IntroductionEverFi surveyed 125 marketers at leading
financial institutions about the role of financial
education in their marketing mix and their
marketing priorities over the next year. We
found that most marketers care about financial
education, and consider it an important
marketing tool that provides real value to
consumers, builds positive brand sentiment,
and opens up business opportunities.
The State of Financial Services Marketing: The Role of Financial Education
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Learn More About EverFi and Financial Education at EverFi.com/FinancialEd
About the Author Meg Moyer Director of Research EverFi
At EverFI, Meg researches the interplay between education, financial institutions, and social factors in influencing financial capability. She also measures the impact of financial education courses on learners using assessment and survey data, providing reports of course impact to sponsors, districts, and schools around the country. Prior to EverFi, Meg held a similar role assessing the impact of online and offl ine educational programming for youth sports coaches. Meg holds a degree in economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from San Diego State University.
About EverFi Our mission at EverFi is to drive lasting, large-scale change to the fi nancial capability of learners of all ages. We help banks and credit unions make transformative impact on the livelihoods of their communities, consumers, and employees through online education, data and services.
About the Respondents
125 financial institution marketers responded to EverFi’s survey. These respondents represent a variety of institutions, both big and small.
Institutions
Titles
Assets
59Commercial
Banks
41Credit Unions
14Community
Banks
5Other Financial
Service Providers
5Other
21Associate
10CMO
16Director
18Manager
50VP
4Assets < $100 million
65Assets $100 million
to $1 billion
27Assets $1 billion
to $10 billion
18Assets > $10 billion
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The vast majority of financial services marketers report that financial
education is part of their marketing strategy today. Just nine respondents
said financial education was not currently included in their marketing mix.
Marketing budgets also reflect the role of financial education in the
marketing toolkit; more than half of marketers report that their institution
has a dedicated budget for financial education.
Focus on Financial EducationThe Importance to Financial Services Marketing
Both banks and credit unions consider financial education as an important
part of their marketing strategy. While more bank marketers reported that
financial education was currently part of their marketing strategy -- 95%
at commercial banks compared to 80% among their counterparts at credit
unions -- credit union marketers were more likely to have a dedicated
budget for financial education. Sixty three percent of credit union marketers
reported a dedicated financial education budget, compared to 51% of
commercial bank marketers.
89%89%Yes 55%55%Yes
7%No
4%Not Sure
37%No
8%Not Sure
Is financial education part of your marketing strategy?
Does your department have a dedicated budget for financial education?
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Both banks and credit unions consider financial education as an important
part of their marketing strategy. While more bank marketers reported that
financial education was currently part of their marketing strategy -- 95%
at commercial banks compared to 80% among their counterparts at credit
unions -- credit union marketers were more likely to have a dedicated
budget for financial education. Sixty three percent of credit union marketers
reported a dedicated financial education budget, compared to 51% of
commercial bank marketers.
Across financial institutions of all types, the importance of financial education is growing: not one marketer surveyed
expects that financial education will become less important to their institution over the next year.
Financial Education is Part of Your Marketing Strategy.
You have a Dedicated Financial Education Marketing Budget.
Commercial Bank Credit unionsCredit Union Banks
95%80%
63%51%
Financial Education: Marketing Strategy and Budget Commercial Banks vs Credit Unions
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ChallengesWhile bank and credit union marketers recognize the importance of
including financial education in their marketing strategy, they also recognize
the challenges their organizations face when it comes to implementing
financial education.
When asked to identify their top three challenges, marketers cited: lack of
measurable ROI (51%), difficulty engaging customers (47%), and challenges
implementing education at scale as the biggest hurdles. Marketers also
identified concerns about content (21% indicated difficulty finding or
generating quality content as a challenge, while 10% report that there is not
enough content available to them) and unclear value for meeting regulatory
requirements like the Community Reinvestment Act (15% of respondents).
Few marketers (8%) reported that senior executive buy-in is a substantial
challenge.
BenefitsDespite the challenges, marketers are enthusiastic about the benefits of
financial education in the marketing mix. Top benefits include improving
consumer financial capability, bolstering the bank or credit unions public
reputation, and supporting business opportunities.
Both commercial bank and credit union marketers list improving customer or
member knowledge and community relations as by far the biggest benefits;
credit unions favor member knowledge slightly, while community relations is
the top benefit for commercial bank marketers.
Financial education is also seen as a driver of revenue -- a third of
respondents listed upsell opportunities as a top-three benefit of financial
education -- with new business opportunities among existing customers
and members seen as a more likely benefit of financial education than lead
generation for new business.
Biggest Challenges to Implementing Financial Education
Biggest Benefits to Financial Education for Financial Institutions
51% 77%
73%
48%
34%
26%
16%
6%
47%
31%
21%
15%
10%
8%
Lack of measurable ROI Improves financial knowledge
Public or community relations
Important customer / member service
Leads to upsell opportunities (new products or services) with customers
Regulatory requirements or credit
Lead generation
Government or legislative relations
Difficulty engaging current or potential customers
Challenges implementing financial education at scale
Difficulty finding or generating quality content
Value for CRA credit / regulatory requirements is not clear
Not enough content available
Difficulty getting buy-in from senior executives
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Ownership and BudgetWhen it comes to the question of who is responsible for financial education
at their institution, the majority of marketers -- 56% -- report that the Chief
Marketing Officer or head of marketing “owns” financial education. This
arrangement is most common in credit unions, where 70% of respondents
indicate that the CMO is responsible for financial education at their
institutions. A number of financial marketers also noted that ownership
of financial education was shared across their organization. Among the
ten marketers who reported shared responsibility, marketing, regulatory
functions, retail banking, business development, and the executive team
were all listed as departments involved in managing financial
education efforts.
When it comes to funding financial education within a bank or credit union,
55% of marketers indicate that their institution has a dedicated budget for
financial education. Those budgets aren’t static, though. Whether or not
their budget includes a separate line item for financial education, 45% of
marketers expect that their spending on financial education will increase
over the next year. An additional 43% plan to maintain a similar level of
funding for financial education, and just one respondent indicated that the
budget for financial education was likely to decrease (the remaining 11% of
respondents were unsure or did not separately track spending on
financial education).
What do you expect to happen to your budget for financial education in the next year?
Who “owns” financial education at your organization?
6%Content marketing
manager or staff
10%Community relations
manager or staff
6%Dedicated financial
education manager or staff
2%CRA or regulatory
manager or staff
56%Chief Marketing Officer/
head of marketing
20%Other 45%45%Increase
43%No Change
1%Decrease
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PrioritiesFinancial education isn’t the only budget priority that marketers expect to
shift over the next year. When asked about their spending plans over the next
year, marketers predicted a net increase in their overall marketing budget,
with the biggest shifts away from TV and radio advertising, and toward online
advertising. In fact, TV and radio advertising is the only category in which
financial marketers on average plan to spend less money next year. In addition
to online advertising, substantial net increases in spending are expected in:
email marketing, content marketing, and financial education.
AudiencesRegarding their overall marketing
efforts, bank and credit union marketers
are pretty evenly split on where they
spend their time between new business
acquisition, retention and loyalty, and
upselling and cross-selling current
customers or members.
What do you expect to happen to your budget for the following activities in the next year?
IncreaseNo
ChangeDecrease Net
Online advertising 70% 22% 2% 67%
Email marketing 57% 30% 3% 54%
Financial Education 45% 43% 1% 44%
Content marketing 48% 41% 1% 44%
Community Events and Activation
36% 58% 3% 33%
Overall marketing budget 40% 47% 11% 28%
Team and Event Sponsorship 20% 70% 5% 15%
TV and Radio Advertising 11% 47% 24% -13%
What are you most focused on as a financial services marketer?
39%39%New Customer
Aquisition
34%34%Customer Retention
and Loyalty
27%27%Upselling and cross-selling
current customers
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Whether looking to attract new customers
or to extend relationships with current
members, bank and credit union marketers
are particularly focused on two audiences
(in addition to general consumers):
millennials and small business owners.
Credit union marketers in particular are
interested in attracting and retaining
millennial consumers; 83% of these
marketers ranked millennials in their top three audience segments of focus.
Millennials are also an important segment for commercial bank marketers
(56% include them in their top three), but bank marketers are also focused on
small business owners (64% rank this segment in the top three, compared to
34% among credit union marketers).
Product and Service PromotionWhen it comes to the products and services that financial marketers are
focused on promoting, no single product is a top-three priority for the
majority of marketers surveyed. Home-related products like mortgage loans
and refinancing, and home equity loans or lines of credit, are important
products for both banks and credit unions. Consistent with the interest in
marketing to millennials, promoting mobile banking also is a significant focus.
Bank marketers are much more focused on products for business than are
their peers at credit unions. Business banking services are the most popular
product for commercial banks to focus on and a third of bank marketers also
cite business lending as a top-three product of focus.
Credit union marketers, meanwhile, are more likely to report a focus on
consumer banking products like auto loans or refinancing and credit cards.
76%76%65%65%
Millenials Small Business Owners
Underbanked Populations
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Ret
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CustomersGeneral
ConsumersOther Business
OwnersSeniors
of all surveyed marketers ranked millennials in their top three audience segment focus.
of all surveyed marketers focus on mortgage loans/
refinancing products.
Overall Commercial Bank Credit Union
Learn More About EverFi and Financial Education at EverFi.com/FinancialEd