Last week, several members of our team attended the 5th Annual Digital Marketing for Financial Services Summit.

Close to 300 marketers were there, including our COO Bas Offers, who participated in a panel discussion, The Latest Trends to Enhance Your Marketing Strategy.

Digital Marketing for Financial Services Summit Panel

Aside from Bas-wisdom (and lots of chatter about the El Chapo trial happening across the street), here's a quick summary of our key takeaways from the two days in Brooklyn. A combination of learnings and affirmation:

1. Technologists R Us.
Marketers, now more than ever, need to have a big chunk of technologist in them. Without that, success will be a struggle. This seems obvious in 2018 (soon to be 2019) but what's often forgotten is that it's also our job to ensure the rest of the org is ready for tech. A provocative thought: invest in data scientists to do some of the heavy liftings.

2. Data, Data, Data.
Look at it more and in different ways by setting goals and targets, but also make sure to measure the right things. Only then can you make solid strategic decisions and measure performance. Another affirmation; often overlooked.

3. Be trigger happy. Really?
Understand the triggers that indicate consumers are considering or shopping for solutions — and act on them before it’s too late. Again, data will be the key here. For example, 51% of insurance clients are always considering switching — but only 20% actually do it! Do you have the tools to identify these customers?

4. Decisions, decisions.
The world is suffering from decision overload. When looking for signals from your audience, break them down into Navigational, Informational, and Transactional signals. That helps indicate where people are in the buying and decision-making process — and how to properly address them.

5. Take it personally.
Personalization towards consumers and optimized data-monetization is the heartbeat of modern marketing. Hyper-Relevance is the new black; the new baseline for success. People are demanding tailor-made experiences. 33% of consumers abandon business relationships because this is missing from the experience.

6. Millennials and Mobile.
Uh oh. Buzzword convergence ahead. By the end of next year, millennials will comprise nearly half the U.S. workforce, and their dependence and devotion to mobile devices are changing everything. Everyone (marketers included) will follow their lead, altering their media messages and consumption to further depend on mobile. Are you ready for that?

7. The funnel is fundamental.
It doesn't matter if you use the new language of “customer journey” or the old school “fill the funnel.” Data-driven decision-making should apply data throughout the funnel (or journey) in order to optimize other stages. It’s the most effective way to attract, entice, convince, and ultimately convert prospects into customers.

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