Institutional fintechs have historically operated in a low-volume, high-touch sales environment. Outbound outreach and networking have long been the leading methods for generating new business. But that reality is changing – and fast.
In today’s continuously evolving landscape, B2B financial services firms need more than an Excel sheet, an Outlook account and a buddy who works for a prospect to bring in new clients. To be effective and efficient in their respective competitive environments, it is more important than ever that these companies employ complementary digital tools and automated strategies, such as inbound marketing and lead generation.
While fintech companies with long sales cycles need a consistent stream of inbound leads to supplement outbound sales efforts, more is not always better. Generating high-quality leads means less time is needed to vet and prioritize them. Marketing automation tools like HubSpot are designed to both increase and enhance inbound leads through nurturing and scoring.
The institutional fintech space is seeing greater integration of the lead generation tools B2C firms have been using for years: inbound strategies, guerrilla marketing, strategic email drip campaigns and more. Marketing automation is a no-brainer for direct-to-consumer brands, and B2B firms are increasingly realizing the value of embracing the brand-building, lead-nurturing benefits and process efficiencies of marketing automation.
Marketing Automation/CRM Integration for Fintechs: Some Key Considerations
If you’re considering taking the leap to an automated marketing program in 2023 but aren’t sure if you need to, ask yourself these questions:
#1: Do I communicate with my stakeholders across various platforms – email, social, advertising, etc.?
Using different platforms for each type of communication can work, but is it efficient? Are you getting a full picture of the impact of all your efforts?
#2: Do I understand where the leads in my pipeline are coming from and where they are converting?
How are you effectively measuring the impact of your website and marketing efforts if you can’t pinpoint how leads are finding you and what is inspiring them to take action?
#3: Do I use reporting on website analytics and/or marketing efforts to justify marketing spend?
What KPIs are your executives looking for when determining your budget? Is it a manual process?
#4: Does the sales team rely on me to deliver and nurture leads?
Consider how your sales and marketing departments are working together today and how automation and streamlined reporting could help aid collaboration.
#5: Could I benefit from less time spent on social posting, reporting and the other tedious tasks of marketing?
Couldn’t we all use a little more time back?
If you answered yes to three or more of the five questions, you should strongly consider a marketing automation platform. Marketing automation/CRM systems can deliver the real-time, actionable customer data needed to reach your business goals.
Which Marketing Automation Platform Is Right for You?
Marketing automation is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are many considerations, including but not limited to the CRM platform your sales team uses, other technologies already in place and so on. You should also consider which functionalities of a marketing automation platform would meet the specific needs and goals of your business. Other questions to ask yourself as you do your research: How big is your database? How much of your budget can you allocate for marketing automation? How much time can you dedicate to teaching the appropriate team members to use the platform?
Top-Rated Marketing Automation Platforms/CRMs for Your B2B Fintech Business
Below is a list of the top 5 marketing automation platforms (as ranked by Gartner) that can help you with your discovery.
1. HubSpot
2. Zoho CRM
3. Salesforce Marketing Cloud
4. Adobe Marketo Engage
5. Oracle Eloqua Marketing Automation
As a certified HubSpot Gold partner, our fintech marketing agency brings an in-depth knowledge of the best approaches to reaching and activating a B2B audience via marketing automation. If you’ve determined that your organization is ready to take the next step in implementing a comprehensive and seamless marketing automation strategy, drop us a line to schedule a meeting!
