Marketing automation. It’s as straight-forward as it sounds, right? But when it comes to leveraging it to drive loan growth, things get interesting.
In its simplest form, it is used as a means to increase efficiency, reduce repetitive tasks and streamline marketing initiatives. While this is undoubtedly true, there is more than meets the eye.
In this post, we outline the basics and offer tips on how to get started.
What are the top benefits of marketing automation?
1. It saves you time and money
This includes a 14.5% increase in sales productivity, allowing you to grow your loan portfolio, plus a 12.2% reduction in marketing overhead.
2. It increases lead generation and improves lead nurturing
On average, businesses that use marketing automation see a 451% increase in qualified leads, according to The Annuitas Group. Given that the average cost per lead in the financial industry is $272, this can help you focus on consumers who are most likely to give you the biggest return on your investment. On top of that, you can spend your time, money and energy reaching high-quality leads with a higher lifetime value. You can also use marketing automation to target low-hanging fruit with little investment.
3. It allows you to create personalized content through segmentation
Today’s consumer expects a personalized experience. In fact, Salesforce found that 59% of customers say tailored engagement based on past interactions is very important to winning their business. With marketing automation, lenders can create customized messages based on factors like interests, behaviors, unique personas and customer journey stages.
“Personalization in marketing is no longer optional. It has quickly become a driving force that ensures growth for your organization — a key to managing relationships, and an essential tool that improves retention. For your bank or credit union to remain relevant, marketing automation platforms simply must be a priority.”
Laurie Busby, James & Matthew
What are some examples?
- Scheduling emails, SMS messages and social media posts
- Sending surveys and automating customer feedback
- Creating landing pages to capture leads
- Running A/B tests to monitor performance metrics
- Retargeting abandoned applications: Note: there is tremendous value here, since online loan applications have a 97.5% abandonment rate
Marketing automation by the numbers
- 76%: Percent of marketers who see positive ROI within a year
- $8.42 billion: the expected global market size by 2027
- 55.6%: Businesses who don’t use marketing automation due to lack of expertise
Getting started isn’t as difficult as it may seem. However, successful marketing automation is, in fact, a continuous process–from lead generation to lead nurturing and cross/up-selling.
How can I get started?
- Create identifiable goals and objectives
- Clarify your customer personas
- Develop a content strategy
- Analyze your results early and often
Want to learn more? We are more than happy to schedule a free consultation.
