In a recent post, I highlighted the obvious links between key life events (graduation, marriage, new job, new home, birth/children, new job, etc.) triggering the need to acquire certain financial products and services (student loan, credit card, deposit products, insurance, home loan, etc.)

Forrester Research, in the their North American Consumer Technology Adoption Study (NACTAS), uncovered greater correlation between key life events and a need for seemingly un-related financial products and services, thus reinforcing the power of life event marketing to obtain greater share of wallet.

The study’s key takeaways involved life events and the impact on banking and insurance products, including:

-          Car buyers acquire more credit cards

-          Job changers apply for checking accounts and credit cards

-          Families with more children need more auto loans and mortgages

-          Retirees shift their investment strategies to include annuities

-          Homebuyers need auto insurance and life insurance

-          Newlyweds buy auto insurance

As Forrester also highlight, financial services providers have historically been siloed into product/business lines with little integrated marketing efforts.  Historically offering the “right” product at the “right” time was 1.) costly and 2.) trial and error.  However, even if data warehouse and marketing automation applications to determine product purchase propensities are out of budget’s reach, start online with “low-fidelity” online cross-selling and lead generation using Forrester’s life event related products findings.

1.)     Create navigation paths related to life events – speak to the user’s intentions.  Create the online conversation surrounding these life events.  Integrate value added content to help users understand the impact of the life event to their financial well-being.  Create interactive and on-boarding programs surrounding life events. 

2.)     Share information – opt-in.  Be sure to ask the customer to share their information with sister product teams and “affiliated entities.”

3.)     Offer related products online – “want fries with that?”  Don’t wait until the application is submitted; subtly offer related products during the application process (test usability!), but always follow-up via e-mail.  A 2007 Javelin survey of 2,230 consumers found that 42% prefer to receive e-mail communications from their bank after opening an account, compared to 24% favoring direct mail and 12% each for telephone and branch follow-up with sales messaging after account opening. 

4.)     Remove barriers to purchase - write once, use many.  Pre-fill product applications with related data already entered, or in the case of existing customers, tap into the customer information files to pre-fill the applications – saving the user time and removing barriers.   

While online cross-sell campaigns are likely to still be largely trial and error, the Forrester Research findings can, hopefully, shorten the learning cycles.