In the deluge of data now accessible to banking and financial organizations, finding true insights can feel like trying to get a sip of water from a firehose. For banks and lenders today, targeted data segmentation presents a key opportunity to convert raw information into actionable strategies that capture more market share. When leveraged correctly, segmentation allows financial brands to curate personalized exchanges that feel tailor-made for each individual customer.
As a leading marketing and creative consultancy devoted to the financial space for 25+ years, Creatives On Call believes that collaboration and creativity fundamentally change what is possible. Read on to discover how we can partner with your organization on segmentation strategies that acquire, retain and delight your customers.
Defining Banking and Finance Data Segmentation
Data segmentation refers to the practice of dividing customer data into defined groups that share common attributes and can receive specially targeted messaging and experiences. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, financial brands can use data segmentation to fine-tune interactions across segmented clusters categorized by elements like demographics, behaviors, values, channel preferences and more.
Some examples of customer segmentation that are often relevant across banking and finance include:
- Generation: Grouped by age brackets like baby boomers, Gen X and millennials
- Product mix: Segmented by the primary offerings used, such as loans, credit cards, mortgages and investments
- Channel preferences: Those who use online/mobile versus in-branch services
- Life milestones: Recently married, new parents or near retirement age
Now imagine you can cater communications across a diverse landscape of defined segments: Campaigns resonate more deeply. Cross-sells hit the mark. Compliance risks shrink. Friction evaporates. Most importantly, the customer feels truly known and valued.
At Creatives On Call, our customer engagement experts know how to activate this consumer knowledge through discovery, analysis and research. Once we assist with organizing your segmented data, we’ll articulate your vision and help you advance outcomes through targeted roadmaps that take you where you want to go.
Data Challenges Specific to Banking
Of course, with all its promise, strategically harnessing data for segmentation is easier said than done within banking and finance. As an industry still relying heavily on mainframe systems and legacy data warehouses, many struggle to consolidate information enterprise-wide. Strict regulatory adherence around data privacy and governance also comes into play far more compared to other sectors.
On top of the above factors, some common data and segmentation difficulties that financial institution clients mention include:
- Data silos: Critical data lives disconnected across product groups, which creates blind spots regarding the overall share of customer wallet and household dynamics. Customer experiences suffer.
- Poor data quality: Core systems integration complexities frequently yield duplicate customer profiles, incomplete data components like phone/address, and outdated indicators triggering missteps.
- Lack of analytical expertise: Building flexible, nuanced segmentation schemas aligned to strategic goals requires specialized data science and analytics skill sets often scarce within banking and finance firms.
As a trusted partner serving over 100 distinct financial brands, Creatives On Call helps clients overcome precisely these barriers to achieve segmentation strategies that tangibly drive key performance indicators (KPIs) like lower churn rates and larger average book sizes.
Best Practices for Bank Segmentation Strategies
While each firm will need to determine alignment with overarching corporate objectives, here are several proven best practices our teams emphasize to aid their data segmentation journeys:
- Lead from a single source of truth: Append and reconcile customer data from across all product suites into a customer data platform (CDP) enables previously hidden insights and detailed targeting capabilities.
- Govern usage of segments: Clearly define rules and access protocols around segmentation schemas to ensure utilization adheres to both governance policies and strategic intent.
- Regularly assess segments: Review specific clusters over time for performance, relevance and completeness as part of ongoing optimization.
- Focus on behaviors: Categorize customers based on demonstrated actions like account usage, digital footprint and transaction patterns for stronger signals of preferences.
- Democratize relevant data access: Allow business lines visibility into shared, vetted segmentation packages instead of limiting purely to analytics teams. Democratizing data access helps provide crucial context for teams who may require datasets for projects or leadership teams who want to keep track of certain initiatives.
Benefits of Investing in Data Segmentation
For smart financial institutions, the path to sustainable differentiation and growth leads through one place: truly knowing your customers. Data segmentation forms the foundation to realize this vision.
Yet some banking executives will question the price tag of proper data consolidation, predictive analytics and integration that underlies robust segmentation capabilities. What compelling business case supports the investment?
Simply put: Data segmentation allows you to predict and prevent revenue risk, realize hidden profit potential and boost productivity where it matters most. Key benefits include:
Protect Revenue
Certain types of granular data behavioral segmentation can flag customers exhibiting early signals of attrition risk weeks or months ahead of losses. Then, banks and financial institutions can act quickly to prevent cancellation. In an industry where competitors often struggle to distinguish what’s unique about their products, retaining existing customers is an invaluable advantage.
Maximize Share
Data segmentation unmasks hidden profit pools by aligning product mix recommendations with events like salary jumps, new home purchases and lifestyle changes. Consumers receive proactive guidance while firms capture greater wallet share. Not only does this help financially, but it demonstrates to your customers that you see and recognize their needs. Accurate data is an imperative tool when it comes to crafting and reaching your target buyer persona.
Empower Teams
Equipping advisors with actionable segmentation profiles cuts tedious research and expands relationship bandwidth. The human touch connects through trusted expertise rather than getting lost in system limitations. This is a great way to empower your team and leadership to make a real difference at your company.
If you’re ready to leverage the power of data segmentation, Creatives On Call is here to help. In addition to connecting you with our database segmentation experts, we can connect you to a host of financial marketing services like content writing, graphic design, website rebuilding and more.
How Data Segmentation Connects With Other Marketing Services
Data segmentation forms the core of a customer-centric engine powering relevance across your marketing efforts. But often, banks build segmentation models in isolation. The analytics team segments behaviors. Brand managers define personas. Products market to general bases. Yet immense potential stays trapped.
True marketing possibility emerges only when a shared data segmentation platform informs every customer interaction initiated. From content to marketing campaigns, here are some ways your data segmentation efforts can inform and enhance other marketing practices:
- Campaign development: Defined micro-vertical clusters model buyers more accurately than generic personas ever could. Messaging hits precise triggers and motivators.
- Competitive strategy: When your efforts are interconnected, you can develop competitive marketing initiatives that bridge gaps between different departments. Data segmentation can elevate content marketing, branding and much more.
- Content creation: Connecting observed customer actions to emotional underpinnings allows copy, imagery and video optimized for niche angles that vary from segment to segment.
- Team enablement: Equipping advisors with segment-level preferences prepares them to guide highly personalized dialogues scaled across the member base.
Across each dimension, sharper segmentation feeds exponential impact when it’s used enterprise-wide. As a full-service marketing and creative consultancy, Creatives On Call connects you with financial and banking marketing experts who can meet you where you’re at and get you to where you’re going. Our on-demand teams help you take data segmentation to the next level by integrating these insights across your organization, from content to social media, to serve your bottom line.
Apply Data Segmentation With Creatives On Call Today
Creatives On Call specializes in helping businesses solve marketing and communications challenges. We’ve launched over 200 financial marketing and creative initiatives in the last few years alone with the help of our experienced team. From seasoned banking copywriters to experts in the financial services customer journey, we have professionals to fill every gap in your marketing space to help you excel.
While we believe in the power of marketing as an ongoing effort, we can also connect you with data experts for single projects or campaigns. Or we’ll build a dream team of creatives in financial consulting knowledge management and other skills to take your brand to the next level. Let us put our expertise to work to accelerate your growth.
Wherever you are in your marketing journey, we’re here to meet you and get to work. Contact us today to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it important to segment the data?
Segmenting data allows you to group customers or prospects into categories so you can analyze behavior patterns and trends. This enables more targeted and effective marketing campaigns, product development and resource allocation based on the needs of each segment.
What is a segment in data analytics?
A segment in data analytics refers to a subset of a population that shares common characteristics and is relevant for analysis. Segments allow analysts to group users or customers by attributes like demographics, behaviors and interests in order to uncover actionable insights.
