Marketron

Radio – You Can Bank on It

Author: Annette Malave, SVP-Insights, RAB

A 2016 PwC publication stated that fintech (short for financial technology) would reshape banking. Based on a survey of banking executives, the article stated that, within five years of the article, 90% of banks expected growth of mobile applications. At that time, a little more than half of the respondents offered a mobile app for their clients, and 18% were currently developing one. Clearly, the pandemic has had a greater impact on services and offerings by banks and financial institutions.

At the onset of the pandemic, consumers quickly learned how nimble (or not) the banks they used were. For those that were unable to physically go to a branch, online and or mobile applications made it easier to transfer funds, pay bills or open an account. But the events in 2020, which created social unrest, also required financial institutions to reevaluate their marketing plans, strategies and tone.

In 2021, banks became proactive versus reactive, according to Accenture. Banks are inventing new ways to engage and serve the consumers who use their services. Accenture shared some banking trends they believe will shape the industry. Some of the trends are becoming a super-app, innovating services and being transparent in fees and payment offerings.

As banks reinvent themselves, understanding the habits and preferences of their customers will aid them in the best way to communicate their services. It will also help them to not only maintain their current customers, but also to sway those that may be considering changing their financial institution.

Radio can help secure consumers for banks; it reaches 83% of adults 18+ who have a checking or savings account, per Scarborough. But there’s more that the institutions should know about radio listeners. Radio listeners are loyal customers, and they are 3% less likely than the U.S. population to have changed banks in the past year. Seventy-six percent only turn to one or two financial institutions, according to MRI-Simmons data. That’s great news for banks but they should note that radio listeners do have preferred banking styles and preferences.

Radio listeners will do their banking online (53%), on a mobile device (41%) and even in person (54%). Banking by a traditional phone is not appealing to radio listeners – only 11% do their banking this way. When choosing a bank or financial service, what is most important to them is customer service (65%) – outweighing interest rates and even company reputation.

With radio’s ability to reach financial institution clientele, banks should tailor not only the services that they offer but also how they communicate those services. As a mobile medium, radio can deliver this information across platforms and devices. With radio listener banking preferences and habits dominated by online and mobile, placing ad dollars into broadcast radio and its streams will deliver a return for marketers in this sector. It’s something they can bank on.

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