Investment banking marketing strategies to win more customers (2023)

As the economy grows, power up your investment banking marketing activities to capitalize on the latest developments in the financial services sector and accelerate your profits

As marketers in the financial services industry, we already know it's critical to know the sector inside out, including keeping up to date with the latest industry trends. This blog is written from the point of view of intestment banking marketing, but our financial services 2021 trends guide is written to inform companies that offer personal or business banking, credit cards, loans, mortgages, investment or insurance services. If you are a marketer for an investment banking company, looking to acquire and retain more customers, you are in the right place!

What is investment banking?

Investment banking is all about helping your customers acquire resources to grow/develop in business. These transactions are often of great importance to the company. The role of investment banking marketing during these customers' decision-making process can make or break your relationship.

An industry definition of investment banking highlights the scope of investment banking activities here:

A segment of the financial services industry that assists companies, institutions, and governments with raising capital (underwriting) via Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and executing transactions such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Investment banks may also provide related services such as market-making and securities trading for both equities (i.e., stocks and their derivatives, such as options) and fixed income, also known as FICC (fixed income, currencies, and commodities).

I will refer back to the customer relationship throughout this blog, since it's a crucial element for 'your money or your life' marketing - in this case investments. Savvy investment banking marketers keep their customer relationships at the heart of all their marketing activities. We've got marketing toolks and templates to help you refocus and realign your marketing strategy to compete in a competitive marketplace.

Who are the investment bank leaders today?

As of April 2021, the global investment bank market share leaders are Morgan Stanley with 6.8% market share and Citi with 6.4%. There are plenty of lessons to be learnt from the continued growth of these two giants over the last 12 months.

Keep up to date with the latest financial services trends and innovation with our financial services trends report 2021. Download your free copy for actionable advice and recommendations for business growth. Each chapter is structured across the RACE Framework, our recommended marketing strategy structure.

The RACE Framework for investment banking

We recommend applying the RACE Framework to create or improve your financial services marketing strategy. Integrated across plan - reach - act - convert - engage, our popular RACE Framework and integrated marketing tools guide you through the step by step process of planning, managing, and optimizing your customers journeys.

The RACE Framework empowers financial services marketers and managers to unlock new data-driven insights, to react to challenges and opportunities and adapt their marketing strategy to outpace the competition, and win more customers.

Investment banking customer relationship management

Customer relationship management for investment banking marketers is a no-brainer. Clients seeking investment advice today have a wealth of information sources. Google and Facebook, combined with smartphones and other digital devices, have raised the expectations of the quality of investment banking services.

The robo-revolution has well and truly arrived providing a low-cost alternative to traditional advice. These platforms are increasing in popularity, with new platforms regularly being launched and existing platforms refining their approaches to meet diversifying customer needs. Banks and financial institutions have taken a clear interest, with Aviva buying a majority stake in Wealthify, and Betterment announcing a partnership with Goldman Sachs and BlackRock.

This poses a challenge for investment banking marketers who need to focus on digital investment management to gain an advantage over robo-platforms and service disenfranchised customers. Robo-advice doesn’t need to be automated or depend on algorithms. Portfolio management can be provided by experienced human beings who offer low-cost digital portfolio management services.

Using digital platforms to support marketing provides excellent, more efficient cost-effective alternatives for small boutique investment banking marketers to grow their customer bases and reach out to new prospects who are seeking independent financial advice. Examples include the use of Twitter and LinkedIn. LinkedIn Groups such as Asset Management Group with the Financial Services Forum are active LinkedIn groups with many thousands of members actively discussing financial related issues.

Our paid media infographic demonstrates different ways you can utlilize paid, owned and earned media during your customers' omnichannel journeys, to achieve your objectives and drive results across each stage of the RACE Framework.

Discover our top 9 financial services recommendations, integrated across the RACE Framework, today when you download your free copy of our financial services marketing trends 2021. This guide is packed with expert advice and real-life case studies you can apply to your investment banking marketing strategies straight away. get started today.

Investment banking marketers must embrace digital technologies

New forms of advice and new ways to deliver that advice driven by new digital platforms will continue to emerge, and competitive positions will erode while others will strengthen, creating winners and across the industry.

While retail investors will likely benefit from all the changes, investment banking marketers must strategically evolve and embrace digital technologies to adapt to these critical shifting dynamics.

We have outlined 2 examples of digital transformation for investment banking marketers to champion in their own companies to achieve their business growth goals.

Automation for improved engagement

Improving loyalty and lifetime value can help bring down acquisition costs, but it’s hard to build these when meaningful customer engagement is infrequent. This is interesting considering most people want their insurance purchase to be quick and easy — and don’t want to think about it again until they need to claim or renew.

There is a need to find a balance. One way to achieve this is to explore automation options for a more seamless customer service experience. Consumers consistently express a desire for convenient, seamless experiences, without, for example, the need to update their insurer of changes to their circumstances — something machine learning can facilitate.

Research suggests that customers would be open to the automation of their cover to meet their precise circumstances, such as by-the-mile car insurance where prices are set according to when and how a car is used. This would be beneficial, for example, during periods of lockdown where cover can be automatically paused or reduced to reflect changes in mobility. However, there is a risk of unhappy customers when the prices go up due to increased usage.

Engagement means different things to consumers along their insurance journey. With over half of insurance queries done on mobile, making sure you are ready to meet consumer needs with a seamless experience across devices is a great first step. By automating parts of servicing or claims, especially when call centre capacity fluctuates, you can maximize engagement during peak times.

Granular approach to customer needs

The surge in demand for niche insurance coverage such as wedding insurance and workingfrom-home insurance this year means that because there are fewer like-for-like products in these spaces, consumers are more inclined to focus on features over price.

By highlighting the benefits that serve specialist audiences and providing bespoke coverage for specialist activities you can more easily avoid the “race to the bottom”. In addition, those companies who clearly delineate pricing can also build brand value and inspire loyalty.

It is crucial that you have your finger on the pulse of fast-moving trends to reach the right customers with the right message at the right time particularly in times of significant disruption like we saw during the pandemic. Through the use of high-quality, targeted commercial propositions based on your Google Analytics or first-party data you can quickly identify niche audiences based on interests or life stages and move quickly to market.

There will continue to be tensions between price, loyalty, and engagement. However, those companies that will be successful are those by meeting the demands of more digitally focused consumers to become more holistic, automated, and granular, providers can build the agility and resilience needed to meet changing consumer needs now and into the future.

By adapting and reviewing your marketing plan in line with the latest digital marketing technologies, you too can take advantage of opportunities to achieve your objectives across every stage of the RACE Framework. Discover our top 9 financial services recommendations today when you download your free copy of our financial services marketing trends 2021. This guide is packed with expert advice and real-life case studies you can apply to your investment banking marketing strategies straight away. get started today.