Mobile Marketing for Financial Companies

Did you know that research estimates say that by 2015, almost 1 billion people will use the mobile platform for financial services? Users prefer the convenience and ease of cell phones when it comes to paying bills or making payments. With users familiar with cell phones and using them on a day-to-day basis, marketing via the mobile platform is an exciting new opportunity for the finance industry. Here are some reasons why hiring mobile marketing services is a good idea for banks and financial institutions:
Targeted advertising and marketing: The biggest advantage of using the mobile platform is in targeted advertising and marketing. While a busy executive might miss an advertising campaign for a new banking service on a billboard or on their local TV channel, there is a better chance of it reaching them when the message is delivered via their very own cell phone.
Cell phones, being such a personal device and not usually shared, can be used to target individual customers based on their habits and preferences. Increasingly, as customers demand solutions and services tailored to their need, it is a smart move to tailor SMS messages to the needs of an individual user. For example, a bank in Scotland, NatWest, created an SMS campaign to promote a new mobile banking iPhone app. They distributed the SMS message to only those users who had iPhones and an account with the bank.
Tracking the success of campaigns: An SMS message by a bank or financial institution usually contains a call-to-action in the form of a link to click or a number to call. How frequently users act upon these messages can help the bank or financial institution understand if their campaign is gaining ground among customers. Such instant tracking is certainly not easy with a TV campaign as users are bombarded with a variety of messages on various channels. As real-time tracking is possible and banks find it easier to gauge what the customer really wants, they can change their mobile marketing strategies accordingly and remain flexible to the needs of their customers.
Innovative ways of adding value to existing campaigns: Mobile marketing is cheaper than traditional forms of marketing such as billboard or print advertisement, which is why companies can afford to be more adventurous and flexible. Adding mobile ads to the mix of traditional forms of advertising allows companies to access users on the go. For example, HSBC Bank, which was the official partner of Wimbledon, integrated mobile Quick Response (QR) codes or mobile couponing with traditional print ads to come up with an events campaign targeted at tennis lovers in New York. The bank reasoned that if an user had the cellphone in hand and saw the ads, they might take a minute to the minute to download the app and find out what the ad is all about.
As banks and financial companies slowly but surely realize the advantages of the mobile platform, they are hiring mobile marketing services
to reach a wider audience base and promote their products and services.