A while back, I wrote a blog post that shared ways in which the financial services industry can leverage social tools to win over existing customers, cultivate new ones, and become more efficient in their business operations. One example was how Barclays created a new product called Barclaycard Ring, which gives cardmembers the opportunity to discuss financial strategies, track their financial health, and vote on product enhancements.
While online product features and gamification methods like this can help generate new customers and keep them engaged, a growing trend continues to emerge. Financial services organizations, such as banks, insurance organizations, and credit card issuers, are creating mobile applications that are not just focused on the products or services they’re selling. Instead, they’re using mobile as a way to get in front of customers and non-customers alike. At the end of the day, their belief, and rightly so, is that everyone is a potential customer…someday.
In a recent American Banker article, Oliwia Berdak, senior analyst at Forrester, said, “Maybe, if you can create a more frequent, deeper engagement with [a] noncustomer, then it might be a more cost-effective way of marketing.” The idea is to generate new customers over time. A company’s mainstay mobile application isn’t going to do that. That’s simply a supportive offering for existing customers.
In addition to Capital One’s CreditWise and Ally Financial’s Splurge Alert, which are mentioned in the American Banker, below are a few more examples of mobile applications, along with their partial Google Play descriptions, that some companies have developed over the years to draw more attention to their brands.
- Citibank | Citi on Campus | The “Citi On Campus” app allows graduates to connect with Citi as we share what we do and our culture. The informative videos, markets quiz and trading simulator will provide insight into how financial markets work. Students will also be able to learn about the types of opportunities available at Citi and all that we have to offer.
- State Farm Insurance | Move Tools | Stop stressing. Start planning. Move Tools from State Farm® gives you everything you need to manage your move, in one app.
- T. Rowe Price | Star Banks Adventure | The planet of Polaria is in need of your help! Embark on an epic adventure to save the galaxy from financial chaos. With the help of Odal, your very own alien guide, you must stop Overlord Zek, the evil mastermind bent on causing financial chaos. Use different Star Banks to save coins so you can build space devices to travel to Polaria. Solve puzzles, answer quiz questions, and use power-ups to triumph in this space adventure game with a financial education twist.
- Visa | Peter Pig’s Money Counter | With the help of wise Peter Pig, kids practice sorting and counting coins to earn money for their “banks”—all the while learning fun facts about U.S. currency. They learn to recognize and sort coins based on value, adding up multiple coins and more.
- Visa | Tooth Fairy Calculator | With the help of wise Peter Pig, kids practice sorting and counting coins to earn money for their “banks”—all the while learning fun facts about U.S. currency. They learn to recognize and sort coins based on value, adding up multiple coins and more.
- Zurich Insurance Group | Zurich SnowZone | Zurich SnowZone challenges you to a snowball fight. As you progress through the levels the game gets more challenging and you will face an increasing number of opponents. At certain times in the game, you can use a magical “Protection Aura” to protect you from the effects of a snowball hit. You’ve got five lives. You’ll increase your score with every successful hit on an opponent. If you hit your opponents three times they “freeze” to a snowman. The object of the game is to achieve a high score.
