With financial marketers telling us in our annual survey that they have more control over their budget building process for 2017, we followed up by also asking where they would be spending their budget – and effort – this year.

Responses revealed that the top three marketing priorities have remained the same from last year: loan growth (55 percent); deposit/checking growth (46 percent) and cross-sell/increase wallet share (38 percent).

Clearly, products remain the focus in terms of revenue generation. Growth in loan volumes, account holders and deposits will be the key metrics that marketers watch this year.

Interestingly, “increasing adoption of online/mobile channels” has moved into the No. 5 spot with 32 percent of respondents selecting it as a priority. This is up substantially from last year.

We expect that the uptick is driven as much by cost-savings as it is by customer experience and convenience. Processing a transaction on the website or mobile app costs the financial institution pennies on the dollar compared to processing the same transaction in the branch.

Online and mobile channels are a win-win for the financial institutions and their account holders. This is especially true as consumers of all ages are flocking to digital channels, and they’re no longer reserved for the younger set.

So for 2017, products continue to be the bread and butter of marketers’ focus, but the ongoing development of mobile and online banking channels shows increasing value for both account holders and the financial institution’s bottom line.

Caution: High Expectations Ahead
This year’s survey revealed consistent marketing priorities from 2016 — at least at the top: grow loans, grow account holders, and grow deposits. But increasing adoption in online and mobile channels made a big leap, all the way into the Top 5. What else did this year’s survey reveal? Read the report to find out.

Download the full report now

Survey Top Marketing Opportunities