By: Sankul Seth, Vice President of ITS Enterprise Data
Data is a key competitive driver of success for financial institutions. You may have heard the phrase “data is the new oil.” Whereas oil used to run the world, today, data plays a pivotal role in technologies mobilizing the world. Marquee companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook have shown that, in this digital age, data is a valuable asset and essential commodity to fuel the economy and generate revenue.
Implementing a Data-Driven Marketing Strategy
The first step in developing a sound data strategy is to centralize and host all data attributes in a data hub solution to set a future roadmap for powerful analytics. In addition, using a combination of data and marketing technologies will help financial institutions to understand and segment their accountholder data to present the right message at the right time to customers.
Defining first-party data collection from accountholder interactions via online channels provides real-time data segmentation to present online messages, which drive more engagements. Once data is collected, the biggest challenge for financial institutions is how to leverage it and scale to gain meaningful insight. Data permits financial institutions to proactively make strategic decisions, helping to save costs and improve the customer experience.
At Primax, our data and marketing campaign professionals use data-driven deliverables to address and solve the toughest business challenges and optimize opportunities for growth across all of a financial institution’s core business areas. The primary areas we focus on to deliver strategic engagement for financial institutions and enhance the experience include the customer journey, acquisition, growth, awareness, card usage and customer retention.
With the accelerated consumer shift to digital, it has become more challenging to reach accountholders at the right time. Data technology solutions fill that gap by reaching customers via various personalized channels in which data is the determining factor for the message they receive, with marketing technologies delivering that message. To meet the consumer demand for digital experiences, it is critical to develop a core comprehensive data and marketing automation ecosystem that will benefit both the financial institution and accountholders.
Emerging Data Science Technology Trends
Self-learning and artificial intelligence (AI) models are the next-generation solutions that help capture and analyze interactions with accountholders via online channels to understand their interests and behaviors. To prepare for the inevitable shift, financial institutions should be thinking about and planning to integrate their marketing channels (email, direct mail, SMS, push notifications, website, microsites, paid searches, etc.) with data action.
Every interaction can be converted into data and uncover insights into how financial institutions can effectively serve their customers and provide the optimal experience. As the world continues to evolve, it is imperative for business models to evolve with it to meet growing demands. An integrated data and marketing technology ecosystem will help to support customized and personalized messaging to serve each accountholder’s unique needs.
Sankul Seth is vice president of ITS Enterprise Data, where he oversees data innovation strategy. His current focus is on transforming technologies to simplify and define technology roadmaps and implementation. He holds an MBA in Data and Analytics from the University of South Florida.
