IntroductionEverFi surveyed 125 marketers at leading

financial institutions about the role of financial

education in their marketing mix and their

marketing priorities over the next year. We

found that most marketers care about financial

education, and consider it an important

marketing tool that provides real value to

consumers, builds positive brand sentiment,

and opens up business opportunities.

The State of Financial Services Marketing: The Role of Financial Education

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Learn More About EverFi and Financial Education at EverFi.com/FinancialEd

About the Author Meg Moyer Director of Research EverFi

At EverFI, Meg researches the interplay between education, financial institutions, and social factors in influencing financial capability. She also measures the impact of financial education courses on learners using assessment and survey data, providing reports of course impact to sponsors, districts, and schools around the country. Prior to EverFi, Meg held a similar role assessing the impact of online and offl ine educational programming for youth sports coaches. Meg holds a degree in economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from San Diego State University.

About EverFi Our mission at EverFi is to drive lasting, large-scale change to the fi nancial capability of learners of all ages. We help banks and credit unions make transformative impact on the livelihoods of their communities, consumers, and employees through online education, data and services.

About the Respondents

125 financial institution marketers responded to EverFi’s survey. These respondents represent a variety of institutions, both big and small.

Institutions

Titles

Assets

59Commercial

Banks

41Credit Unions

14Community

Banks

5Other Financial

Service Providers

5Other

21Associate

10CMO

16Director

18Manager

50VP

4Assets < $100 million

65Assets $100 million

to $1 billion

27Assets $1 billion

to $10 billion

18Assets > $10 billion

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The vast majority of financial services marketers report that financial

education is part of their marketing strategy today. Just nine respondents

said financial education was not currently included in their marketing mix.

Marketing budgets also reflect the role of financial education in the

marketing toolkit; more than half of marketers report that their institution

has a dedicated budget for financial education.

Focus on Financial EducationThe Importance to Financial Services Marketing

Both banks and credit unions consider financial education as an important

part of their marketing strategy. While more bank marketers reported that

financial education was currently part of their marketing strategy -- 95%

at commercial banks compared to 80% among their counterparts at credit

unions -- credit union marketers were more likely to have a dedicated

budget for financial education. Sixty three percent of credit union marketers

reported a dedicated financial education budget, compared to 51% of

commercial bank marketers.

89%89%Yes 55%55%Yes

7%No

4%Not Sure

37%No

8%Not Sure

Is financial education part of your marketing strategy?

Does your department have a dedicated budget for financial education?

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Both banks and credit unions consider financial education as an important

part of their marketing strategy. While more bank marketers reported that

financial education was currently part of their marketing strategy -- 95%

at commercial banks compared to 80% among their counterparts at credit

unions -- credit union marketers were more likely to have a dedicated

budget for financial education. Sixty three percent of credit union marketers

reported a dedicated financial education budget, compared to 51% of

commercial bank marketers.

Across financial institutions of all types, the importance of financial education is growing: not one marketer surveyed

expects that financial education will become less important to their institution over the next year.

Financial Education is Part of Your Marketing Strategy.

You have a Dedicated Financial Education Marketing Budget.

Commercial Bank Credit unionsCredit Union Banks

95%80%

63%51%

Financial Education: Marketing Strategy and Budget Commercial Banks vs Credit Unions

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ChallengesWhile bank and credit union marketers recognize the importance of

including financial education in their marketing strategy, they also recognize

the challenges their organizations face when it comes to implementing

financial education.

When asked to identify their top three challenges, marketers cited: lack of

measurable ROI (51%), difficulty engaging customers (47%), and challenges

implementing education at scale as the biggest hurdles. Marketers also

identified concerns about content (21% indicated difficulty finding or

generating quality content as a challenge, while 10% report that there is not

enough content available to them) and unclear value for meeting regulatory

requirements like the Community Reinvestment Act (15% of respondents).

Few marketers (8%) reported that senior executive buy-in is a substantial

challenge.

BenefitsDespite the challenges, marketers are enthusiastic about the benefits of

financial education in the marketing mix. Top benefits include improving

consumer financial capability, bolstering the bank or credit unions public

reputation, and supporting business opportunities.

Both commercial bank and credit union marketers list improving customer or

member knowledge and community relations as by far the biggest benefits;

credit unions favor member knowledge slightly, while community relations is

the top benefit for commercial bank marketers.

Financial education is also seen as a driver of revenue -- a third of

respondents listed upsell opportunities as a top-three benefit of financial

education -- with new business opportunities among existing customers

and members seen as a more likely benefit of financial education than lead

generation for new business.

Biggest Challenges to Implementing Financial Education

Biggest Benefits to Financial Education for Financial Institutions

51% 77%

73%

48%

34%

26%

16%

6%

47%

31%

21%

15%

10%

8%

Lack of measurable ROI Improves financial knowledge

Public or community relations

Important customer / member service

Leads to upsell opportunities (new products or services) with customers

Regulatory requirements or credit

Lead generation

Government or legislative relations

Difficulty engaging current or potential customers

Challenges implementing financial education at scale

Difficulty finding or generating quality content

Value for CRA credit / regulatory requirements is not clear

Not enough content available

Difficulty getting buy-in from senior executives

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Ownership and BudgetWhen it comes to the question of who is responsible for financial education

at their institution, the majority of marketers -- 56% -- report that the Chief

Marketing Officer or head of marketing “owns” financial education. This

arrangement is most common in credit unions, where 70% of respondents

indicate that the CMO is responsible for financial education at their

institutions. A number of financial marketers also noted that ownership

of financial education was shared across their organization. Among the

ten marketers who reported shared responsibility, marketing, regulatory

functions, retail banking, business development, and the executive team

were all listed as departments involved in managing financial

education efforts.

When it comes to funding financial education within a bank or credit union,

55% of marketers indicate that their institution has a dedicated budget for

financial education. Those budgets aren’t static, though. Whether or not

their budget includes a separate line item for financial education, 45% of

marketers expect that their spending on financial education will increase

over the next year. An additional 43% plan to maintain a similar level of

funding for financial education, and just one respondent indicated that the

budget for financial education was likely to decrease (the remaining 11% of

respondents were unsure or did not separately track spending on

financial education).

What do you expect to happen to your budget for financial education in the next year?

Who “owns” financial education at your organization?

6%Content marketing

manager or staff

10%Community relations

manager or staff

6%Dedicated financial

education manager or staff

2%CRA or regulatory

manager or staff

56%Chief Marketing Officer/

head of marketing

20%Other 45%45%Increase

43%No Change

1%Decrease

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PrioritiesFinancial education isn’t the only budget priority that marketers expect to

shift over the next year. When asked about their spending plans over the next

year, marketers predicted a net increase in their overall marketing budget,

with the biggest shifts away from TV and radio advertising, and toward online

advertising. In fact, TV and radio advertising is the only category in which

financial marketers on average plan to spend less money next year. In addition

to online advertising, substantial net increases in spending are expected in:

email marketing, content marketing, and financial education.

AudiencesRegarding their overall marketing

efforts, bank and credit union marketers

are pretty evenly split on where they

spend their time between new business

acquisition, retention and loyalty, and

upselling and cross-selling current

customers or members.

What do you expect to happen to your budget for the following activities in the next year?

IncreaseNo

ChangeDecrease Net

Online advertising 70% 22% 2% 67%

Email marketing 57% 30% 3% 54%

Financial Education 45% 43% 1% 44%

Content marketing 48% 41% 1% 44%

Community Events and Activation

36% 58% 3% 33%

Overall marketing budget 40% 47% 11% 28%

Team and Event Sponsorship 20% 70% 5% 15%

TV and Radio Advertising 11% 47% 24% -13%

What are you most focused on as a financial services marketer?

39%39%New Customer

Aquisition

34%34%Customer Retention

and Loyalty

27%27%Upselling and cross-selling

current customers

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Whether looking to attract new customers

or to extend relationships with current

members, bank and credit union marketers

are particularly focused on two audiences

(in addition to general consumers):

millennials and small business owners.

Credit union marketers in particular are

interested in attracting and retaining

millennial consumers; 83% of these

marketers ranked millennials in their top three audience segments of focus.

Millennials are also an important segment for commercial bank marketers

(56% include them in their top three), but bank marketers are also focused on

small business owners (64% rank this segment in the top three, compared to

34% among credit union marketers).

Product and Service PromotionWhen it comes to the products and services that financial marketers are

focused on promoting, no single product is a top-three priority for the

majority of marketers surveyed. Home-related products like mortgage loans

and refinancing, and home equity loans or lines of credit, are important

products for both banks and credit unions. Consistent with the interest in

marketing to millennials, promoting mobile banking also is a significant focus.

Bank marketers are much more focused on products for business than are

their peers at credit unions. Business banking services are the most popular

product for commercial banks to focus on and a third of bank marketers also

cite business lending as a top-three product of focus.

Credit union marketers, meanwhile, are more likely to report a focus on

consumer banking products like auto loans or refinancing and credit cards.

76%76%65%65%

Millenials Small Business Owners

Underbanked Populations

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CustomersGeneral

ConsumersOther Business

OwnersSeniors

of all surveyed marketers ranked millennials in their top three audience segment focus.

of all surveyed marketers focus on mortgage loans/

refinancing products.

Overall Commercial Bank Credit Union

Learn More About EverFi and Financial Education at EverFi.com/FinancialEd