Embracing the future with EY: Insights on modernizing marketing strategies for financial services

The role of the CMO is evolving as organizations seek to unify customer experiences across touchpoints. They are being asked to wear many hats as they integrate data, technology, and employee skills to reach that goal. Recent insights released by EY teams in their research, "How growth leaders approach marketing | EY - US," confirms the critical role of data, analytics, technology, and C-suite collaboration in driving growth and enhancing customer centricity.

The power of data, analytics, and technology

The utilization of data and analytics enables a deeper understanding of customer behaviors and preferences. At the same time, technology facilitates personalized and timely interactions, which are crucial in financial services. This combination allows businesses to create more targeted and effective marketing strategies, ultimately leading to better customer engagement and satisfaction.

Data continues to be an organization's most critical asset and competitive advantage. And the 216 marketing professionals in financial services, insurance, and wealth management confirmed this, as 50% of those designated as "growth firms" identified data and analytics as the most important aspect of their role in today's market and "technology" a close second with 46%.

When asked about the importance of data, analytics, and technology in brand marketing strategies across wealth, asset management, and insurance, Avril Castagnetta, EY Americas Insurance Marketing Transformation Leader, who contributed to the research, emphasized their integral role:

"We believe that data, analytics, and technology are integral to ensuring customer centricity within financial services marketing," they noted. "By harnessing these elements, leaders can refine brand and customer experience strategies to effectively engage audiences who are often inundated with information and have limited attention spans."

By now, forward-looking organizations know that AI-powered technologies will soon be table stakes in the competition to acquire and retain customers at scale. With the rising interest in generative AI, brands are exploring innovative applications that have the potential to transform marketing strategies. One real-world example shared by Castagnetta involves developing a large language model with a client.

"Just one example, we are developing with a client a large language model to digest extensive customer research. Built upon this is an interactive avatar that represents significant customer personas, allowing company personnel to engage with it and query about product understanding or potential purchasing behaviors through various platforms," they explained.

This approach exemplifies the transformative potential of AI in connecting with customers on a deeper level, enabling more personalized and insightful interactions.

Collaboration within the C-suite

Effective collaboration within the C-suite, particularly between CMOs and CFOs, is also crucial for driving growth. Overall CX and marketing leaders are becoming more closely aligned with IT departments, and more closely aligned C-suites will help to bridge gaps between departments to encourage the best of all worlds like marketing creativity, financial accountability, consumer trust, and safety. The research demonstrates this trend. When asked, "from within the C-suite, who do you partner with the most to get things done?" growth leaders indicated "head of sales," followed closely by CTO and CIO.

Leaders in the space understand the collaboration imperative. As Castagnetta points out, "Successful CMOs are adept at quantifying their efforts to secure funding from their CFOs. Notably, the CMOs at more progressive firms focus on media mix modeling, which generates data-driven insights that are essential for CFOs to grasp the impact of marketing investments." This internal data-driven marketing is a model for technology investments across functional areas.

Looking forward

How can CMOs navigate the changes before them to achieve greater growth on behalf of their firms? Castagnetta recommends starting by asking critical questions like:

• Do we have a strong customer experience foundation in place?
• Do we have the resources and systems to invest in and deploy next-level technology?
• Does marketing have access to data, analytics, and technology without relying on IT? Is the data democratized? Is the technology available via self-service?
• Do our financial professionals have the tools they need to find quality leads? Will they use those tools?
• Do we know how our marketing dollars are spent and how they can be spent more efficiently? Can we target our messages more precisely?

By addressing these questions, CMOs can confirm they are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of modern marketing and drive meaningful growth. As the industry embraces these changes, marketers can look forward to creating more personalized, engaging, and effective customer experiences.

To gain more insights on discovering the answers to the above questions, read the research.

The views reflected in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ernst & Young LLP or other members of the global EY organization.

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