Americans have a love affair with their phones. Eighty seven percent of us carry cell phones, and these little devices are kept close, usually no more than three feet from us, 24/7.
Young adults of today are fiercely loyal to their cell phones, and consider a land line obsolete. Mobile phones are rapidly becoming the ultimate in convenient banking service, allowing people to conduct financial transactions, such as transferring money, paying bills and buying products at a store.
Mobile banking is the fastest growing avenue to bank online. According to Forrester, mobile banking has more than doubled in use since 2007. It is predicted that one of every five adults will mobile bank by 2015. If your financial institution hasn’t started developing your mobile strategy, now is the time to embrace mobile banking.
Mobile banking, of course, includes smart phones, but also includes the exploding tablet market as well. It also includes those going to your website to bank from a mobile device, as well as any applications which directly and securely access banking information from a mobile device.
According to ComScore, two times as many males use mobile banking as females, and 25 to 34 year olds have the highest usage of any age group. People who use online banking are the most likely candidates to adopt mobile banking. Mobile applications can be used to look up balances, view transaction history, locate a branch, transfer money and pay bills. To broaden the reach of mobile and differentiate the mobile platform from the web, banks should move in the direction of remote deposit capture for retail customers. Forty percent of the population still does not bank online, and being able to deposit checks remotely may help increase adoption rates.
Emphasize Security
The primary target market for mobile banking is existing customers. People who use mobile banking tend to be more tech-savvy and influenced by digital marketing sources; therefore, be sure to include announcements on eStatements, eBlasts (eNewsletters) and within your online banking platform. In-branch merchandising, digital signage, and paper statements are also important internal communication avenues for integrating the marketing effort. Consider use of QR Codes to drive people to a sign-up page.
Security will be a concern for many customers, and should be included as part of the messaging. Reinforce that security is your top priority (with advanced security measures in place to protect customers), and that mobile banking is as secure as other bank services, such as online banking.
From a strategic marketing perspective, be sure you understand your market in terms of mobile banking competition and offerings. Go to competitors’ websites. Search for mobile applications. Go to their websites from a smartphone or tablet and observe what you see. Is the screen just a shrunk-down version of a bank’s regular website with tiny writing (not mobile-optimized), or do you see something more readable with a smaller menu of options (mobile-optimized)?
If you are among the first in your market to offer mobile banking, leverage that fact in your communications. And consider not just an internal marketing strategy, but also one externally focused. Online advertising can be very selective in ad targeting. Through Google’s Display Network, for example, not only can you custom-select your target geography, but you can target tablets and mobile devices with full browsers — right down to the carriers and operating systems.
Mobile banking has been adopted by more than 1,000 financial institutions nationwide and is moving out of its infancy. It is one of the most important online trends of this decade for financial institutions. Eventually, all banks will have mobile banking services. Will 2012 be your year?
Tara Hershberger is media & public elations director at Pannos Winzeler Marketing, Bedford, N.H. E-mail: tara@pannoswinzeler.com
