Are you wondering how you’ll grow your credit card business with so many companies already in the industry? Maybe you worry that you can’t stand out amongst the competition because you have nothing special to offer.
Spoiler alert: you do!
The key is knowing the top credit card marketing tips to get the organic traffic you desire and to end the need to spend money buying leads constantly. Keep reading to learn the successful marketing tips for credit card companies to help your business grow.
Why Credit Card Marketing Tips Are Important
Thanks to the internet, clients can find credit card companies anywhere. That’s why knowing all the top credit card marketing tips is crucial so you can set yourself apart from the competition and be one of the top financial institutions for your niche. Using as many digital marketing strategies as possible gives you a greater chance of getting more potential clients.
39 Best Credit Card Marketing Tips
You don’t want to be just any credit card company. Your credit card marketing strategy should show potential clients you are above the competition. It should tell them why they should choose you over anyone else.
Here’s what to consider when creating a digital marketing plan for your business.
1. Solidify Your Target Audience
As a credit card company, you likely cater to a specific audience, and your marketing efforts should portray it. For example, it wouldn’t do you any good to market to individuals if your focus is on small business owners, right? Or if your credit card offers rewards, you’d cater to audiences that would qualify for a rewards credit card.
To avoid wasted time and money, narrow down who you want to focus on or who could best use your services. This is the audience you want to focus your marketing strategies on because they are potential customers who would go to another credit card company if they didn’t come to you. As you build your target audience, you can create a wider audience and expand your marketing efforts.
2. Build Your Brand Strategy and Identity
It’s important to have a brand for customers to recognize no matter where they find you, whether it’s your website, social media posts, or a flyer. Your logo, colors, and all other branding details must remain consistent across the board.
Think about McDonalds. You could likely spot the golden arches anywhere and immediately know what they stand for; that’s what you want for your brand. When your audience sees your branding, you want them to be able to recognize that it’s you.
3. Identify Your Short and Long-term Goals
Effective marketing strategies require you to identify your short and long-term goals. To build the credit card company of your dreams, consider following the SMART goals framework.
- Specific: Make your goals as specific as possible. For example, don’t say, ‘I want more credit card customers.’ Of course you do, as does every other credit card company in existence. Instead, give yourself deadlines and put numbers to your goals, such as ‘I want 20 new applications per month,’ or whatever is realistic for your business.
- Measurable: When you make your goals specific, they can also be measured. Using our example from above, you can measure your progress by seeing how close you are to your 20 new customers per month.
- Attainable: Don’t get crazy with your goals. It’s a good idea to dream big, especially in the credit card industry, but make your goals attainable. You can always level up after reaching your initial goals but don’t make them so far-fetched that you miss your chance to grow your business.
- Relevant: Make your goals relevant to your business by stating specifics, such as the type of customer you want to attract. For example, I want to add 20 borrowers with high net worth to my clientele. Make your statements specific to what your business offers.
- Time-bound: Give each goal a deadline. It’s okay if you don’t reach it and need to adjust, but it lights a fire under your team to reach the goal rather than being disappointed.
4. Ensure Your Offers and Services Are Clear and Concise
Credit cards can overwhelming for the average person, so anything that would make them more confused will turn them away from your business. Your offers must be clear and concise, letting prospective clients know exactly what you offer.
For example, if you cater to small business owners, your offers should clearly state that so entrepreneurs don’t overlook your company as a possibility because they don’t think you offer what they need. Credit card content can get overwhelming for the average person, so making it as clear and concise as possible is key.
5. Conduct a Competitor Analysis
Chances are you aren’t the only credit card company available, so doing a competitor analysis will help you understand what you’re up against. This isn’t to say that you should copy your competitors. Instead, you should see what they do well and what they don’t and then see how you can do even better.
The key is to do one better than your competitors, a.k .a. fill a void they aren’t filling, so you get more prospective clients than your competitors. To do this, you should:
- Evaluate the keywords they use
- Use and rate their website, determining what’s missing that your target audience may want
- Consider their pricing and offers
- Look for any shortcomings that you could fill
- Determine what marketing strategies they use
6. Nail Down Your Marketing Budget
Getting carried away with paid marketing ideas is easy, but that isn’t always necessary. The key is to get as much organic traffic as possible, so nailing down your marketing budget is key. When you know how much you have to spend, you can carefully spread it out in the different areas.
7. Create a Mobile-Friendly Website
Of course, the best digital marketing strategies require a solid website, but focusing only on how it looks online is a mistake. You must have a mobile-friendly website, too, as many people check websites on their phones when making important decisions, such as which credit card to consider.
A website that isn’t mobile-friendly will turn away potential customers. A mobile-friendly website also increases your visibility, brand identity, and lead-generation capabilities.
8. Optimize for SEO
One of the most important credit card marketing tips is to optimize for SEO for credit card companies or search engine optimization. This is what makes your website visible to your prospective customers and how you increase your business.
When you optimize for SEO, you do the following:
- Do keyword research: Using the right keywords is the best way to reach potential customers. You want to use words they search so you come up in the top few Google results, increasing the chances of clients clicking your website to learn more.
- Create an SEO strategy: Your SEO strategy is unique to your business. No two companies have the same strategy; you want to beat your competitors! Your strategy must include on-page and off-page SEO tactics, including local SEO, to attract clients in your area.
- Website optimization: Slapping together a website doesn’t mean your customers will find you. You won’t get the views you anticipated without proper keyword usage or a good content marketing strategy.
9. Start a Blog
You might not think anyone would read a blog from someone in the credit card industry, but this is a key factor in your search engine optimization! Google looks for regular updates, and what better way to do it than with a blog? Content marketing for credit card companies is key to building your online reputation.
When you have a blog about the credit card industry and relevant content, you show yourself as an authority in the industry. Your blog posts can include:
- Helpful tips about credit card debt
- Definitions of difficult credit card topics
- Comments about the latest credit card industry news
10. Send Regular Email Newsletters
Email marketing is a great way to reach your target audience and increase customer retention while providing value. Email marketing campaigns are another way to build your online reputation by providing your audience with news, tips, and promotions.
The difference between marketing emails and content marketing is that you can get more personal with your audience, making them feel as if your email was specifically for them and not your entire audience. Making this a consistent part of your marketing efforts can help you build a larger audience, and provide helpful content, such as helping your customers reach their financial goals.
11. Network With Other Professionals
Don’t be afraid to network with professionals in and outside the credit card industry at networking events or anywhere else. Some key players include financial advisors, bankers, attorneys, and business owners. Think of anyone in the area that comes into contact with people who might need your services.
Let other professionals know what you do and what you specialize in. Give them an idea of who you cater to and how you can help them, and let them see how helpful your company can be in helping their clients. The key is to build relationships to get referrals.
12. Print and Direct Mail Marketing Is Still Helpful
Despite all the talk about digital marketing, there are other marketing strategies too, such as print and direct mail marketing. You want to focus on local marketing when targeting a particular geographic location. Again, ensure your printed and direct mail marketing has the same branding as your digital marketing to keep a cohesive front.
13. Sponsor Local or National Events
Attending local events is one of the best ways to get your name out in the community. You can sponsor a local sports team, host a booth at a trade exhibition, or be a speaker at local conferences. The key is to share your expertise and show that you care about the community.
This is a great networking event without feeling like one. You showcase your authority in the industry and let others see you are the expert.
14. Get Involved in the Community
Getting involved in the community doesn’t mean looking for sales. Sometimes, it means getting your hands dirty and volunteering to make the community a better place. Showing your community that you care gives prospective customers a better idea of what you stand for and that it’s not just to make money.
15. Provide Helpful and Informative Downloads
Showcasing yourself as a leader in the industry is easy when you provide your audience with helpful and informative downloads. These freebies could be a quick PDF, chart, ebook, or video that helps prospective customers learn more about credit cards. The more education you provide, the more you show your audience that you care and aren’t just trying to get more leads.
This lead generation strategy helps you get a larger list of potential clients you can continually market to. The more you engage with your audience and nurture them, the more likely they will eventually turn into clients, especially as you get to know consumer preferences.
16. Code Interactive Website Tools
Interactive website tools keep your audience engaged and encourage more website visitors. Think of the tools your audience would use the most and add them to your website as a part of your digital marketing strategy. This could include a credit card payoff calculator so consumers can see how their spending habits affect their finances.
While the ideal goal is to have your audience talk to a representative on the phone to close the deal, you want to provide them with as many helpful tools as possible so they remember your company over others when deciding who to use.
17. Encourage Referrals
Using your existing customers to help you get more credit card leads is one of the top credit card marketing ideas. Encourage your clients to pass your name along to those they know who could use your services. There’s no higher compliment a client can pay you than providing client referrals or testimonials to let others know of your services.
You can politely ask that they send referrals your way or even make them your referral partners and offer incentives to do so, such as a small gift card or gift in exchange for a successful referral.
18. Implement a System for Requesting Reviews
Reviews are an important part of your credit card marketing strategies. While it might feel awkward to ask for reviews, they are integral to your business! If you haven’t claimed your Google business profile yet, use this free resource. Your Google My Business page is a great way to ask for client testimonials from past clients to show consumers what you offer.
19. Respond to Reviews
Every time you receive a review, take the time to respond to it. Thank the customer personally. This not only makes your past clients feel warm and fuzzy, but it shows potential clients how much you care about your clientele. It proves that you treat your customers as people, not just another number.
20. Record Company Videos
Video marketing is a key component of your credit card marketing campaigns. Implementing keywords in your videos and providing valuable content can help you rank higher in the search engines. You can post videos to YouTube, your website, or your social media platforms to increase your views and get more customers.
21. Add Chat to Your Website
Customers today like instant gratification. They want answers as quickly as possible when they get credit card offers and don’t want to wait for you to return a voicemail or answer an email. Online chat allows instant access to your business and is a great way to grab the potential client’s attention while they are strongly considering finding an a new credit card.
22. Invest in Marketing Automation
You might think all these credit card marketing tips will take up too much of your time, but investing in marketing automation is the key to ‘setting it and forgetting it.’ Of course, this doesn’t mean your marketing efforts are ever put on the back burner. However, setting certain tasks up to be automatically carried out can alleviate your stress and ensure your marketing ideas are carried out.
23. Optimize Your Social Media Profiles
Take full advantage of social media platforms by creating optimized social media profiles. Stick to the same branding, but anyone who visits your profile should immediately recognize what you do and offer in your social media marketing. It should be apparent that you are a credit card company and the type of clientele you cater to so that you get the right types of leads from your social media presence.
24. Livestream on Social Media for Q&A
Social media sites are free; you should take full advantage of them! Social media pages are a great avenue for live videos where you host Q&As, providing your audience with free answers and knowledge so they can make informed decisions about their financing needs. Providing these clips is a great way to alleviate the stress clients feel about applying for new credit cards, allowing them to get their questions answered easily.
25. Host a Webinar or Seminar
Seminars or online seminars, called webinars, are also a great way to use your marketing resources. Let your audience hear you talk about important topics to help build trust in your business. As you show your expertise, it’s much easier for your audience to consider you for their credit card needs versus another company.
26. Land Speaking Gigs
You may find opportunities to speak at other events as you network with other business professionals. You don’t always have to be the event’s host to be the speaker. As you build more client relationships and show your expertise, more businesses may look to you for your financial experience and want you to speak at their engagements.
27. Get Press Coverage
Press coverage is easier to get than most people realize, especially with the internet and social media today. Try to get recognized for your awards, community service, or credit card services. Most people will lean toward the companies that get good press when they need someone they can trust, so the more you show up in the press, the better.
28. Build Authority With Guest Posts
Guest posts serve as the online equivalent of speaking engagements, allowing you to showcase your expertise. When you collaborate with business referral partners, effective copywriting ensures that your guest blog posts are engaging and valuable, appealing to both your audience and the blog owner’s readers. This strategy helps you expand your reach and establish credibility across different platforms.
29. Participate in Podcast Interviews
Podcast interviews are another form of ‘press,’ just not in print or video. No one will see your face when you do a podcast interview, but they will hear what you have to offer and form their own opinion of your company based on what you share. This is a great way to get in front of a larger audience and have more people learn about what you offer.
30. Stay Active on Credit Card Forums and Facebook Groups
Community forums are a great way to stay engaged with your target market. They offer a way to get personal and discuss concerns with potential clients where they are comfortable. You can help keep the record straight about credit cards, provide tips, and offer consultations to help people in the group with their questions about financial products.
31. Run a Giveaway
Running a giveaway is a great way to get more attention. Consider it a part of your marketing budget and run a small giveaway that attracts attention and helps you get more credit card leads. Of course, you’ll ask for the contact information of anyone who enters, allowing you access to your audience in the future.
32. Apply for Local Awards
Pay attention to any local awards your community offers, and apply for them. The more ‘good press’ you get, the easier it is to build a larger audience. Your awards could be for your credit card business and what you offer or even for doing good within the community.
33. Sign Up for Marketing Directories
Get your name on as many marketing directories as possible, especially if they are free, like Clutch. Be sure to complete your profile on the directories as much as possible, giving your audience as much information as possible about your business to encourage them to contact you when they need a new credit card.
34. Initiate Co-Marketing and Joint Ventures
Consider combining your marketing ideas and efforts if you have a company you work well with and wouldn’t mind swapping ideas for a marketing plan. This helps increase your market share and profits by keeping costs down and playing off one another’s ideas to maximize your marketing strategy.
35. Experiment With Paid Advertising
If you’ve exhausted all organic marketing strategies and use them consistently, you may consider paid ads, such as Google or social media ads. We caution you not to go overboard with them as they often don’t provide the same results as organic marketing strategies, but they can be a good complement when you want to fill in with more leads.
36. Try Influencer Marketing
You might not think of influencers when you think about marketing for credit card companies, but it can be a solid strategy for building your clientele. Influencers who talk about using your company and how you helped them or who boast about your services may help get your name in front of audiences that otherwise may never have known you.
37. Optimize Your Marketing and Sales Team Communication
Your marketing and sales team must work together. Your marketing team identifies leads, and your sales team is responsible for following up with them. Communication between the two teams is essential to capture new business and close the deal.
38. Upsell and Renew Existing Clients Through Funnels
You can gain loyal customers by providing an excellent customer experience and maintaining a good customer relationship management strategy. Credit card services are something individuals and businesses need repeatedly, so constantly marketing to your past clients and nurturing them, whether it’s months or years down the road, can turn them into repeat clients.
39. Monitor and Measure Results Monthly
You could try every one of the credit card marketing tips here, but the only way to see how they work for you is to monitor and measure your results monthly. There are many ways to do this, such as:
- Watching sales metrics
- Monitoring the number of calls/inquiries
- Measuring the email open rate vs. click rate
- Paying attention to your email unsubscribe rate
- Monitor your social media analytics, including likes/follows/comments
- Use Google Analytics or Google Search Console
Which of These Credit Card Marketing Tips Should You Try First?
The key to proper credit card company marketing is to go slow. Try several marketing strategies at a time and measure your results. You may find that some work great, and others aren’t your cup of tea. Choose the strategies you are most comfortable trying and will use consistently.
Any marketing strategy is a slow and steady game. You won’t see results overnight, but with consistency, you may be surprised at how much it grows your business.
Mistakes To Avoid With These Marketing Tips for Credit Card Companies
When implementing the credit card company marketing tips, there are some key mistakes to avoid:
- Not hiring a professional: Let the marketing professionals handle your marketing strategy while you focus on running your business. Everyone has something they do well; if marketing isn’t it, let the professionals do it for you.
- Relying on a single marketing channel: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your marketing strategy to ensure you maximize the return on your investment.
- Focusing on too many marketing channels: Diversifying too much can make getting each strategy the necessary attention difficult, leaving you with less than desired results.
- Not tracking results: It’s impossible to tell which marketing strategies work until you track the results and see which provides the greatest return on your investment. The professionals can track them for you, helping you understand what’s working and what isn’t.
- Not making adjustments to strategy: After reviewing your results, it’s important to adjust, especially the strategies that aren’t providing the desired results. If you don’t, you continue throwing money at tactics that don’t work.
- Not knowing what the competition is doing: Always watch your competitors. See what they are doing, changing, or not changing so you can make sure you do better than them and capture a larger part of the market share.
- Not setting definable targets: Setting your SMART goals ensures you know what you’re trying to achieve and how well you’re doing. You can’t measure your progress or understand what is/isn’t working without a target to reach.
- Ignoring online marketing completely: If your business doesn’t exist online and you don’t use SEO and other digital marketing strategies to get a larger audience, your competition will get all the business while you sit and wonder what you did wrong.
Implement These Credit Card Marketing Tips With an Expert
These credit card company marketing tips are the key to a successful credit card business! But as a busy professional, you likely don’t have enough time to implement and monitor these strategies. Partnering with a rock-solid marketing company with the experience and results to help your company grow is the key to making your marketing strategies work for you.
