How Financial Brands Can Use Personalization to Build Stronger Customer Relationships

What Makes Personalized Marketing Work for Financial Brands?

Financial marketing is no longer just about broadcasting offers to the masses. The modern financial customer expects a tailored experience, one that speaks directly to their goals, needs, and behaviours.

From mobile-first Gen Z users to digitally savvy professionals managing multiple accounts across fintech platforms, personalisation is no longer a luxury. It’s a competitive necessity.

According to Capco’s banking survey, over 70% of consumers say personalisation significantly impacts their loyalty to financial institutions. And yet, many financial brands still rely on generic, one-size-fits-all campaigns.

This guide examines how personalisation is transforming customer engagement in finance and how financial marketers can drive success with data, strategy, and the right tools.

What Is Personalised Marketing in Finance?

Personalised marketing in finance refers to using customer data—such as behaviour, demographics, and preferences to deliver customised experiences, messages, and offers across channels.

Examples include:

  • Tailored credit card offers based on spending behaviour.

  • Dynamic content in email that changes based on life stage or account activity.

  • Custom alerts via SMS or push, triggered by recent transactions or account updates.

  • Personal finance advice is sent to users based on their monthly savings or investment habits.

This approach contrasts with generic campaigns where the same message is blasted to thousands, regardless of individual context.

Personalised marketing in finance is about relevance, trust, and using data intelligently.

Why It’s Critical for Engagement and Retention

Financial products are high-trust. Before someone switches their bank or uses a new investment platform, they need to feel understood and secure. Personalisation does just that. It communicates, “We see you. We understand you. We’re here to help.”

Benefits of personalisation:

  • Boosts engagement: Targeted campaigns see higher open and click-through rates.

  • Reduces churn: Customers stay longer when they receive relevant offers or help before they even ask.

  • Builds brand trust: When financial services proactively anticipate needs, it creates confidence.

In a landscape where customers can easily switch to another fintech or bank with a tap, delivering a personal experience is the edge that keeps them.

Data: The Heart of Personalisation

To personalise effectively, you need the right data—and the right guardrails.

Types of data you should collect:

  • Behavioural data: Transaction patterns, login frequency, app usage.

  • Demographic data: age, location, and occupation.

  • Engagement history: Email opens, SMS replies, website visits.

Tools to manage and segment data:

  • Customer data platforms (CDPs) like Segment or Lytics.

  • CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce.

  • Marketing automation tools like Yournotify, Braze, or ActiveCampaign.

However, personalisation must comply with strict data regulations such as NDPR (Nigeria), GDPR (EU), and CCPA (US). Always secure consent and ensure safe, encrypted data handling.

Effective Channels for Personalised Marketing

Not every message needs to go via email—and not every user wants an SMS. Financial marketers must balance personalisation with channel preference.

Top channels and how to use them:

Email Marketing

  • Use behavioural triggers for onboarding, reminders, and product nudges.

  • Segment users by financial goals or transaction habits.

SMS

  • Great for urgent alerts or promotional nudges tied to account activity.

  • Keep messages short, timely, and relevant.

In-App Messaging

  • Offer suggestions based on in-app behaviour: “You’ve hit your savings goal—want to explore investment options?”

Push Notifications

  • Use for time-sensitive prompts, e.g., “You have an upcoming bill due—pay now to avoid late fees.”

Always allow customers to manage preferences so you don’t overload them.

Real-Life Personalisation Strategies for Finance Brands

Here’s how top financial institutions and fintechs are driving engagement with smart personalisation:

Onboarding Flows

When a new user signs up, guide them based on their activity. If they browse investment products but don’t act, follow up with a comparison guide.

Product Recommendation Engines

Use algorithms to suggest the right financial product. A customer who saves frequently but hasn’t invested? Recommend beginner-friendly investment plans.

Re-engagement Campaigns

If a customer hasn’t used their credit card in 60 days, trigger an offer or reward to bring them back.

Behaviour-Based Loan Tips

If a customer’s transaction shows growing business expenses, you could introduce them to SME loan offers or savings advice.

Example: A bank notices a Gen Z user regularly receives salary inflows but has low savings. It sends a savings product tailored to young professionals with gamified milestones.

How to Get Started: Tools and Setup

Getting personalisation right begins with the right infrastructure and mindset.

Step 1: Choose the Right Tools

  • CRM/Email platforms: Yournotify, HubSpot,

  • Customer Data Platforms (CDPs): Segment, Tealium

  • Analytics: Mixpanel, Google Analytics 4

  • Automation: Braze, Customer.io

Step 2: Behavioural Tracking

Track what customers are doing and not doing. This includes:

  • Login frequency

  • Abandoned forms

  • Spending spikes

  • Missed payments

Step 3: Set Up Triggers

  • Time-based triggers: E.g., 3 days after sign-up, send the account setup guide.

  • Behaviour-based triggers: E.g., if a user visits loan pages but doesn’t apply, send a how-to guide.

Step 4: A/B Test Everything

From subject lines to call-to-actions and send times, constantly test to find what works best for different user segments.

Personalisation Pitfalls to Avoid

While personalisation is powerful, misuse can damage trust.

Common mistakes:

  • Over-personalisation without context: Recommending a mortgage to a college student? That’s creepy—not helpful.

  • Sending too many messages: Don’t flood users across email, SMS, and app in the same hour.

  • Poor segmentation: Treating a high-net-worth customer the same as a new student user.

  • Ignoring opt-outs and preferences: Always honour privacy settings and unsubscribe requests.

Strive for a balance between automation and human-centred strategy.

Keyword focus: personalised marketing in finance, B2C financial marketing challenges

Measuring Success: Engagement Metrics That Matter

To assess if your personalisation strategy is working, track:

  • Open and click-through rates on emails and SMS.

  • Conversion rate: Are users clicking AND taking action?

  • Customer lifetime value (CLV): Personalised users tend to stay longer and spend more.

  • Churn rate: Has it dropped since you introduced personalised campaigns?

  • NPS/CSAT surveys: Are users more satisfied?

Bonus tip: Build dashboards to track campaign-specific metrics and tie them to long-term retention trends.

Personalised Finance Marketing Builds Loyalty

Personalisation in finance isn’t a trend; it’s the new standard. Customers expect it, competitors are investing in it, and platforms like Yournotify make it easier than ever.

By combining behavioural data, segmentation, automation, and user-centric design, you can create campaigns that connect with customers on a personal level.

The result? Stronger engagement, higher retention, and a brand your customers trust.

Read more related articles: Regulatory Compliance & Marketing Automation: What Fintech Brands Need to Know

Tinuade

Marketing Content Strategist

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