Crue: Fintech Marketing by Envisionit

09/27/2023

For the past 15 years, Envisionit has had a front-row seat to the explosive growth in the fintech space. While we are now all ENV, including Crue, our commitment to elevating fintech brands remains the same. Check out our fintech case studies and thought leadership at our new website - https://envisionitagency.com/ and follow us at Envisionit.

01/12/2023

In 2023, you need a marketing framework that allows you to strategically pivot your business.

Too often, marketers approach goals with a "set it and forget it" mentality. Meaning, they lock in their OKRs for the year, but neither track them often enough, nor adjust them based on what's working and not working.

But here's something they don't teach you in marketing school: Having a solid, goal-oriented plan with built-in flexibility is only half the battle. How you plan and assess progress gets you a seat on the Iron Throne.

Read our latest article: "Fintech Marketing Plans & Budgets: Short-Term Strategies for Long-Term Visions." It details the Vision Traction Organizer (VTO) planning framework and the Zero-Based Budgeting accounting method.

Link in comments.

01/05/2023

We often see marketers bypass significant performance results because they are:

A) Not tracking goals & budgets often enough, or
B) Not adjusting goals & budgets for what’s working and not working

Get results that are worth your efforts with a Vision Traction Organizer (VTO) framework, outlined below and in our latest article.

Step 1: One-Year Goals

Your annual marketing objectives need to be confidently ambitious, hyper specific, and clearly measurable. (Ex: Hit 5x return on marketing spend)

Step 2: 90-Day Focus

Your marketing team needs 90-day priorities that are directly linked to your annual objectives. (Ex: Deliver 5,000 qualified leads)

Step 3: Strategic Projects

These are the activities your team works on every day to achieve the 90-day objective. (Ex: Building PPC-optimized landing pages for your SEM campaign)

Step 4: Genius Backlog

You and your team will have a lot of ideas. And while ideas are great, they can also become distractions to your committed focuses. Keep a running list of future, non-urgent ideas instead. (E.g.: Build a community around our business niche)

To get more detail on how to map out your fintech marketing strategy, catch our latest article, linked below.

Properly document your 2023 fintech marketing strategy with a framework that lets you strategically pivot your business

12/15/2022

Some of the most brilliant digital marketing analysts we’ve worked with have asked the best questions:

Specific questions around:
• Data storage
• CRM fields
• DMP advantages
• API limitations

Make sure your analysts weigh in with a strong POV on the following 7 questions:

1/ How should our data be stored?

2/ What standard and custom fields should be required in our CRM that will benefit both sales and marketing?

3/ What are the advantages of a DMP for our marketing efforts & media buys?

4/ What are the limitations of building reports using APIs?

5/ What is the most efficient way for us to blend the data based on how we need to see it?

6/ How do we ensure reporting doesn’t break with minor updates?

7/ What’s our “True North” platform for evaluating lead volume and quality? How will this differ from other platforms we use?

Remember, your analysts should have multi-channel digital campaign experience so they can explain to you and your team how your marketing mix is working together, independent of individual channel performance.

Learn the best way to structure your fintech marketing team in the “Upgrade Your Fintech Digital Marketing” playbook, linked in the comments.

12/06/2022

Trying to build & manage an in-house fintech marketing team can be complicated.

Numerous roles

Limited budget

Abundant opportunity

Don’t worry though. A few upgrades make it way better.

Here are 5 in-house rules to get you that fintech marketing dream team, faster.

1/ Make sure your team truly digs your company’s offering and is energized by your mission

2/ Hire people who know how to work across the aisle to get it done, particularly among Creative, Media, Product Marketing, and Technology

3/ Strategy needs to be owned & led by someone with strong integrated marketing chops

4/ You must have confidence and trust your Creative Team’s ability to deliver

5/ You have to be able to fully trust the data you’re receiving from your analysts and data scientists

If you're working with a marketing agency or running a hybrid agency/in-house model, snag the remaining team design insights in our latest article: "The Ultimate Guide to Designing Your Fintech Marketing Team Structure."

Bonus: You'll get a definitive list of hybrid model swimlanes plus roles & responsibilities to delineate.

Link in comments.

11/22/2022

If you build it right, your fintech marketing team can be the most powerful asset for your business.

But the truth is, most leaders have no idea how to design a high-performing team.

Here are 6 tips on team structure when working with a fintech marketing agency you may not have considered:

1/ Your agency is willing to challenge your assumptions

2/ The team roster features strategic planning experts

3/ The agency is willing to dig in and truly understand your unique value proposition

4/ They’re transparent about performance and they shoot straight

5/ The agency’s Client Services lead can finish your sentences
for you

6/ They’re in it to win it, and that goes far beyond the their paycheck

Get the details behind all of these + best practices on managing in-house and hybrid models in our latest article.

Link in bio. Tap the Resources page.

11/21/2022

Fintech marketing leaders often play the role of CTO, CMO, CCO, and maybe the occasional therapist. Yet, trying to bat a thousand in all of these jobs all of the time is a recipe for overachiever burnout.

Over the past 20 years in digital marketing, we’ve witnessed firsthand what it takes to successfully deliver on your performance strategy—and it starts with having the right minds in the right seats.

Wondering whether those minds should come from a marketing agency, an in-house team, or a hybrid of both?

Check out *The Ultimate Guide to Designing Your Fintech Marketing Team* linked below and on our Resources page to learn the winning structure for each.

How to get the right minds in the right seats whether you’re managing a digital marketing agency, in-house team, or hybrid model

11/08/2022

Over the past 10+ years, our fintech marketing experts have helped fuel significant growth for major financial technology brands. A few clients who were acquired during our relationship include:

• Braintree
• Worldpay
• Hyperwallet
• SecureNet
• 2Checkout

What have we learned?

Without these 5 foundations in your marketing ecosystem, no amount of BOFU tactics will scale your business for the long term:

5 foundations to upgrade your fintech marketing (and a bit more on each below)

1. Assembling the right fintech marketing team
2. Developing a short-term strategy with an eye on your vision
3. Coordinating your talent
4. Knowing how & when to evaluate performance (Decision Science)
5. Building a creative strategy (which is as important as your media strategy)

Foundation #1: Assembling the right fintech marketing team

• Going agency? Partner with a firm who will challenge your assumptions
• Going in-house? Your team needs to seamlessly collab with creative, media, product, tech
• Going hybrid? Carefully consider your swimlanes

Foundation #2: Developing a short-term strategy with an eye on your vision

At the most basic level, establish annual objectives and 90-day priorities for your team. But also:

• Meet with purpose
• Know your triggers
• Follow zero-based budgeting

Foundation #3: Coordinate your talent

The idea here is 1+1 = 3

Here are a few easy ways you can do that.
• Plan and combine efforts on PR across endemic publishers
• Determine if a specific PR effort is worth paid media support
• Share PR plans quarterly and ad hoc

Foundation #4: Decision Science: How and when to evaluate performance

Tech companies move fast. We’d argue fintech moves even faster.

But before you rush into your evaluation, ensure the following is in place:

1. Campaign goal relates to overall marketing objective
2. Pro forma created for every campaign
3. Evaluate bottom-funnel efficiency
4. Avoid prioritizing rearview mirror approach

Foundation #5: Creative strategy development

The best digital marketing strategy in the world means nothing if its creative counterpart is not equally as strong.

In-housing your fintech creative team? Five common pitfalls to avoid:

1. Not developing a campaign brief
2. Not involving your media partner during campaign brief development
3. Not weighing the timing of the campaign against both your and your stakeholders’ expectations
4. Not leveraging the data you have available to inform your creative strategy
5. Not considering the digital requirements of your creative assets and how they fit into the overall campaign journey

If you found this post valuable:
1. Toss us a follow on our profile here --> Crue: Fintech Marketing by Envisionit
2. Get the complete guide to upgrading your fintech digital marketing, linked in the comments

11/07/2022

Striking that balance between speed and effectiveness in your marketing is not only tough, but it's also non-negotiable in fintech.

Lucky for you, this week's guest on the Fintech Marketing Strategy Hour podcast tells you how her brand is staying nimble while still providing continuous innovation on a personal level.

Louise Robertson is the Global Director of Marketing for Pattern Insurance, an embedded insurance company that enables online travel, recreation, and events businesses to integrate protection products (such as insurance, guarantee, and service) into their core offerings.

Find the episode on your podcast platform of choice. Simply search Fintech Marketing Strategy Hour or tap the direct link in the comments.

11/02/2022

Fintech marketing executives know it takes more than tips & tactics to impact campaign performance.

That’s why our crew of leaders built the “Upgrade Your Fintech Digital Marketing” playbook.

From team design & planning, to decision science & creative strategy, this system will upgrade your 2023 plan, while impressing your CEO.

Download it today. Link in comments.

10/25/2022

POV: Money20/20 nightlife is just as bright as Money20/20 day life 🤩

10/25/2022

Lots of sessions on our list today but one we're really stoked about is "The Evolution of the CMO" at 3PM.

Speakers:
- Pam Piligian of Navy Federal Credit Union
- Allison MacLeod of Flywire
- Mia Alexander of The Dave App

Why you should care, too:

• While this session is about the ever-changing Chief Marketing Officer role and the many accountabilities that come with it, one thing that stands out to us is how loyalty and retention have been added to the To-Do List of marketing aspects the CMO is expected to control.

• Well, we couldn’t agree more. As touched on in a previous episode of The Fintech Marketing Strategy Hour podcast, this addition is likely due to the fact that many fintechs rely on customer transactions or assets under management as their revenue mode.

• A simple signup for an app or platform is never good enough in fintech. We need to bring in the wins that are going to lead to long-term, high-value customers.

• That starts with smart audience segmentation and carries through to paid, organic, and creative strategies and tactics.

• We're excited to hear how other marketers are solving this problem–and how CMO’s are leading the charge.

Money20/20