As brands think about targeting the student market, it would be very tempting to stereotype and develop marketing that is all about partying and watching daytime TV. This approach is doomed to fail because the student demographic is actually much more diverse and discerning.

According to Creative Orchestra, less than 60% of students are under 21, almost 40% study part-time and half of those are aged 30-50. In the UK, there are almost half a million students from overseas, and the number is growing.

The main reason why banks are interested in connecting with students is that while they may not have much cash initially, over time they usually become more financially secure and interested in additional products and services such as credit cards, loans and mortgages.

Genuine concern for customers

Despite the dangers of generalising, there are some traits which marketers should be aware of. As a whole, students tend to have a strong sense of social responsibility. When asked, 74% believe that ethics are very important and 65% believe that it’s very important to be environmentally friendly. These beliefs affect the purchasing habits and demands of future students but it is important that brands don’t make claims they can’t substantiate. Students know the difference between genuine claims and spin and are increasingly drawn to ethical financial institutions.

Building a reputation as a brand that truly cares will get cut through with this demographic. Customer Thermometer research highlights that people want to connect with a brand that shows it cares about them. This is heightened for student consumers who are usually financially stretched and may feel more vulnerable, living away from home and making independent, financial decisions for the first time. Sensing that a bank understands the pressures they face and is always ready to help, rather than hinder or scold, can go a long way in forging a strong customer relationship.

In addition, our ‘Connected Customer’ research shows found that a long-term relationship happens when companies become a meaningful part of a customer’s everyday life.  Making their life easier and delivering what is promised both contribute to finding a place in their emotions. When students sense that “this company helps me when things go wrong”, they begin to move along the engagement journey from interest to loyalty. There’s a real opportunity for banks to show genuine understanding and flexibility towards students and as a result to win a customer for life.

As well as supporting students when things go wrong or finances are tight, banks should also be thinking, what additional services and products can we offer that will enhance their life? This is because there is a direct correlation between the number of additional products held, such as overdrafts, loans and insurance, and higher levels of engagement.

The personal touch

Finally, banks should use the reams of rich customer data, aggregated across multiple touch points, to target students with hyper-relevant and engaging messages at opportune moments.

Banks must profile and target properly, taking time to understand their audience, rather than lumping all students in the same category. Students will not tolerate being bombarded with unsolicited messages. Less is more and they appreciate creative, clever and entertaining campaigns that are personal to them. The good news is that sophisticated data-driven marketing is totally attainable now, so long as the data is clean.

The student market is highly lucrative and if banks get their marketing and customer experience right, they could win an advocate for life. To win the affections of students, brands must provide a meaningful and personalised solution with products and services that really add value. Any bank that does this will soon discover they have an army of loyal brand advocates who are engaged and bring long-lasting financial rewards.

Karen Wheeler is the Vice President and Country Manager UK at Affinion

It’s the end of another Black Friday weekend, the annual event that has transformed the retail calendar and kicks off the festive shopping season for eager shoppers the world over. Below Karen Wheeler, Country Manager and Vice-President, Affinion UK, tells Finance Monthly both traditional and challenger banks could be missing an opportunity and should take inspiration from what retailers are doing during Black Friday.

In the UK alone, £1.4bn was spent on online sales in the UK on Black Friday – an increase of 11.7% on last year, according to online retailers trade body IMRG.

Given the amount of hype and expectation, it’s not surprising to see that banks are slowly waking up to how they too can be inspired by the retail world, and capitalise on this golden window of opportunity. Starling Bank, for example, was offering customers the opportunity to earn 10 per cent cashback on their online shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (up to a total of £25) if they invite one person to join the bank with a referral code.

A missed opportunity

But aside from Starling, there are few examples of other banks experimenting with Black Friday offers, incentives and deals, and I think this is a huge missed opportunity. At a key time for consumers looking for discounts and extra value, could they be doing more to find new ways to make their customers happy, and generate goodwill and loyalty that extends beyond the Christmas period?

Of course, the understandable challenge for banks is that there is less of a natural seasonal spike for them to build momentum towards. Whilst retailers can live or die depending on their performance during the critical Christmas season, banks need to offer a consistent and engaging customer experience all year round. So how can providers give their customers the ‘Black Friday feeling’ every day of the year?

1. Surprise and delight customers – What makes Black Friday a success is the sense of the anticipation and surprise that it brings. Starling’s offer is a good example of capturing the festive zeitgeist, but instead of being a one-off purchase, it’s the start of a relationship with a customer built around meeting an everyday need. For banks, the opportunity is therefore to find moments where they can offer practical, relevant solutions which help customers to manage their lives, delivered in a personalised way which makes them feel special.
2. Personalisation is crucial – With reams of data available, there is no excuse for banks to make generalisations or assumptions about their customers, particularly at a time when life milestones are more fluid than ever. Barclays is doing this right, with its Life Moments proposition that lays out key considerations for events such as going to university, buying a house or having a baby – without any reference to age groups or gender. More channels and touchpoints mean more opportunity to collate data on each customer and build a picture of their lives into a ‘segment of one’, meaning every interaction should be relevant, engaging and valued.
3. Think outside of the box – According to the British Banking Association, there were 19.6 million banking app users across the UK in 2016, with 159 logins occurring every second. This means banks have a huge opportunity to capitalise on this high frequency of interactions and ask themselves: how can we build on this, what more can we offer our customers? We know from our partnerships with some of the UK’s leading banks that in order to build long-term loyalty, it’s essential to provide solutions for other relevant parts of their lives to deepen the engagement.

It will be interesting to see if more banks trial Black Friday offers and promotions in the years to come. However, banks’ relationships with their customers aren’t only important during the last weekend in November.

This is why it’s crucial to find new ways to engage, surprise and delight customers throughout the year; both meeting and predicting their needs and becoming an increasingly important part of their lives to build long-term relationships and encourage loyalty.