3 Fintech Marketing Trends to Watch in 2021

In this post, we’ll take a look at three emerging & on-going fintech marketing trends and why each one is critical for continued growth in an evolving market.

Trend #1 - Customer-Centricity

Yes, I know, this trend has been along with us for at least 5 years, and we still need to follow closely in 2021. And for a long list of very good reasons, we'll continue to follow into this next decade.

I share, Micah Solomon's definition of the term:

Customer-centricity is the discipline of attempting to see things from the customer's viewpoint rather than from your own. The goal is to keep the customer's viewpoint and the customer's ultimate wellbeing at the center of everything a company does.

Maybe you have heard of customer-centricity as a core business concept, or even you've even built a strategy around it. Either way, putting customers front-and-center in everything you do as a business isn't good practice - it's best practice. And as we continue to steadily transition away from physical storefrontes and toward virtual ones (faster than we thought), the importance of emphasizing customer-centricity in business is only growing stronger.

Trend #2 - Lifecycle Marketing

The second marketing trend we need to keep a close eye on in 2021 is “lifecycle marketing”.

Remember the marketing conversion funnel (ToFu, MoFu, BoFu)? Well, that strategy falls under the lifecycle marketing umbrella. Before I explain any further, here's a great definition of it:

Lifecycle marketing is the process of creating, curating, and providing your audience with the type of communication and experiences they need, want, and prefer as they move through the customer journey: from prospects, to customers, to brand advocates.  

Deploying lifecycle marketing for your fintech company in 2021 starts where every other successful marketing strategy does, with a deep understanding of your target audience. By taking the time - define your Buyer Personas - by creating, curating, and providing the content and resources they want and need will come naturally.

Whether represented as a funnel, a circle, or something else entirely, the customer lifecycle model of marketing is always sequential and comprised of various stages:

• Awareness
• Engagement
• Retention
• Loyalty
• Advocacy

Traditional lifecycle marketing models like the funnel are still relevant, but as we start to recognize the non-linear journey most customers are on, becoming agile in how we understand and execute marketing strategies is imperative.

Trend #3 - Customer Retention

Customer retention is a key to sustained growth and profitability. And, as most of us know retaining an existing customer is less expensive than acquiring a new one. 

Yet, despite this knowledge and numerous supporting studies, a majority of companies are still pouring a majority of resources into customer acquisition.

• 26 percent said increasing the number of new leads and customer prospects 
• 20 percent said delivering a high quality, unified customer experience across all digital channels

Despite the fact that acquiring a new customer costs, on average, five times more than retaining an existing one — the majority of today’s businesses remain primarily focused on customer acquisition. 

So YES, build a rock-solid customer acquisition program but don’t forget to include customer retention into the strategy.

Don’t miss this opportunity to include customer retention as part of a holistic digital marketing strategy. This will help you maintain your profitability while you scale. 

As we venture into the new year together, we can chat one-on-one about how to position your fintech or financial company for growth and success throughout 2021.