As email marketers we need to engage our recipients in a dialogue, there are some financial institutions that do a phenomenal job with their email marketing programs but others forget that they are in the business of effective communications – you cannot simply create a program to take over your paper communiqués (even though that is one of the reasons you could start.)
Introspection about the program is a good way to begin, an important step is to stop and consider why people bank online; those reasons can also be applied to your email program. For instance, people bank online to:
Access services at Anytime – Consumers are always able to serve themselves quickly, their statements are always available, searchable and easily accessed. No waiting for statements or sorting through papers.
Avoid waiting in line – When banking online, the customer is always first, they can go from “counter to counter” to get the right answers quickly.
Easy Bill Pay – It’s easy to pay bills with a few clicks, no writing checks, no addresses, envelopes or stamps. More importantly, transactions are immediate and can be tracked from start to finish. The same principles apply to fund transfers.
Security – Online banking is actually more secure than regular banking; financial institutions continue to invest in improving authentication to make things even more secure. Exceptions are handled through call centers.
Save Money – Many institutions offer an incentive to sign-up for electronic statements, plus there is the out of pocket expense avoided by not driving to the bank etc.
Online banking is very convenient and financial institutions spend a bundle trying to market the virtues of the service. Just remember, that your email program is your conduit to the online banking channel, remind your people – front line and management – about this factor and don’t forget to educate your customer about the same.
