The results of a recent study have just been released and indicate that retail banking is losing its enthusiasm.
A new Pitney Bowes study has shown that only just half of all retail banking marketers feel strongly that their social media marketing campaigns are successful.
One third of those in that industry feel that their campaigns aren’t effective at all.
These companies have also indicated that they will be adjusting their social media marketing budgets in order to reflect those belief. The study indicated that while the sector does intend to continue their efforts throughout this year, there has been a considerable loss of confidence in the positive effects that it will generate. This lack of certainty over its value to the business is shrinking the investments that are being made into this field.
Social media marketing will remain a focus for retail banks and credit unions despite the struggles.
Even as those organizations battle with their understanding of how important social media marketing can be to the financial industry, they intend to hang on, at least for this year. That said, the study has shown that the approach over that channel for 2013 will be a considerably more cautious one than it will be for other industries.
Kieran Kilmartin, from Pitney Bowes Software, expressed that one of the primary concerns voiced in the study, which was that “Well-intentioned marketers in retail banks could inadvertently turn customers off by irritating them with their social media behaviors.”
The independent study was conducted by Vanson Bourne, having been commissioned by Pitney Bowes Software. It looked specifically into social media marketing effectiveness and performed a comparison between its trends among the various marketing directors with the attitudes that customers hold toward the technique. Consumers surveyed were from the United States, Germany, Australia, France, and the United Kingdom.
The research also looked at seven different business sectors, in total. These included retail banking, insurance, the public sector, utilities, telecoms, and fast-moving consumer goods. It examined the perspectives and opinions that each of these areas held for social media marketing. Specifically in retail banking, the opinions are split down the middle in terms of their confidence in the impact it can have on the profitability of the organization.
