Data Snack: On messaging and personalization in the financial industry
- Times have changed and consumers expect more from their FIs. That includes messaging.
- But when it comes to what messages to send, there’s no one-size-fits-all. That’s where personalization comes in.

As consumers continue to demand a better experience from their financial service providers, companies in the space may need to look at communication as a gateway to customer satisfaction.
A global report by Braze, a customer engagement platform, surveyed 1,500 marketing execs in financial services as well as over 5,000 consumers to get a better understanding of the role messaging plays in customers' satisfaction with their financial service providers.
From the get-go, there seems to be a gap in how well financial institutions think they’re doing on this front and how well they’re actually doing. According to the findings, 82% of brands say they feel confident that their customers are satisfied with the messaging they’re getting. Meanwhile, only 39% of customers actually feel this way.
When it comes to the messaging customers actually want from their institutions, the findings are a bit of a mix of the expected and unexpected.
Pretty unsurprisingly, 86% of consumers say they would prefer not to get promotional offers from their financial institutions.
What may be more surprising, though, is that only 9% of respondents say they want financial education content from their financial providers. With all that talk about consumers paying more attention than ever to their financial literacy levels, that data point does feel a little surprising.
Still, according to the study, the finding could point to the need for good old-fashioned personalization. While one consumer may not want tips on how to manage their finances, another consumer just might. Financial firms that are able to stay on top of this game of who’s who may be able to stay on top, period.