5 Tips To Win The Marketing Game in 2025
A new year always seems to bring renewed energy to marketing strategy conversations. Perhaps it’s because the days taken off work during the holidays gives your mind time to think about what went well and where there was room for improvement, or maybe it’s simply because you now have a renewed marketing budget to work with and use to implement some of the new tools and solutions you’ve had your eye on. Whatever the case, we’re determined to make 2025 a stellar year for your financial institution, starting with 5 tips to win the marketing game. So, let’s jump in.
Tip #1: REFRESH YOUR SEGMENTATION
Before we get into what this means and why you should do it, we have to ask…are you even using segmentation to help understand who your best customers or prospects are? If you’re not, check this case study out. Clearwater Credit Union had admittedly never employed an analytics-driven strategy before working with Claritas. We started our partnership by leveraging our segmentation, Claritas P$YCLE® Premier, to help them understand the audiences in previously identified expansion markets so they could develop market-specific strategies. Want to know the results?
Back to our “refresh your segmentation” tip. If you have a segmentation solution you’re already using, you’re likely already ahead of some of your peers. Now, think about the last time you refreshed that data. If it has been a year or more, it might be a good idea to reanalyze your market. People move, people get married or divorced, people add members to their families, rise and fall in socioeconomic status, and their general behaviors change all the time. You need to know these things if you’re trying to stand out with your marketing. In fact, you need to be able to anticipate when those big life changes are likely to happen. Having an up-to-date segmentation system can help you do that. P$YCLE Premier segmentation was created specifically for financial services marketers. It helps answer questions about who your best customers and prospects are by grouping like households together for your precision marketing efforts. No more “spray and pray” approach.
Tip #2: INCORPORATE NEW CHANNELS
It feels like a new social channel is popping up every time you turn around while we’re hearing stories of tried and true channels being “dead” then alive then dead again. It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s fiction. The truth of the matter is, your customers will tell you what they want, if you listen. And by listen, we mean following our first tip. Not only should your segmentation model tell you the details about your customers that you need to know, like which ones are more affluent or likely to refinance their mortgage or apply for an auto loan in the next six months, but segmentation should also give you a better understanding of the types of channels they’re engaging with.
For example, if you’re not currently advertising your financial institution on various podcast networks, should you? There’s a lot of compelling data that says yes, but you should also confirm that’s where your customers (and future customers) are consuming content. That will help you gain a better understanding of just how much of your marketing dollars should be allocated to that, or similar channels. Insurance behemoth Progressive went the digital route mixed with AI – which, spoiler alert, will resurface as another one of our tips – and ended up with metrics so impressive that they were asked to present them on stage at MMA Possible in 2024 to a packed room. Watch the highlights of that session, here.
Tip #3: INCREASE YOUR INVESTMENT IN MEASUREMENT
Opens, clicks, and impressions are all important campaign metrics but they don’t always tell the full story. If your multichannel measurement and attribution solutions don’t go beyond cross device analysis, it’s time to shift your investments. Look for measurement and attribution solutions or partners who help you unify devices, conversion environments, and precise measurement indicators to truly analyze the effectiveness of your media.
At Claritas, our cross-device and cross-environment attribution integrates impressions across digital display, OTT/CTV, streaming audio, podcast, direct mail, mobile, out-of-home, and more. Conversions are captured across most advertiser websites (site visits, form submissions, online investment purchases, etc.), in-branch traffic, offline sales like credit card purchasing, in-app investments, and OTT/CTV viewing data. Why is this important? It gives you an accurate and transparent analysis showing which channels are most effective at converting so you can track and react in near-real time. Most importantly, you’ll have the insight you need to improve performance so that every marketing dollar you spend is well spent. Dive deeper into this topic in our recent podcast episode, here.
Tip #4: TEST THE WATERS WITH AI
Nearly every conversation our team has had with financial institutions at conferences we’ve attended has included questions about what they’re currently doing with AI. So far, the answers have varied, but most FIs are still in the bucket of being intrigued, wanting to know more, but unsure of where they should start. At the same time, they’re tasked by their CEO or Board to incorporate AI into their marketing strategy to achieve lofty goals. We’ll let you in on a little secret though – you might already be using AI in some capacity.
Certain ad platforms have built-in AI tools that help with personalization (like adding music that might appeal to target audiences), or even choosing an AI generated stock photo for an auto loan campaign. Remember the Progressive campaign we mentioned in our second tip? They used GenAI for their digital audio campaigns and saw a huge jump in engagement vs. their campaigns not using GenAI. There are so many AI options out there, but at The Financial Brand Forum in 2024, our Chief AI Officer Rex Briggs, highlighted how financial institutions can leverage this data intelligence to not only personalize campaigns, but predict behaviors and “next best products” to recommend and ultimately profit from. AI does have its limitations and weaknesses though, and Rex was very transparent about what those are. Check out the presentation here, to get a better idea of how you can use AI to create efficient workflows with strategies that streamline marketing operations, reduce costs, and increase productivity – aka the seemingly tall tasks your C-suite is asking you to take on
Tip #5: STAY NIMBLE
Having a plan is important, but so is flexibility. Internal priorities change almost as often as consumer wants and needs do. And let’s not forget how quickly the market can shift. A few years ago we were hearing about two major bank failures. Last year was when AI seemingly exploded out of nowhere, and as for 2025? Time will tell. For most FIs, the core focus will be to grow deposits, attract new customers, and improve digital experiences, but will things like the change in political leadership shift that focus? What about new industry regulations? Staying nimble and knowing that the one constant in business is change will help you in the long run. Just ask O Bee Credit Union – a long time Claritas client. At the height of the pandemic they began running mortgage refinancing campaigns. Their peers laughed, saying loans were “dried up.” O Bee knew otherwise and shifted from two other campaigns that were successful in their own right, to focus on the refi campaign. Comparing the performance of a similar campaign run a few years prior to the one run when others said it wouldn’t be successful, they saw a 270% increase in the number of mortgage loans and almost 6x the dollar amount. Read all about their story in this case study.
Those were just five tips to help you win the marketing game in 2025, but we have many more. In addition to a monthly newsletter highlighting our top thought leadership and news stories, the Insights tab on our website is constantly being refreshed with new blogs (like this one), case studies, podcast episodes, and other resources. But the best resource we can point you in the direction of, is our dedicated team of experts ready to work 1:1 with you to solve your individual needs. To get in contact with the right team for your financial institution, visit https://claritas.com/contact/ and let’s get started on a successful partnership!