Are these marketing challenges holding you back?
2 Minute Read
To make sure we provide the services our clients really need, we always want to understand the biggest marketing and communications challenges faced by financial services marketers today. Rather than take our best guess, we asked our very own clients. Here’s a rundown of what continue to be the top themes:
Developing strategy
It wasn’t surprising to see strategy top the list – 50% of marketers we surveyed said it’s their biggest challenge because it’s so multi-faceted and complex. With the demands of the digital space, a marketing strategy includes a digital, content, social strategy and more.
Getting noticed and competing for attention online means marketers have had to become experts in technology, data and the online experience. We’re now seeing clients stepping up to master the fine balance between automation and personalisation as their next big nut to crack.
Copywriting
Ranking at number two in the top five marketing and communications challenges is copywriting – 40% of financial services marketers see this is an ongoing battle. Given the amount of content we create to help our clients service the demands of ‘always on’ marketing, this comes as no surprise. We’ve seen the stress clients experience when content is generated in a reactive way to meet the demands of the business. This which is why we’ve been championing the idea of content strategy, and hero content in particular, as the perfect antidote to content overwhelm.
Finding research and insights
The core of a good strategy is research and insights. Starting with what you know eliminates the assumptions that can often undermine your strategy. In our survey, 40% of financial services marketers told us finding research and insights to inform strategy and campaigns is a tricky challenge. Desktop research might be free and just a click away, but the real nuggets come from your own market research. Designing surveys and setting up focus groups can be costly and time consuming, but the dividends will pay off in your strategy.
Measuring success
Measurement has become a complex beast in the digital era and it’s an acknowledged challenge for 1 in 3 of our survey respondents. What digital makes easy, is the ability to track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, impressions and time on page. But today’s user journey is far from linear and tracking conversions for the entire customer journey can feel like mission impossible. Often measuring success is heavily reliant on the right website, email and CRM technologies, and the ability to make sense of the analytics.
Being innovative
Competing for eyeballs and ears is a tall order. Research shows consumers are exposed to up to 10,000 brand messages in a single day. One of the ways we help clients stand out and differentiate themselves is to find the white space you can own. This is where your brand’s expertise, clients’ pain points and your unique ‘tilt’ intersect. Finding this territory (and staying within it) will help you achieve cut-through and maintain better levels of engagement over the longer term.
As a marketing professional, you haven’t got it easy. Hopefully this list provides some comfort and the ideas to help you navigate the ever-changing seas of marketing strategy and digital content.
