The Banking industry has recently been affected by technological innovations that are changing the way banks communicate and share information with their customers. This article will be looking at how mobile is changing the conventional ways of how banks do marketing and tips on how to create mobile adverts that work.
Recently, Start-ups like Atom and Mondo bank are taking advantage of the New Platforms that is changing the way customers interact with their banks they are also capitalising on the fact that they are not tarnished with the financial crash of 2008 which has soured the relationship between the bank and its customers. These circumstances are making them a threat to the established banks furthermore, they are building new and more efficient IT systems which means they are not burdened with cost of maintain old systems or the cost of running a branch.
The bearings these turn of events are having on some banks marketing division is important because these new companies focusing on securing and consolidating their control on the market through this platform (BBC, 2016). Atom for instance has highlighted the fact that their features show real-time balance information, display the customers spending data, have no foreign exchange charges simple money transfers and artificial intelligence that encourages predictive banking.
However, there has been a constant debate about whether there is consistent demand for this type of banking or that it is a just a trend (Okazaki, 2006) argues that new technological innovations and customer-driven barriers like privacy issues could lead to fashionable phases with exaggerated expectations. Other writers have contrasted this by suggesting that if a product is both utilitarian (practical) and high involvement (expensive enough to demand deliberation), which the app only banks fall under this category it is in the perfect position for a mobile banner ad that can sway consumers to purchase a product or join them. (Stephen, Bart & Sarvary, 2013).
According to (McGreevy, 2014) they proposes that in order to have a successful mobile ad strategy which is imperative for these new banks they should focus their attention on Five things:
- Banner Ads
- Imagery
- Responsive Ads
- Social Media Presences
- Keep it simple
The benefit that banner ads could give to these apps-only banks is an increase to potential customer traffic to their website or the application so that they can download and set up an account. Banner ads can also be very effective if they are used in tandem with the social media. Academic research from (Moser, 2015) also supports the importance of the social media in the increase of customer’s tolerance of mobile ad.
The other important factors that (McGreevy, 2014) identified was the importance of imagery customer when on social media platforms are more drawn to eye- catching visuals which Atom has done when you compare the layout on their website and app however there is a thin line between having outstanding visuals yet keeping the ad simple and understandable. Criticism for Atom bank on the IOS app store suggest that there is a danger they could focus to much on complex visual and not on simplicity which is a turn off for some customers therefore they should be aware of this pitfall.
Alternatively, (Goodwin, 2015) suggest that mobile companies should instead concern themselves with other factors when creating some mobile ads such as.
- Maps
- Smart Software
- Frictionless, Buyable Content
- New Interactions
- Instant Messaging
- New Calls to Action
(Goodwin, 2015) argues that marketers should be aware of advertising on geographical searches and this could prove beneficial for app only banks because as they have emphasized on their website and app their location is in Durham therefore when people make searches around that area or mention it on platforms like Google or Facebook to capitalize on this ideas they could promote their brand thus reinforcing to the public that they are not similar to other banks who mostly base their headquarters in London and establishing Northern peoples loyalty.
Furthermore, another highlighted factors were the friction less buy able content and the new calls to action which could aid them in attracting customers because these new app only banks such as atom state that they can let their customers access their account by using voice and face recognition. Therefore if they designed the ability to use a thumb to purchase items on a phone or tablet this would be a more efficient way delivering seamless service to their customers and that is one of their core values being displayed for the customer.
Overall, when looking at how these app only banks can create a mobile ad campaign that can establish them as a threat to the banks the most important factor that they must utilise efficiently is the role that social media will take because it will aid them in getting traffic to the application and by using simplistic yet intriguing visuals it will grab attention of potential customers.
References
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BBA (2015) “Mobile phone apps become the UK’s number one way to bank” [online] available at https://www.bba.org.uk/news/press-releases/mobile-phone-apps-become-the-uks-number-one-way-to-bank/#.VwwoezArLic [accessed on 11th April 2016]
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