B2B fintechs that must convince customers to switch from an incumbent are asking for a significant change in behavior. Compelling customers to make the switch requires that:
- Fintechs offer bulletproof products and solutions that are personalized and tailored to meet customers’ needs precisely.
- Fintechs incentivize the switch by offering clear, substantial benefit to the behavior change (e.g. more convenience, lower cost, or saved time)
Fintechs that segment the market and focus on a niche segment may be best positioned to cater to very specific needs. Segmenting — and developing a deep understanding of what that segment needs — is a strong strategy for building services and products that meet those specific needs.
With those customized products and solutions in play, the next step to effective customer acquisition becomes placing those products and services in front of the right eyeballs with the right message. Both search engine marketing (SEM) and email marketing are ways to get fintech customers.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
When it comes to search engine marketing, there are both paid and organic aspects. The organic element is called search engine optimization (SEO) and focuses on optimizing content so that your target audience has an easier time finding it.
The goal of every SEO strategy is to appear on page one of SERP (think: Google) results. In fact, the #1 result in Google’s organic search results has an average CTR of 31.7% and is 10 times more likely to receive a click compared to a page in the #10 spot. The more your content is optimized, the better your chances of nabbing that #1 spot.
SEO is sometimes controversial because search engines like Google are constantly refining their algorithms that are used to rank sites and content. That said, there are some best practices to follow that can help you increase the attractiveness of your content for indexing.
- Place the target keyword in the post title and meta description as well as throughout the content (don’t keyword stuff, though!)
- Don’t forget alt text on your images!
- Upload transcripts for videos and audio content (podcasts, interviews, etc.)
- Linking to other content from your site when creating new content (internal linking)
- Conduct competitive keyword research to find out what competitors are ranking for and how they’re achieving those rankings (borrow that strategy)
- Guest post with partner publications that are willing to include a follow link back to your website (this boosts domain authority which can boost rankings)
- Be sure you’re producing content at regular intervals
SEO is a popular way to get fintech customers for a couple of reasons: 1) It’s relatively easy, and 2) it’s very cost-effective. SEO and organic growth have also been reported as the #1 inbound marketing priority for companies around the world. Put in the time to learn SEO strategies, stay up to date with trends, and optimize your blog posts — and you’ll find your content ranking better than before.
Paid search marketing (more commonly called pay-per-click, or PPC) is advertising a search result that you create on a Google SERP. Depending on how optimized your ads are and how much you are willing to pay, you have greater control over having your website being found by searchers—which increases your chances to get fintech customers.
There are plenty of tools, services, freelancers, and agencies that are experts at paid SEM. If you don’t have the in-house resources to manage it, you have plenty of options. Given the sheer volume of free (and paid) tools available, training an in-house resource might not be out of the question, either. Leverage tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMRush, Moz Open Site Explorer, and Ahrefs to get the insights you need.
Email Marketing
If you’re implementing content marketing and PPC, you are probably collecting a good amount of prospect data. The best thing to do with that data is to build an email list that you can use to connect with and build relationships with your target audience. Email marketing is the next step to get fintech customers.
Email marketing is still one of the most effective customer acquisition methods you can use. For example:
- The number of active email users is forecasted to reach 4.3 billion in 2023
- Average expected ROI is $42 for every $1 you spend on email marketing.
- The average open rate for a welcome email is 82%.
- Emails with personalized subject lines generate 50% higher open rates.
If you’re not already, you should absolutely be using email marketing to stay top-of-mind with prospects — and to keep in touch with your current customers. It’s another channel that you can use to distribute content, offers, product information, and other pertinent information.
This is where having a solid content marketing strategy becomes critical. Email marketing should be fluid and personalized and accommodate people at every stage in the buyer’s journey. In order to do this effectively, you should have content for every stage in the buyer’s journey that you can send to interested parties. If you do, great! Consider how you can leverage personalization and dynamic content features within email marketing services to provide a truly tailored experience for prospects. Use the data you have on hand to deliver content and offerings that are relevant and appealing to each individual on your list.
If you haven’t already noticed, each of the customer acquisition strategies outlined above should work together to help you get fintech customers. In fact, they both seem to revolve around (surprise!) content marketing and storytelling. SEO-optimized content helps you rank and become more findable by your target audience. Gated content can unlock prospect data. Email marketing that delivers personalized content at the right time can move people through the buying process more effectively and quickly.
Your exact strategy — and the combination of tactics you use — will depend on your unique B2B fintech business. The most important thing is to measure, analyze, and pivot based on data and insights as you begin to see your customer acquisition plan in action and get new fintech customers.
Ready for more in-depth strategies and tactics to help you win new fintech customers? Download the Fintech Customer Acquisition Playbook.
