Our strategies in the new year would revolve around these key components:
Targeting the GenZ and Millenials: Millennials, typically identified as people born between 1981 and 1996, are perhaps the most marquee group of customers for any business. Globally, millennials, or Gen Y, account for roughly 23 pc of the world population, or 1.8 billion people. In India, millennials are 34 pc of the country’s total population. The last few years have seen India become the world’s largest millennial market, drawing attention from across the world to Indian millennials.
We aspire to become the preferred banker to India’s youth powered by our advanced digital and tech-savvy operations. Significant brand recall and visibility is achieved by aptly repositioning the brand and peppering with narratives that appeal to this target segment. We have tried to address this with our recent messaging of Trust Meets Tech since 1929, in our campaign.
Hyper-Localisation: In 2024, we will focus on hyper-localisation, and tailor our content and campaigns to resonate with specific regional and cultural nuances across India. We recognise the importance of thinking local to connect more authentically with our diverse audience.
Regional Content Boom: We are embracing regional languages across all platforms, including social media, advertising, websites and customer service. We plan to build regional connections, and influence the unique needs and aspirations of India’s progressive customer cohorts beyond the metros – in tier 2 and 3 cities.
Influencer Marketing: In 2024, we foresee influencer marketing becoming a prominent communication channel. Collaborating with influencers who have strong local connections and have found a niche in their industry, will enhance visibility and top-of-mind recall for our products and services. This is a great way to reach and connect with the younger audiences of today, in the language which they relate to.
Beyond Banking and Community Building: The expectation from a bank has changed, the bank is now more like a partner who helps the customer with all his/her financial needs and beyond. The newer generation expect to have a deeper, more meaningful relationship with their financial partner or bank.
In this regard, we will prioritise building online and offline communities around our brand and step in as a partner to go beyond banking to add value in the customer’s life. These platforms will enable customers to connect, share experiences and foster loyalty, enriching the overall brand experience.
Sustainability: Recognising the increasing consumer consciousness, we will integrate sustainability initiatives and ethical practices into our brand story and marketing messages. This aligns with our commitment to responsible business practices.
The Rise of AI & Automation: Embracing AI-powered marketing tools will enable us to enhance data analysis, personalisation and campaign optimisation. By automating repetitive tasks, we can redirect our focus toward creativity and strategic planning.
Data-Driven Storytelling: Leveraging AI and analytics, we will gain insights into customer behaviour, preferences and purchase triggers. This understanding will enable us to create campaigns that resonate with our target audience.
Mobile-First Approach: Given the Indian customers’ increasing acquaintance with smartphones, we will create mobile-responsive communication strategies for a seamless and engaging experience.
Podcast & Voice Search: Since the audience is finding it easier to consume content through podcasts and voice search, we will be actively leveraging these mediums.
Purpose Driven : It is important for us to emerge as thought leader and a purpose-driven bank to connect to a larger cause and have a deeper connect with our customers than just the products and services that we sell. The trend is clear: social responsibility, ethics and transparency matter to the modern consumer.
Personalisation at Scale and Segmentation: Today the customer expects more personalised messaging from his/her brand. Personalisation at scale and effective segmentation for relevant messaging has become critical
Humanising Tech : There is a clear need for making technology and digital interactions more human to help us do things faster and smarter. Our recent inventions have always been too fast for human needs, in terms of both their cognitive ability and their ability to adapt. Technology has evolved enormously, but it seems to have lost the human aspect. It is our responsibility to not outcast the human in this race to make everything technically advanced.
These strategic elements collectively define our 2024 marketing plan, reflecting our commitment to adaptability, inclusivity, and innovation.
ROLE OF AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a pivotal role in shaping our strategies. Here are the key areas where we foresee significant impact:
Hyper-Personalisation at Scale: AI will drive hyper-personalisation at scale. Through AI-powered audience segmentation and data analysis, we plan to execute tailored marketing campaigns that account for regional languages, cultural nuances, and individual preferences. Additionally, AI will enable dynamic content creation, personalised product recommendations, and targeted ads based on unique customer personas.
Use of AI in Predictive Modelling Tools: We use AI for predictive modelling to get a strong cohort who have the most likely potential to avail a product. The idea is to get 20 to 30 pc customers who can contribute to 80 pc of sales and save cost and refrain from excessive communication to the customer.
Rise of Marketing Automation: By leveraging AI, we aim to automate a majority of redundant tasks, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency of our team. This will allow our marketing professionals to focus on strategic initiatives, creativity and high-impact activities.
Data-Driven Storytelling and Insights: AI’s analytical capabilities will play a crucial role in our storytelling and decision-making processes. AI-driven data analysis will uncover hidden trends and customer preferences, providing actionable insights. It will empower us to craft compelling brand narratives that resonate with our target audience.
Voice Search Optimisation and Conversational Marketing: Voice search is gaining prominence in India. We will be optimising our online presence to provide for efficient voice searches. AI will play a key role here, ensuring that our websites and content are designed to respond effectively to natural language queries.
Customer Experience: AI can also play a vital role in enhancing the online customer experience. This clever AI technology can interact with clients through conversational marketing and real-time customer assistance by posing pertinent queries and making suggestions. Providing a more individualised experience can boost consumer engagement and foster brand loyalty. The software could allow for a thorough analysis of customer feedback using the right foundational model.
Designing: AI’s functionality can be used in serving the day-to-day marketing requirements like content for product brochures, leaflets etc especially in regional languages. AI generation would bring in the much needed speed, and a higher degree of accuracy towards the desired outcome once the right foundational model for all Indian languages is developed.
Content Generation: Due to its ability to provide creative notions and ideas, this chatbot can aid in increasing process efficiency. The tool can provide ideas and materials that marketers can work on to make it more relevant to the target market with the right prompt. Additionally, brands may utilise the tool to create more interesting content using frequently searched terms or keyword ideas, which will help them become more visible online and draw in more targeted customers.
Business Enablement: To improve sales by intuitively aiding in flagging off risks, recommending next product offering and identifying cues of customer interaction that leads to growth and retention.
The integration of AI into our business processes in 2024 will revolutionise the way we connect with our audience, streamline our operations and help us derive meaningful insights from data. We will be harnessing AI to innovate and deliver exceptional value to our customers
(The author is Chief Marketing Officer, South Indian Bank.)
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