115% increase in investment product conversions

The challenge

A leading bank found itself grappling with a common issue: selling investment products via a mobile app was tough. This isn’t surprising, as the complexity of investment products often baffles the average person.

In this pilot project, we were working with limited options. Yet sometimes the simplest ideas light the way, even in complex scenarios like this.

The approach

A key to better sales is to tweak how we talk about products. It’s crucial to know your audience and feed them the information that is just right for them.

In investing, experience level affects the purchase decision. We split our audience into two groups: those new to investing and the seasoned investors. This split is important as each group makes decisions differently and needs distinct information.

Newcomers are not ready for a hard sell. Think of it like learning to ride a bike. First-timers need extra support, often grapple with various fears, and see lots of potential barriers.

In contrast, those familiar with biking find it much easier to hop on and ride, even after a long break. However, their concerns are different, as they’re aware of what to expect.

Newcomers first have to grasp the basics; they’re not yet in a position to assess our offer and its potential (positive) impact on their lives. Meanwhile, seasoned investors are looking for specific reasons why our bank and our investment products stand out from the competition.

The solution

What we say to whom matters

How to craft an offer that feels relevant?

For newcomers, the priority wasn’t immediate selling. They first needed to understand the relevance of investing. We call this the “zone of acceptance” – a magical place where customers are willing to listen to your offer.

Our initial communication debunked common investing myths and educated clients about investment in easy terms. In simple language, we led them to the conclusion that investing is a relevant topic and can be convenient for just about everybody.

We are all losing money in this economy. Can investing help with that?

The next principle we found useful in redrafting the copy was our natural aversion to loss. Who likes to lose property, money, status or other things? No one.

In this scenario, we highlighted the effect inflation has on all the money sitting still in the bank. Investment products seem like an easily available and simple solution to fight it.

Don’t lose a client over a slight doubt!

First-time buyers often have doubts. They feel more uncertainty than others. Is this product right for me? Is it complicated? What should I expect? Do I have enough to invest?

Even the tiniest doubt can drive them away. We identified potential concerns and tailored our emails to address them preemptively. This approach not only fostered a sense of security among our clients but also presented our product as both accessible and relevant.

Don’t forget about Group 2 – the seasoned investors

Seasoned investors are looking for specific reasons why our bank and our investment products stand out from the competition. BUT we can still approach them directly with an offer – and so that’s what we did.

When clients choose whether to do something or not, the first factor is how easy it seems to buy, to do, to get…etc.

So, besides pointing out the competitive advantage, we also made it clear that it’s a breeze. Since they’re already banking with us, investing is as simple as a couple of taps on their app. Easy peasy!

Take your clients on a journey. Invest the time & effort to make a sale.

What journey? A customer journey. The idea is to prepare a complete set of experiences that the client goes through when interacting with the bank.

It’s the path clients take from their initial contact with the bank, through engaging with services (like opening an account or taking a loan), to ongoing interactions (like customer service, or account management)

One email or one phone call does not drive conversions. A well-thought-out sequence of carefully crafted interactions delivers much higher conversion rates and a much better experience for all clients.

So, we carefully spread out the new messaging in a combination of email, SMS, mobile push notifications, product web page and in-app communication.

As new investors needed more education than experienced ones, we gave them extra guidance. Their journey included more in-app messages breaking down the whole investing thing.

The results

115 % increase in conversions

New customer journeys including the new messaging brought in a 115 % increase in conversions compared to the previous approach.

Understanding the clients, segmenting them into 2 groups with tailored messaging and planning out interactions more than doubled sales.