# Customer Engagement Trends that Will Rule Banking and Financial Services in 2021
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-02-05
Category: BANKING
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/banking
Meta Title: Unlocking Success in Banking with MoEngage's CEO
Meta Description: Discover the latest trends and strategies to enhance mobile customer engagement in the banking and financial technology sector in 2021. Stay ahead in the
URL: https://financedigest.com/customer-engagement-trends-that-will-rule-banking-and-financial-services-in-2021html

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_By **Raviteja Dodda,** the co-founder and CEO of [MoEngage.](https://www.moengage.com?utm_campaign=pr&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=customerthink&utm_content=customerthink)_

The world of personal finance has undergone significant change within the last 20 years. Decades ago, even the simplest interaction with a financial institution required a trip to the nearest branch. T oday, consumers can do all this and more with a few swipes on their smartphone app or clicks on a website.

Your [consumer’s digital](https://www.financedigest.com/behavioral-biometrics-simple-and-secure-way-to-authenticate-consumers-digital-identities.html "Behavioral Biometrics: Simple and Secure way to Authenticate Consumers’ Digital Identities") appetite is scaling rapidly and it’s challenging to prioritize. Where do you begin to focus your efforts? Here are a few [trends that we’re seeing in the banking and financial technology](https://www.financedigest.com/6-technology-trends-banking-2019.html "6 Technology Trends for Banking in 2019") sector to help you plan your strategy and investments for 2021:

1. **Mobile Means Business**

The [Global Mobile Consumer Trends 2020](https://www.moengage.com/exp/global-mobile-consumption-trends-2020/) indicated that mobile app downloads for the banking, financial services and insurance  industries grew by almost 44% in the U.S. with 20% growth in daily active users (DAU). In Europe, downloads and DAUs grew by nearly 12% and 1.3% respectively; and in the Middle East and & North Africa, by nearly 14% and 3% respectively. While there was a slight decrease in DAUs India, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, the overall [growth in this industry’s](https://www.financedigest.com/dry-molasses-products-market-overview-in-depth-analysis-of-market-size-growth-industry-overview-2022-2029-2.html "Dry Molasses Products Market Overview In-depth Analysis of Market Size, Growth, Industry Overview 2022-2029") DAUs is one of the largest when compared with the other regions around the world. The adoption rate will only increase in 2021.

![](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/globalmobiletrends2020-1736838591624-compressed.jpg)

**What can you do?** This growth implies that banking and financial services companies need to lay greater emphasis on mobile [customer engagement](https://www.financedigest.com/chatbots-the-secret-weapon-to-customer-engagement.html "Chatbots: The secret weapon to customer engagement?"). Investing in new technologies such as customer [engagement](https://www.financedigest.com/customer-engagement-in-the-insurance-sector.html "Customer engagement in the insurance sector") platforms can help you automate and scale your customer engagement. Modern customer engagement platforms that [integrate your customer data](https://www.financedigest.com/can-banks-compete-in-the-digitisation-race-without-effective-data-integrity.html "Can banks compete in the digitisation race without effective data integrity?") sources into one unified customer profile will help you get a holistic view of your audiences’ interests and behaviors so you can better serve them.

2. **Personalization Key to Customer Retention**


   Personalization is no longer a nice to have, it’s a requirement. Online banking brings with it a few challenges, such as short attention spans, switching between apps or leaving your web page if customers don’t find what they are looking for. Personalization will play an important role in customizing individual [customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/getting-customer-experience-right-in-financial-services.html "Getting customer experience right in financial services").

**What can you do?** Personalized messaging will help you draw the customer’s attention and keep them engaged overtime. For instance, a [banking mobile app may alert their customers](https://www.financedigest.com/knowing-your-customers-needs-is-essential-for-banking-innovation.html "KNOWING YOUR CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS IS ESSENTIAL FOR BANKING INNOVATION") about bill alerts or auto payment enrollment. However, if the customers don’t have sufficient balance in their account, a predictive notification will go miles in saving time of both the customer and the [bank’s](https://www.financedigest.com/the-bank-of-me-why-banks-need-to-be-totally-customer-centric.html "The bank of me – why banks need to be totally customer centric") customer success teams to get the payment delivered on time. Personalized messaging in the form of  SMS and push notifications will further help in [building trust](https://www.financedigest.com/how-financial-services-can-secure-data-and-build-trust-in-todays-modern-environment.html "How financial services can secure data and build trust in today’s modern environment") in your brand and assisting in customer retention.

3. **Growing Need for** [Unified Communications](https://www.financedigest.com/unified-communications-a-lifeline-in-crisis-and-a-lifestyle-in-the-new-normal.html "Unified communications, a lifeline in crisis and a lifestyle in the new normal")


   A lot has changed over the past year considering COVID-19, with more [businesses becoming remote and accelerating their digital transformation](https://www.financedigest.com/automating-business-processes-is-essential-to-digital-transformation.html "Automating business processes is essential to digital transformation"). With the world shifting to virtual, most [financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/trends-in-the-financial-service-landscape-and-the-impact-on-fraud.html "Trends in the financial service landscape and the impact on fraud") companies have made the transition to engage their customers across the physical and digital touchpoints. However, as you add more customer touchpoints you’ll also need to create a consistent customer journey that [enables you to understand your customers’ specific needs and offer the most relevant products](https://www.financedigest.com/smart-working-versus-presenteeism-enabling-productivity-in-a-post-pandemic-hybrid-work-culture.html "Smart Working Versus Presenteeism: Enabling Productivity in a Post-Pandemic Hybrid Work Culture") and services. And according to [Deloitte](https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/process-and-operations/us-cons-the-true-value-of-customer-experiences.pdf), “Delivering positive customer experiences can reduce your cost to serve customers by up to 33 percent.”

![Raviteja Dodda](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/ravi-dodda-head-shot-1736838591381-compressed.png)

Raviteja Dodda

**What can you do?** Connecting your customer journey is a great way to show that you understand your clients’ needs and how new product offerings can add more value. Promoting a new product or banking feature is great, but if your [marketing or product](https://www.financedigest.com/extruded-soy-products-market-overview-analysis-by-source-type-product-regional-outlook-industry-analysis-report-and-forecast-2022-2029.html "Extruded Soy Products Market Overview & Analysis by Source, Type, Product, Regional Outlook, Industry Analysis Report and Forecast, 2022 – 2029") team doesn’t have the data to show that your client is already using it or is not interested, it does not help your brand to communicate with your client about it. Connecting data across different technologies and marketing [systems to have one unified](https://www.financedigest.com/from-fragmented-systems-to-unified-cpm-unicredit-prepares-for-todays-finance-challenges.html "FROM FRAGMENTED SYSTEMS TO UNIFIED CPM – UNICREDIT PREPARES FOR TODAY’S FINANCE CHALLENGES") view of the customer as part of your marketing strategy will help you more clearly understand your unique customers’ interests and behaviors so you can better communicate relevant value to them.

4. **Increased Speed-to-Market**


   Planning and implementing new campaigns is a time intensive process. For many [financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/the-future-for-financial-services-is-digital-engagement.html "The future for financial services is digital engagement") and banking organizations, it can take weeks to spin up new campaigns. The result? By the time customers receive these new communications, they’re already irrelevant or outdated. (Or worse, maybe your competitor reached out with the offering first!) In a world where technology and consumers are advancing swiftly, you’ll need to ensure that you have the right technology in place to help you [automate processes](https://www.financedigest.com/the-implantable-biomaterials-market-to-move-ahead-on-rpa-robotic-process-automation.html "The Implantable Biomaterials Market to move ahead on RPA (Robotic Process Automation)"), gain greater insight, and engage with your customers faster with a contextual message at the right moment in their journey.

**What can you do?**

Leveraging [technology with embedded AI and machine learning to help your marketing team identify opportunities](https://www.financedigest.com/airway-clearance-devices-system-market-industry-analysis-opportunities-technology-demand-top-players-and-growth-forecast-2027.html "Airway Clearance Devices System Market Industry Analysis, Opportunities, Technology, Demand, Top Players and Growth Forecast 2027") and risks much quicker. For example, identifying customer [segments that are least likely and most likely to churn based on insights and trends](https://www.financedigest.com/food-thermos-market-2021-industry-size-growth-trends-segments-and-cost-structure-analysis-research-report-2029.html "Food Thermos Market 2021 Industry Size, Growth, Trends, Segments, And Cost Structure Analysis Research Report 2029"), and then providing you the insights and engagement tools to quickly take action. The days of relying on pulling [data from multiple](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-navigate-multiple-data-privacy-regulatory-frameworks.html "How to navigate multiple data privacy regulatory frameworks") tools, CSV file uploads, and mass marketing to all of your users with generic one-size-fits-all messages are over.

5. **Insights-led Engagement**

[_Gartner_](https://www.gartner.com/en/marketing/insights/articles/gartner-marketing-d-a-survey-2020-analytics-teams-must-upskill) _predicts that by 2022, 85% of executives’ marketing-related decisions will be based on marketing analytics._

[Banks and fintech brands like yours acquire](https://www.financedigest.com/can-banks-acquire-customers-with-biometric-payment-cards.html "Can banks acquire customers with biometric payment cards?") users through multiple channels and mediums. There is an obvious challenge to [onboard these users](https://www.financedigest.com/getting-started-with-user-onboarding-tools-in-2022.html "Getting Started with User Onboarding Tools in 2022") and get them to explore different product offerings for upsell/cross-sell. However, leveraging customer behavioral [insights](https://www.financedigest.com/insight-into-tomorrows-retail-banking-customers.html "INSIGHT INTO TOMORROW’S RETAIL BANKING CUSTOMERS") and technology to drive your customer engagement strategy can help you orchestrate campaigns through the right channel(s) with the content that is best for them – whether that be online channels such as emails, in-app messaging,  push notifications, or SMS or offline channels such as an in-branch experience.

**What can you do?** If  your plan of engagement has been, “Plan, execute, analyze, course-correct,” try flipping that order to, “Analyze, plan, execute, measure, course-correct.” Which means, you can identify critical moments in your [customer’s journey and build an insights-led strategy](https://www.financedigest.com/why-equipment-assets-should-be-the-source-of-your-customer-strategy.html "Why Equipment Assets Should Be The Source of Your Customer Strategy") that eliminates much of the trial-and-error and helps to quickly weed out what’s working and what’s not.

**Feed Your [Customers’ Digital](https://www.financedigest.com/how-will-the-introduction-of-digital-banking-impact-customer-perception-and-overall-loyalty.html "HOW WILL THE INTRODUCTION OF DIGITAL BANKING IMPACT CUSTOMER PERCEPTION AND OVERALL LOYALTY?") Appetite**

The digital era of [banking has placed even more emphasis on the customer experience](https://www.financedigest.com/the-next-generation-of-customer-experience-in-banking.html "The next generation of customer experience in banking"). Gone are the days of [customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/why-banks-need-to-embrace-ai-first-customer-service.html "Why Banks Need to Embrace AI-First Customer Service") with a smile. Today, banking [customers want clear communication](https://www.financedigest.com/why-poor-customer-communication-is-holding-open-banking-back.html "Why poor customer communication is holding open banking back") and control of their banking experience. For [banks and financial services](https://www.financedigest.com/any-business-can-now-offer-their-customers-financial-services-how-embedded-finance-is-reinventing-the-wheel-when-it-comes-to-banking.html "Any business can now offer their customers financial services: How embedded finance is reinventing the wheel when it comes to banking") companies, this means that there is more pressure than ever before to deliver crisp, rewarding experiences both online and offline. Taking a comprehensive approach to your outreach strategy and investing in the tools that streamline this process will help ensure your success in the [near term](https://www.financedigest.com/automotive-glass-market-to-witness-sales-slump-in-near-term-due-to-covid-19-long-term-outlook-remains-positive.html "Automotive Glass Market to Witness Sales Slump in Near Term Due to COVID-19; Long-term Outlook Remains Positive") and into the future.


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