Get more done in less time — why financial services organizations need a seamless content supply chain
Scalable content is the key to deepening relationships with financial customers, and that can only happen with integrated collaboration tools.
This article is part three in a series that uncovers how leading financial organizations are unifying data, modernizing technology, and re-engineering customer outcomes through personalization at scale.
To deliver personalized experiences at scale, financial services organizations must have a comprehensive approach that combines data, content, and journeys. Understanding the customer’s needs and preferences through data is the foundation for delivering personalized experiences. The ability to express that understanding with relevant and valuable content is critical to engaging customers and delivering seamless journeys. As personalization efforts mature, the demand for more and diverse content increases to keep up with the complexity of personalized experiences.
The content supply chain is the process that brings together people, tools, and workstreams to effectively plan, create, manage, and deliver the volume of content required for personalization at scale. Without scalable content, organizations cannot deliver the next best financial experience and earn the trust of loyal customers.
Customer expectations for personalization and hybrid journeys are driving the content growth demand
Part 2 of this three-part series spotlighted the crucial role of unifying data and acting on real-time insights to achieve successful personalization on a large scale. In this deep dive, we explore the significance of optimizing your content strategy and processes to increase the speed and efficiency of content creation and meet the increasing demand for personalization.
Streamline content operations to deliver better customer experiences
A customer’s financial journey is more complex and multifaceted than ever, with an increasing number of touchpoints and varying customer paths. In the interests of timely and more personalized communication, it is critical that your content operations adapt to these touchpoints, delivering personalized communication throughout the customer lifecycle. As recent Forrester research highlights, having multiple customer microsegments is useless if an organization lacks a robust content strategy that can scale to meet customers in the moment and on their preferred channels.
No single department can single-handedly provide a great customer experience. The journey requires collaboration between every business unit, from marketing creatives to frontline agents and bank tellers to legal and compliance during reviews. The “2023 Digital Trends – Financial Services in Focus” report highlights workflow as a persistent challenge to delivering exceptional customer experiences.
To ensure alignment of efforts and goals, financial services organizations should connect siloed business units using a work management solution and integrated content marketing solutions.
The advantages of integrated content and work management
Delivering dynamic, creative touchpoints that inspire action requires a cohesive content supply chain driven by integrated solutions and advanced technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence (AI). Automated, consistent approval processes and auditing and tracking capabilities help to ensure content is compliant and of high quality, while resizing and localizing content versions help to cater to the specific needs of customers.
Using a work management platform to centralize work, automate routine tasks, and standardize requests and workflows can further improve the efficiency of the content supply chain. Integration with content solutions, including a CMS (content management solution), DAM (digital asset management), and creative tools, facilitates swift and scalable production and delivery of personalized content for every customer on every channel.
Financial services companies can reap the following four key benefits from an integrated content supply chain:
1. Shorten and standardize legal and compliance reviews
In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing financial landscape, delivering timely and relevant content and advice is crucial for financial services organizations to remain competitive and build strong customer relationships. This is particularly important during times of economic instability when consumers are seeking guidance and support to safeguard their financial health. However, content marketing compliance reviews can impede quick turnarounds. Organizations can improve their content production and review processes by using a work management solution. This tool helps streamline content creation, facilitates reviews, and allows for easy routing and tracking of approvals.
2. Streamline audit processes with centralized record keeping
To stay prepared for compliance-related audits, it's important to have a clear and organized record of the campaigns and content that was approved and delivered. With an integrated marketing solution that encompasses all customer touchpoints and marketing assets, all content related to customer journeys can be kept in one centralized location for simplified auditing processes.
3. Ensure only approved and current assets are available for use
Scaling content across various interactions can pose risks to your organization but is essential for delivering modern customer journeys. To mitigate these risks and ensure that only approved and up-to-date assets are used, a centralized asset library is essential. With a centralized library, content creators across the organization can easily access the latest approved marketing assets and confidently create posts, resulting in consistent and high-quality content across all channels.
Create and continuously improve first-rate digital experiences
The success of financial organizations depends heavily on their digital touchpoints, including websites and mobile apps, which serve as the primary channels for engaging with customers, showcasing products, and providing valuable resources. By adopting a hybrid approach to content delivery, organizations can relieve IT of the burden of publishing content across myriad channels and give marketers ownership of the entire content creation and delivery process, resulting in seamless omnichannel digital experiences for customers.
This involves breaking down content into smaller, more manageable pieces called content fragments that can be easily reused and repurposed across different channels. These can be stored in a central content management system (CMS), where they can be easily accessed, edited, and assembled into new pieces of content. By using a single CMS, organizations can rationalize their technology and distribute content more efficiently, improving agility and reducing bottlenecks in the content delivery process. Financial services organizations can provide customers with relevant and timely content across multiple channels, strengthening relationships and enhancing the overall digital experience.
Vanguard overhauled its CMS and marketing tech stack to better integrate its people, processes, and technology. As a result, the company achieved a 75% greater efficiency when building content pages, a 66% reduction in effort for page authoring, and a six-to-ten-fold improvement in the speed to market from its website, in large part due to the reuse of components and fragments.
Connecting with customers through meaningful experiences
A memorable customer experience requires seamless collaboration between all departments. Marketing and creative teams craft tailored content and effectively reach target audiences, while advisory teams strengthen customer relationships, legal teams maintain customer trust, and IT teams secure sensitive information. When all parts come together, organizations can connect with customers at the right time, providing them with the valuable financial guidance they need.
Learn how to streamline your content creation — and ease audit worries — in our Invest in Your Content Agility guide.
