest example. Earlier this week Volkswagen (VW) ad in TOI was talk of the town, now suppose VW’s  product is not up to the mark or people reads not so good review about their other products, what will happen to so brilliant advertisement? Though its is unlikely for VW but not for majority of the companies.

When the company is exposed to masses about their behaviors, it has to change the behavior and not only strategy to deal with exposing medium. With people to people contact , what company says is hardly of any significance. Its time to get real. Its time to revisit objectives and mission statement  again. Its time to revisit business processes, people soft skills, HR policy, product innovation and afters sales service. Its time to check the air in all the four Tyre (people, process, product and communication). Puncture in any one will curtail the speed and end products/outcome. All companies NOW has to work towards creating brand advocates. Yes that is the ultimate thing that all companies must aim for and best things that can happen in favour of the company through SM.

Now its a time to work towards not triple bottom-line but SINGLE bottom-line through happy customers, motivated employees, supporting vendors, community building, active CSR , concern for environment. Every activities will be watched and  discussed on SM. Now is the time BRANDS will be built by company business strategies and not by advertising and marketing team.  Measurement parameters MUST include other  parameters than only financial share holder driven parameters. Net Promoter Scorecard, Customer SATisfaction, Employees-SAT, Community-SAT etc etc.

When EXPOSURE is given , you don’t try to strategies to defend mis-behavior but certainly-try to behave and put up EXPO-SABLE show.  Brand building is NOW everyone’s role in the organisation. Happier times are here not again for the first time.