Post by account_disabled on Oct 10, 2023 1:33:12 GMT -6
It’s a challenging year to be a FinServ marketer, with research showing that budgets have fallen from 10.7% of revenue in 2020 to 7.4% in 2021. Deciding where cuts should fall is never an easy job, with every part of the marketing mix playing a key role in driving leads and revenues. But, when push comes to shove, the instinct of many marketers – particularly in B2B sectors - is to opt for a short-term mindset, shifting the balance towards creating demand, overbuilding brand recognition and loyalty.WARC research found that in volatile times, it’s brand-building activities that tend to get the chop, specifically brand advertising (70%), sponsorships and partnerships (53%) and new brand development (49%). On the face of it, this seems to make sense. In lean times, everybody is under pressure to deliver bottom-line results and it’s no secret that brand-building strategies are harder to justify, being more difficult to measure and taking longer to demonstrate ROI than activation.
While a demand-based approach might be effective Phone Number List at converting those already at the bottom of the funnel, shifting the balance too much in this direction means missing out on capturing ‘out of market’, longer-term buyers, who may not know what they need yet or why they should choose your brand over others. And as FinServ brands face new competition from not just FinTech, but also retailers, tech giants and beyond, these potential customers are in increasing danger of being snapped up.Striking the Brand-Demand Balance in FinServThe idea that brand doesn’t matter for B2B and corporate brands, such as those in FinServ, has been well and truly disproved, with a study by LinkedIn and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) finding that the ideal brand-demand balance for B2B is actually 46% brand and 54% activation. FinServ marketers should ideally be looking to maintain an equal balance between the two, even when budgets are tight.
Brand building doesn’t have to involve expensive advertising and sponsorship campaigns. Instead, rather than delineating strictly between brand and demand, there is growing support for campaigns that incorporate both elements simultaneously, creating both rational and emotional connections with your audiences, whatever the activity. In fact, the IPA research found that running brand and demand campaigns together is six times more effective than running acquisition campaigns alone.Consider how you can mix up your approach to creative and distribution, to get your message and values across to a wider audience, while also addressing more practical issues and calls to action. Explore a range of channels, as well as bring in different voices and advocates, both from the business and externally, to create an emotional and rational connection. Your employees are one of your best resources for showcasing what makes a brand and organization tick. Plus, don’t fixate on everything being super polished. Organic, grassroots campaigns can be just as effective as more traditional brand activities, while also economizing on spend.
While a demand-based approach might be effective Phone Number List at converting those already at the bottom of the funnel, shifting the balance too much in this direction means missing out on capturing ‘out of market’, longer-term buyers, who may not know what they need yet or why they should choose your brand over others. And as FinServ brands face new competition from not just FinTech, but also retailers, tech giants and beyond, these potential customers are in increasing danger of being snapped up.Striking the Brand-Demand Balance in FinServThe idea that brand doesn’t matter for B2B and corporate brands, such as those in FinServ, has been well and truly disproved, with a study by LinkedIn and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) finding that the ideal brand-demand balance for B2B is actually 46% brand and 54% activation. FinServ marketers should ideally be looking to maintain an equal balance between the two, even when budgets are tight.
Brand building doesn’t have to involve expensive advertising and sponsorship campaigns. Instead, rather than delineating strictly between brand and demand, there is growing support for campaigns that incorporate both elements simultaneously, creating both rational and emotional connections with your audiences, whatever the activity. In fact, the IPA research found that running brand and demand campaigns together is six times more effective than running acquisition campaigns alone.Consider how you can mix up your approach to creative and distribution, to get your message and values across to a wider audience, while also addressing more practical issues and calls to action. Explore a range of channels, as well as bring in different voices and advocates, both from the business and externally, to create an emotional and rational connection. Your employees are one of your best resources for showcasing what makes a brand and organization tick. Plus, don’t fixate on everything being super polished. Organic, grassroots campaigns can be just as effective as more traditional brand activities, while also economizing on spend.
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