Data: Consumers' Friends and Family Drive Awareness for Financial Services Companies

Yes Marketing survey finds that negative feedback from friends and family drives consumers away from financial services institutions

CHICAGO, July 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly half of consumers (43%), said they first heard about the financial services provider they most recently started using through a recommendation from friends or family, according to a new study by Yes Marketing.

For its report, "Inside the Lifecycle of the Financial Services Consumer," Yes Marketing surveyed over 1,000 consumers on their priorities when selecting a financial services provider and found that the reputation of a financial services company can make or break new customer acquisition. More than half (53%) of consumers have chosen not to use a financial services company because of negative feedback from family or friends. This is especially true of younger consumers aged 18 to 21 over two-thirds of whom (67%) report that negative reviews from social circles have influenced their decision not to use a provider.

However, while consumers lean on family and friends to learn about new financial institutions for the first time, more than half (57%) ranked comprehensive, up-front information about a company's services, rates and fees as the top factor influencing their trust in a financial services company they had never used before. Security also plays a significant role, with one in four (26%) consumers ranking proactive communications about security as the most influential factor for building trust with a new company. The findings indicate that establishing trust while building awareness with customers early on is crucial for financial services institutions.

"With ever-growing data security and privacy concerns, trust is a critical factor for today's financial services consumers," said Jim Sturm, president of Yes Marketing. "The value of trust is unmatched, which is why financial services companies must proactively communicate with their customers to deliver clear, accessible information from the very first interaction."

The report's findings also indicate that trust is essential for financial services companies in building long-term loyalty with existing customers. In fact, almost a third of consumers (31%) said a company's trustworthiness is among the top three factors that drive their loyalty to financial institutions.

"As a result of the digitization of financial services, the industry no longer belongs exclusively to banks, making it that much more important for financial institutions to be transparent and leverage data to deliver relevant and comprehensive content about their products and services," said Michael Iaccarino, CEO and chairman of Infogroup, parent company of Yes Marketing. "Financial services companies must find the right technology and service partner to help them build trust while developing and implementing strategies informed by customer data. This approach will help financial services companies engage and convert new customers across generations and, ultimately, build lifetime loyalty."

Additional findings from the report include:

• Forty-two percent of consumers rank the competitiveness of rates and fees as the most influential service factor in their decision to use a financial services provider they've never used before.
• Gen Z-ers are more likely to rely on rate comparison sites than their older counterparts, with one in four (25%) using these sites to learn about new financial services providers and their offerings.
• Only 9% of financial services consumers report using Google to find their last financial services provider.

To learn more about consumers' priorities when selecting a new financial institution, download the full report here.

About Yes Marketing
Yes Marketing focuses on enabling marketers to engage, acquire and retain consumers along each stage of the consumer journey with a brand – from awareness through consideration, purchase and lifetime loyalty. This is accomplished through a unique combination of expert marketing services, best-of-breed technology and proprietary data assets that enable brands to create and deliver truly personalized, data-driven customer experiences with the help of a single vendor with an integrated technology and service offering. To learn more, call 1-877-937-6245, email [email protected] or visit www.yesmarketing.com.

About Infogroup
Infogroup is a leading provider of data and data-driven marketing services for salespeople, marketers, and professionals. The company's solutions are powered by its proprietary business and consumer databases and supplemented by client and 3rd party data. Clients range from Fortune 500 enterprises and local businesses, to not-for-profit and political organizations. Infogroup's cloud-based Data Axle technology allows for real-time updates to its business and consumer data files, and also provides clients with a real-time API delivery platform for the most accurate and up-to-date information to support their marketing and business needs. Infogroup has 40+ years of history creating its own data and makes 24+ million verification calls per year to ensure data quality. For more information, visit www.infogroup.com.

Contact:
Lucas Strombeck
Phone: 312-561-2485
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Yes Marketing

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