“If you build it, they will come.”
This line from Field of Dreams may have worked for Kevin Costner, but in real life it’s usually the exact opposite. It certainly isn’t the case when trying to increase adoption and usage of mobile banking services.
As a marketer, you must build awareness in, and drive adoption of your institution’s mobile banking services. The most obvious place to start is within your existing customer base. As logical as that may sound, surprisingly few financial marketers fully leverage their current customer relationships when promoting mobile banking.
Moving consumers to the mobile channel has clear financial benefits for your institution. This gives bank and credit union marketers a rare opportunity to drive profitability and establish an ROI without question. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of it.
1. Make It Simple for Consumers
Usability is the key to both adoption and marketing. Marketers should engage early with their digital/online/IT team to create a user friendly process for download and authentication of mobile banking apps. Your process should be as simple for consumers as possible. Frontline staff should understand and be able to easily explain all the steps.
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2. A Video Is Worth a Million Words
Assuming you’ve made it easy for consumers to get your mobile banking app up and running, now you need to create materials that show consumers how to use it. Video is an especially effective medium for this. Chase has a terrific web page that explains the value of QuickDeposit while illustrating precisely how to use it. Navy Federal also provides a great mobile deposit tutorial video for their members.
3. Use All Channels of Engagement
Financial services marketers have many possible channels, media and touchpoints they can tap to reach customers. When your institution launches a new mobile banking service you should use them all. But don’t stop after launch; that’s a mistake many financial institutions make. You’ve got to keep reminding people about the benefits and availability of mobile banking across all engagement channels. It’s a never-ending communications priority. Find a prominent and permanent place on your website to feature your mobile banking services. This way every time your customers visit the site, you’ll have another chance to drive them to mobile.
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4. Leverage Digital Media
You and your institution have invested a lot in your online presence. Use it to drive awareness and adoption of mobile. At launch, create eye catching features on your home page. Link to a mobile banking page that explains in detail how to access the service and add the video and other training materials you created.
Social channels can be especially important for promoting mobile banking because social media users are the most likely to be early adopters of mobile banking. Bank of Hawaii came up with a super creative way to promote mobile deposit with a social game, Say Mobile Deposit. The promotion required people to ‘Like’ the bank’s Facebook page and provide their name and email address. Then they allowed to choose from one of 12 piggybank icons that would reveal a cash amount that they might win in one of three weekly drawings. To enter the drawings, Facebook users had to first walk through a simulated mobile deposit experience, including snapping photos of the front and back of a check.
5. Don’t Forget about Email
Email is particularly appropriate when promoting mobile banking services because so many people now read email on their mobile devices. Yesmail, a company focused on e-mail marketing solutions, analyzed data on more than 5 billion marketing e-mails and found that 49% of all e-mails were opened on a mobile device. Three key points here:
- Make sure your emails are optimized for the mobile experience.
- Link directly to mobile banking app iTunes and Google Play app stores.
- Use the tracking tags on logos and link to easily track and measure your success. This enables you to easily turn email into a mobile banking app promotion tool.
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6. Direct Mail
Yes, as skeptical as you may be, direct mail can indeed be useful tool for educating customer on the availability of new mobile services. Below is a statement stuffer from US Bank promoting mobile their Mobile Photo Bill Pay service, which allows their customers to add new payees and pay bills monthly by taking a photo of the bill.
7. The Branch & ATM
My credit union was one of the first to offer mobile deposit. From the day they launched — even now, several years later — when you walk into a branch or up to an ATM, they will be promoting their mobile banking services, particularly mobile deposit. It’s on their flat screen TVs and posters inside local branches, as well as on ATM screens throughout their area. Their adoption and usage numbers are impressive.
The branch is also a great training point. Branch staff can offer to show customers how to use mobile services on a phone or a tablet. Last year The Financial Brand ran a story on this topic, Spike Mobile Deposit Adoption Rates With Free $5 Demo Checks.