8 Marketing Metrics Every Banking Executive Should Track

Every financial brand should be aware of the key metrics that indicate marketing success, member retention, and growth. But when it comes to hitting sales goals, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the constant inundation of digital tools and trend metrics.

Don’t waste your time.

Track the marketing metrics that matter so you can focus your efforts on converting more leads into customers. In this ebook, you’ll find 8 key marketing metrics every financial services executive should track—and exact steps to improve each area.

1. Customer acquisition costs

Your customer acquisition cost is the total average cost spent to acquire a new customer or member, including all spend for ads and other marketing tactics, salaries, and overhead. This metric is closely tied with member and customer lifetime value.

You know that the longer you can maintain your relationship with your customers, the better. Consequently, you may be willing to spend more to acquire customers with a high lifetime value. If acquisition costs are rising but new customer growth is stagnant, revisit your marketing tactics to determine where to channel your efforts.

Find your customer acquisition cost

To find your customer acquisition cost, determine what actions define the transition from lead to customer— opening a checking account, taking out a loan, etc.

Next, take the total spend for acquiring new customers in a given time period. This encompasses marketing spend (including ad spend) and salaries (including commissions and bonuses, overhead, etc.). Divide by the number of new customers acquired in that time.

Improve your customer acquisition cost

• Optimize your Google My Business listing by claiming each location, updating business hours, and verifying your website from the Google Map Pack.
• Offer your potential customers a textable number. It’s low cost and has a 98% open rate.
• Pause digital marketing techniques that increase your customer acquisition cost beyond a comfortable range.

2. Customer lifetime value

The customer lifetime value metric measures the projected revenue a customer will generate during their lifetime or membership with your financial brand. By providing relevant services and excellent customer service, you can increase the potential lifetime value of each customer.

With this metric, you can estimate what to expect from each customer, impacting the amount you budget for acquisition and retention efforts.

Find your customer lifetime value

When it comes to determining your customer lifetime value, there are various formulas to consider depending on the types of purchases or profits you’re considering as part of your offerings.

You can start by segmenting the different transactions your customers make throughout the journey as well as calculating how long your current customers have been with you. From there, you can consider the daily average for fees, interest rates, and other charges; the number of customers; and the average retention time for customers.

First, add up your daily charges and divide by the number of days in the time frame you choose. Next, take your average daily charge and divide it by the number of customers contributing to the average. Then, multiply that number by your retention rate.

A simple customer lifetime value formula could look like this:

(365(a) x t)
a = daily average charge per customer, t = average customer lifespan

Improve your customer lifetime value

• Implement a strategy to ask for customer reviews after key interactions.
• Automate review requests to reduce staff resources.
• Ask for reviews via text with a direct link to Google reviews.

3. Google ratings

Potential customers and members select finserv brands based on Google research. And Google ranks your listing based on the frequency, quantity, and average star rating of your Google My Business reviews.

97% of consumers are reading online reviews of local businesses; nearly 80% trust them as much as recommendations from family members or friends. Because so many prospects rely on Google, your reviews need to reflect the type of service you provide for your customers.

Find your Google ratings

Your Google ratings include the number of reviews submitted to Google for each of your locations and the average star rating of each Google My Business listing.

The total number of Google reviews for each branch or location is easy to find. In your Google My Business listing, directly under links to your website and phone number, your total reviews number is listed. And your average star rating can be found directly to the left of that number.

In this example, the number of reviews is 19 and the average star rating is 4.0.

Improve your Google ratings

• Implement a strategy to ask customers for reviews after every interaction. 76% will leave you a review.
• Automate review requests to reduce staff resources.
• Ask for reviews via text with a direct link to Google reviews for a high completion rate.

4. Lead sources

The lead source metric details the original channel where a customer first sees or interacts with your business. Evaluating your lead sources helps you prioritize your efforts based on what’s working and where you have potential to grow.

If traditional marketing methods aren’t effective, you can explore other options and track the conversion or click-through rates on Google My Business and other advertising platforms.

Find your lead sources

To find your lead sources, send a post-interaction survey via text, email, or printed card (perhaps in-store) and ask customers how they found your business.

If you use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform or a customer database, you can track customers as they come in through referrals, email promotions, Google My Business, social media leads, etc. Review your data to find your top lead source.

Improve your lead sources

• Ask your customers where they’d like to connect with your brand and show up on those platforms (Instagram, Facebook, local ads, etc.).
• Offer a referral program for current customers to refer new customers. Include post-conversation surveys in your website chat platform.
• Ask leads how they heard about your business.

5. Marketing originated customer percentage

The marketing originated customer percentage is a metric that tracks who first interacted with and converted to your financial brand because of a marketing tactic such as a digital ad or direct mail.

Ideally, your marketing efforts should help customers move through the entire conversion funnel. If this percentage is low, it could indicate points of friction that prevent leads from converting.

Customers form an opinion of your brand in as little as 0.05 seconds. First impressions and interactions, even if they’re just an ad, are likely to determine prospects’ desire to interact with your brand down the road.

Find your marketing originated customer percentage

To determine this percentage, take the total number of customers who originated from marketing leads from your CRM data or customer survey and divide it by the number of new customers in the same time frame.

Improve your marketing originated customer percentage

• Invest in marketing channels your customers frequent (Instagram, Facebook, news sites, local ads, radio, etc.).
• Optimize your landing page with clear, compelling, and relevant information. 91% of customers prefer to use an online knowledge base tailored to their needs over calling customer service.
• Use website chat to answer common questions in real time and connect prospects with a local representative who can provide personalized help.

6. Marketing influenced customer percentage

Your marketing-influenced customer percentage is the percentage of new customers who have interacted with marketing at any point in their journey to conversion with your financial brand.

Perhaps a new customer hears about your financial branch from a friend, sees a few banner ads with positive reviews, and then converts. Although the customer didn’t originate from the financial branch’s marketing efforts, she was influenced by them.

Not every customer will start as a marketing lead, but with this metric, you can discover exactly how many were influenced and see which efforts are worth the cost.

Find your marketing influenced customer percentage

To determine this percentage, take the total number of new customers who were influenced by marketing (commercials, banner ads, social media campaigns, etc.) and divide it by the total number of new customers for a given time frame.

You can easily track the number of customers influenced by marketing by collecting information in customer feedback surveys at different touchpoints in the customer journey.

Improve your marketing influenced customer percentage

• Identify the marketing channels your customers interact with the most and invest more marketing spend in those platforms.
• Test ads (headlines, offers, content) on the most popular marketing channels for your customers and leads.
• Continue to track marketing influence through customer feedback surveys.

7. Customer retention rate

Your customer retention rate is the number of customers who stay with your financial institution over an extended period of time or even utilize additional services you provide (i.e., open a checking account AND have a home mortgage loan).

Loyal customers are 5x as likely to repurchase, 5x as likely to forgive, 4x as likely to refer, and 7x as likely to try a new offering.

While acquiring new customers is important, retaining the customers you already have is less expensive and will help you focus on optimizing the customer journey.

Find your customer retention rate

To find your customer retention rate, track the number of customers at the beginning and end of a time period alongside the number of new customers acquired during this same period. The formula should look like this:

Retention Rate = ((CE-CN) / CS))
CE = number of customers at the end of a certain time period
CN = number of new customers acquired during the same time period
CS = number of customers at the start of the time period

Improve your customer retention rate

• Prioritize your current customer base. The top reason customers switch brands is a lack of attention or appreciation.
• Send regular texts or check-ins to find out what’s working for your customers and what needs to be fixed.
• Create a personalized experience with a textable number customers can use to communicate and engage with staff.

8. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Your Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric used to predict business growth based on customer experience. And reputation equals revenue.

If your customers are happy, you can leverage their reviews and recommendations to acquire more customers and members. If your customers aren’t satisfied, you can use their feedback to pinpoint what steps of the customer journey you can improve.

Find your Net Promoter Score (NPS)

To determine your NPS, start by asking customers on a scale of 1 – 10 how likely they are to recommend your financial brand to a friend or colleague.

From there, group customers into three categories:

Promoters: these customers score 9 – 10 and are likely to be loyal and actively recruit others to your business.

Passives: these customers score 7 – 8 and can be persuaded one way or another toward your business or a competitor.

Detractors: these customers score 0 – 6. They didn’t just dislike their personal experience with your business; they’re sure to dissuade others from using your services.

Next, calculate the percentage of Promoters and Detractors from your total responses. Subtract the percentage of Promoters from the percentage of Detractors, and you’ll have your NPS.

Improve your Net Promoter Score (NPS)

• Offer the convenience of texting at touchpoints such as appointment scheduling and mobile bill pay.
• Personalize interactions through website chat and follow-up text messages.
• Update your website with clear navigation to provide information, FAQs, and contact options.

Access more of the right data with Podium. With Podium’s platform, you can manage your online review ratings, track customer and lead response times, facilitate website chat conversations, implement text to connect with customers better, and create a digital experience that’s just as meaningful and simple as your in-branch interactions.

Get started with Podium.

Connect with your customers throughout the entire customer journey with Podium—the interaction management platform your multi-location financial institution needs.

• Save time—manage all communication channels and separate systems through a single, secure platform.
• Convert leads—attract the right customers with higher local search rankings and relevant reviews.
• Delight customers—provide a multi-channel, frictionless customer journey from first impression to post-visit.