A new study reveals banks are not meeting the personalization expectations of U.S. consumers, with 45% of consumers surveyed saying they would consider switching banks for one that delivers more personalized digital experiences. Conducted by Researchscape and commissioned by Motivation Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Persado, the online survey of 1,061 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, with at least one bank account, was fielded August 16-20, 2024. The study also asked consumers whether it’s acceptable for banks to use AI to help understand their needs and preferences, with 75% saying “yes.”
The study findings are incorporated into a newly-published Persado report, The State of AI in Financial Services Marketing: Expectations, Uses, & Impact, which details the top AI use cases for creating personalized and engaging communications that build loyalty, along with several real-world success stories.
Unmet Expectations Span Generations
Overall, the study revealed consumers’ desire to be better known by their primary banks, as reflected in personalized marketing communications. In fact, 45% of respondents believe their primary bank knows them only “somewhat, hardly, or not at all.” The survey also found:
- Out-of-touch — 50% of all respondents feel bank communications are formal, impersonal, dated, and out-of-touch.
- Impersonal — More than half (54%) of all respondents said the written communications from their banks were “somewhat, hardly, or not at all” personalized to their needs and preferences. Of the Baby Boomer consumers surveyed, 72% agreed their bank’s written communications aren’t personalized enough, and of the Gen X consumers surveyed, 59% felt the same way.
- Irrelevant — 39% of all respondents think the written communications from their banks are “somewhat, hardly, or not at all” relevant. Of the Baby Boomers surveyed, 55% concurred.
- Unengaging — Two-thirds of all respondents (66%) believe the written communications from their primary bank are “somewhat, hardly or not at all” emotionally engaging; and 85% of Baby Boomers, 73% of Gen X, 60% of millennials, and 46% of Gen Z consumers agree.
- Untrusted — When asked how often the content used in communications positively influenced their trust in the banks, 45% of consumers said “sometimes, rarely, or never.”
“If financial institutions want to be trusted and favored by their customers, there’s clearly much catching up to do. AI has paved the way for banks and card issuers to create highly relevant, engaging, and compliant content. There is little reason for banks to drag their feet on using AI to personalize communications,” said Assaf Baciu, President and Co-founder, Persado.
Emotion-Informed Personalization Drives Results
Today, 8 of the 10 largest U.S. banks already use Persado Motivation AI’s specialized knowledge base to understand customer intent and then create emotion-informed copy that is proven to increase engagement and unlock new growth. The platform has driven more than $2.5 billion in additional incremental revenue in the past five years for large financial services organizations collectively, including brands such as Ally Bank, LendingClub, and Chase.
Persado Motivation AI is a proven enterprise marketing solution comprising machine learning, large language model (LLM), and application layers, enabling marketers to generate and optimize content across platforms. Grounded in a deep knowledge base of marketing communications performance data, the platform outperforms content created by humans alone, or generalized LLMs, 96% of the time.
“Our customers apply Motivation AI to drive better experiences and growth across journeys, from opening new accounts to growing deposits, cross-selling, customer engagement, and retention. Financial services also gain peace of mind with the platform’s governance frameworks that ensure ethical, transparent, and compliant AI usage,” added Baciu.
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