12 January 2012

Digital Marketing for Indian Financial Services

Digital marketing for Banking, Financial Services
Most of the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BSFI) companies in India still practicing traditional marketing channel to spread financial awareness of their products or services. Marketing paws of Indian financial giants are still hesitating to enter into digital space without knowing its strength and future prospects. Digital marketing for financial services in India still consider as no man’s land.

Banking, Financial Services and Insurance company’s marketers have been slow to adapt to new Web 2.0 techniques. All leading equity broking firms in India concentrate on their product enhancement and push their services through traditional sales channel. Indian Banking services are far behind as compare to international banking firms in terms of Digital Marketing tactics adoptions. I have been observed Indian insurance companies are early adopter of digital marketing tactics perhaps they haven’t utilized this channel except Google ad words or display advertising.

Few financial content publishing firms like India Infoline, MoneyControl.com and DSIJ.in has successfully established their digital business model. Few mutual funds like DSP Black Rock and Reliance Mutual Fund smartly promote their services by facebook. In insurance segment Reliance Life Insurance and SBI Life really doing well in the social media front. What about the rest, their target audiences adopting digital media furiously and started consuming financial content enormously, where are they?

The financial content publishing firms like India Infoline, MoneyControl.com has crack the success code and enjoying early digital adopter benefits. Money Control is the best example how one should design and develop their online financial content publishing business model and engage financial consumers on digital platform. Few portals for loan and insurance services provide comparisons and recommendations have been fetching good traffic. Dalal Street Investment Journal’s Stock Market Simulation Game is the best example of creating awareness and engaging financial target audience smartly on digital platform.

Given the challenges now faced within financial services, it’s crucial that companies rethink and adjust the way they acquire new customers and retain current ones.  Banking and Financial Services and Insurance companies need to be thinking about how they are creating brand advocates within the customer base. The biggest challenge in front Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BSFI) companies are lack of experience with new digital marketing platforms.

Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BSFI) companies marketing head should adopt experimentation with other digital tools rather than just Ad word or display. Digital tools such as social networks, viral video, and blogs, and moving toward relationship-marketing activities that build and maintain long customer relationships-and this require investment in digital front. While working on Dalal Street Investment Journal digital channel, I have been analyzed the concentrated digital marketing efforts and long term planning definitely reward handsome returns on investment.