Do you have a long list of marketing goals to hit this year? If you’re like many financial marketers, your goals aren’t small, and the pressure to meet them is high. However, oftentimes, your budget and resources don’t exactly match the size of those requests. Studies show that 39% of financial institutions expect their marketing budgets to stay flat in 2026, and another 7% anticipate decreases. And that means your strategies have to give you the largest impact possible, with a workload your team can actually manage.
The good news is that even with lofty goals, your team can still achieve them when you have solid marketing strategies for financial services behind you. Here are some of our favorites to help you turn whatever your executive team has dreamed up this year into a reality.
Turning Lukewarm Customers into Fans
When a customer joins your financial institution, you’ve reached a pivotal moment. From here, they’ll decide exactly how much of their money they plan to bring to you. Many already have accounts across several institutions, which creates fragmented and shallow relationships. Studies show that Gen Z and younger millennials are the most guilty of this, spreading finances across multiple institutions, with many using more than six financial tools or services, and over half of them residing outside of their primary bank.
A great starting point for building stronger marketing strategies for financial services and deeper relationships is an automated welcome series. For example, Georgia United Credit Union created one for new members by partnering with internal teams to better understand the exact challenges newcomers faced.
The result was a new onboarding program that welcomed members and introduced them to helpful services like the mobile app and direct deposit setup. The automated email achieved a 77% open rate and built trust that paved the way for future automated cross-selling programs.
Tracking Your Customers’ Behavior
We’ve all experienced interactions that feel anything but personal. For example, when you already have a savings account at a bank, and they send you a marketing message promoting that exact same account. Doesn’t exactly feel personal, does it?
These misfires take an even harder hit on trust than in the past, with expectations around personalization growing. A recent survey found that 74% of customers want more personalized experiences from their banks, showing a clear opportunity for improvement.
When planning your marketing strategies for financial services, every click, form completion, and website visit tells a story about a customer. This behavioral data gives you information about what matters most to those you serve. Marketing automation is a tool that can help you understand this information.
For example, a financial institution might track visitors who view mortgage pages multiple times but don’t take action. Maybe they’re still comparing competitors or aren’t quite ready to move forward. Recognizing those behavioral triggers allows you to automatically send follow-up emails with more details, product comparisons, and helpful information that supports the customer’s decision-making.
That way, you don’t end up sending a generic savings account offer to someone who’s had that same account for a decade. And by staying top of mind, you can guide them toward choosing you when the time is right.
Trigger Engagement from Events
When a new customer joins your financial institution, they bring goals, dreams, and financial plans. Your job is to uncover them so you don’t miss opportunities to help. One way many marketers do this is by hosting educational events, such as webinars.
When hosting these events, you can put interested leads into nurture sequences that continue providing value, based on the topic of the event. Then, when your customer is ready for the next step, they’ll turn to you.
For example, imagine hosting a webinar about first-time homebuying programs that includes resources and a clear path to achieving that goal. After the event, you could add attendees (with their permission) to a nurture series tailored to their journey. Throughout the series, you might share guides, resources, and stories that inspire them along the way, building trust and positioning your institution as the clear choice when they’re ready to act.
Go Deeper to Expand Customer Lifetime Value
Wouldn’t it be nice if customers brought you 100% of their business? Of course it would, because we all know it’s much easier to retain customers than to attract new ones. One of the best ways to do that is with a “land and expand” strategy, but with an automated twist.
For example, Georgia United Credit Union created a “next-best product” program designed to cross-sell existing members with complementary products. Using member profiles, they segmented customers based on details like current products and credit scores. Then they sent a monthly email that automatically delivered personalized offers based on each profile.
With this program, they sold thousands of new products and drove a 96% increase in application volume, which was much easier to achieve than landing brand-new customers.
Moving Forward with Successful Marketing Strategies for Financial Services
It’s likely that your customers need a solution you already offer. Maybe they don’t know (yet) that you provide it, or perhaps they aren’t quite ready to move forward. Regardless, when you build nurture programs that focus on trust and awareness, you can organically reach some of your toughest goals.
So even if you’re working with stubborn budgets that don’t match what you’re expected to execute, you can still make significant progress toward bringing your marketing goals to life.
Do you feel like you could use a little more guidance getting started?
Our detailed guide breaks down how marketing automation can support successful marketing strategies for financial services. It will help you connect with your customers, deliver real value, and build deeper relationships that earn more of their business.