If you run any type of fintech product, you’d probably agree that the most challenging part of finding success is not actually the building stage. It’s convincing regular people—the ones who already use traditional banks, credit cards, and budgeting apps—to give you their attention, and more importantly, their trust.
The good news is that both of these things can be acquired much faster than you might expect. The bad news is that most fintech marketers still operate like it’s 2014, simply creating a homepage, buying Google Ads, and hoping their user base grows overnight. They rarely do.
As with most companies that find success, it usually boils down to doing the fundamentals extremely well and consistently. You don’t need a Super Bowl ad or even a celebrity tweet, you just need clarity, speed, and a story that feels honest.
Start With One Painkiller Sentence
Open your homepage right now and read the first sentence you see out loud. If this sentence doesn’t immediately tell the reader how you will solve their problem or ease their pain point, you’re doing it wrong.
Go take a look at almost any finance site and you’ll see generic copy about “AI-powered insights,” “bank-grade security,” and “seamless integrations.” Yes, while all of these features and capabilities may be valuable, users don’t wake up craving integrations. You don’t want them to have to calculate the value in their own heads, you need to tell them.
Coinbase grew early because they told users they were the “easiest place to buy and sell Bitcoin.” No fluff. It’s essentially a straightforward painkiller for anyone who has decided to trade crypto but wasn’t sure how to do it.
With this in mind, think of the one single outcome that your users want, then turn that outcome into a simple sentence on your homepage.
Make Your Marketing All Education and Trust
Marketing for financial services is all about building trust, educating users, and using third-party platforms and publications to help demonstrate to your users that you are who you say you are (and that you can keep your promises).
The harsh reality to consider is that people will only hand over their Social Security Number after they believe one of three things first, that you will keep their money safe second, that you will not rip them off. Or third, that you will teach them something they did not already know. Everything you publish, tweet, or email should be catered to one of these three angles.
Press releases are still an incredibly valuable tool in the finance niche. Getting your brand and product featured in publications that your audience trusts and values means you can borrow some of their credibility. Helpful education content is another key pillar of your marketing strategy.
Leverage the knowledge and expertise of your team to create helpful blog content that addresses common concerns and streamlines the onboarding process. This could range from simple definitions to in-depth tutorials on complex financial instruments. When you teach, you remove fear. When you remove fear, sign-ups rise.
Shorten the First Win to Under Two Minutes
People today expect extremely smooth experiences. The competition is so high, and it’s never been easier for users to go to an alternative solution, or worse, switch providers once they have already onboarded.
For the first half of this problem, remember that every extra field in your sign-up flow is a potential barrier for another user who almost made it. You need to strip the onboarding flow to its bare bones. No excess baggage or fluff. The goal here is to reduce the time it takes for your users to reach their very first win.
If your value is “save money,” trigger the first saved dollar before the user finishes onboarding. If the value is “invest,” let them buy a fractional share of a brand-name stock with one tap. The moment the user sees real, personal change, resistance melts away.
Once the prospect has clicked “Sign up,” the clock is ticking. Two minutes is your ceiling, not your target. The moment a user sees value (an account opened, a balance imported, a first dollar invested), they turn from skeptic to believer.
Build a Single Referral Loop
When you see a brand go viral in the finch space, it’s very rarely an accident. The fastest-growing apps are almost always the ones that find ways to build a referral scheme into the product itself. Choose a simple action you want your users to take, such as inviting a friend, sharing a code, sending a payment, or writing a tweet, and then attach a clear and attractive reward to the outcome that clears quickly.
Don’t make it overly convoluted. Many fintech banking providers offer rewards ranging from $10 all the way to $200 for customers who refer new users and meet the prerequisite conditions (which is usually to make a few transactions on their new account).
Just make sure you don’t bury the referral inside a menu or make it hard to find in some way. Put it on the success screen, the receipt screen, and the profile screen. The goal is to make sharing feel like the natural next step for new users, thereby creating a positive cycle of exponential growth.
Final Word
Finance is unlike most other spaces when it comes to getting new users on board. You have to face skepticism, doubt, competition, and of course, regulation. But what’s the best way to overcome all these challenges and onboard new customers? Do the basics well.
Tell people who you are and what you do in simple terms on your homepage. Make your marketing all about building trust and educating the less technical on the value your product provides. Speaking of value, make it easy for people to get that first win and see a benefit, then tie it all together with a simple referral scheme.
Do all of those things well, and watch those user numbers shoot up.
