Unlocking the Power of Data and Creative Messaging in Financial Services

Building Trust & Driving Engagement in a Highly Regulated Industry

Guest Post by Lianne Wade, Fractional Chief Marketing Officer specializing in regulated industries

In the world of financial services, trust isn’t just important, it’s everything. Whether you’re a bank, an insurer, or a wealth management firm, earning and keeping your customers’ confidence is the key to long-term success. But here’s the challenge: how do you use your data to craft messages that truly resonate without crossing regulatory lines?

Surprisingly, a recent report from Bank Director found that a stunning 87% of banks feel their data is underutilized. That’s a missed opportunity. When used thoughtfully, data isn’t just a compliance tool. It’s a powerful way to deepen customer relationships, personalize experiences, and drive real business growth.

I’m sharing some practical, proven strategies to harness your data and create compelling creative messaging in financial services that builds trust and loyalty:

1. Leverage First-Party Data for Laser Focused Creative Messaging

First-party data is the goldmine: it’s information you gather directly from your customers such as through your website, app, social media, surveys, or in-branch visits. It’s accurate, compliant, and most importantly, yours.

Yet, the 2025 State of Marketing Data Report by Integrate reveals that 75% of B2B marketers believe their data is often inaccurate or out of compliance. Elevating your data collection practices and investing in a reliable data infrastructure to leverage your first-party data should be a top priority.

When used wisely, first-party data can boost conversions significantly.

Case in Point: A client of mine was a life and disability insurer for dentists who struggled with stagnant growth. By using first-party data to personalize outreach to highlight each dentist’s current policies, and showing how they compare to peers, our agency drove a 900% response lift among underinsured clients. Simple, personalized visuals and comparisons engaged these dentists enough to take action.

2. Analyze Behaviors, Not Just Balances

Move beyond just balances and credit scores. Focus on behavior and life stage information, such as how customers interact with your online tools, what they search for, and how often they log in. This offers richer insights into their needs and intentions. Behaviors that you’re monitoring via your CRM or other tools can give a set of rich insights by which you can build highly relevant creative messaging around.

Real-World Example: After activating my new debit card, I received a timely email from my bank suggesting security improvements tailored to my recent activity. It felt relevant, helpful, and boosted my trust with my new bank, showing they truly care about my security.

3. Map Out Your Customer Journey

Use knowledge about your customers’ behaviors and needs and match these to your products/services offerings to craft a clear journey map. This helps you deliver the right message at the right time, nudging your customers toward meaningful actions. For creative messaging in financial services to land, tying your messaging framework to specific steps of the customer journey can give your response rates a huge boost.

For example, if you’re onboarding new bank clients, plan a series of emails with each one having a distinct message. Match your tone and visuals across these communications to create a seamless experience.

Also consider putting these email best practices in action:

• Have one key takeaway, so you don’t overwhelm, but supporting content are acceptable as long as they are secondary
• Focus on the next best action supported by an easy-to-understand message
• Include personalization where it is appropriate, such as first name, new customer status

4. Match Creative Messaging Across Channels

Ensure that your direct mail and email campaign imagery and headlines align with your destination landing pages. Even subtle visual or message mismatches can affect the customer experience, so make sure they’re conceptually paired.

At the very least, the hero image and the headline should be similar between the email and the landing page.

5. Measure Creative Performance Rigorously

Data is critical to evaluate the performance of your marketing efforts so you can optimize over time and drive business growth. For email, every click, tap, or scroll should be tracked down to a specific element. For your direct mail, measure every QR Code scan or pURL open. Whether it’s a call button or a link, knowing exactly what drives engagement enables you to refine your creative and communications approaches over time.

6. Automate for Relevance and Efficiency

Marketing automation takes personalization to the next level. When you combine your customer data with creative assets within automation platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Marketo, you can deliver timely, relevant, omni-channel messages at scale.

Build content using modules or template components in the platform. These allow for flexibility and variability of creative messaging over time. For email, design and select content modules based on the following:

• What is the primary objective of the email or direct mailer? Spend the most time on designing that component.
• Do you have large blocks of copy? You’ll need ways to break those up.
• Are there multiple different content components? Consider cards and columns.
• Is there step-by-step content? Visual lists and checklists are the way to go.
• How many distinct CTAs will there be (CTAs to different destinations)? Ensure that CTAs are clearly associated with their content.

Here are several examples of content module options.

Automated workflows using data, personalization and content modules then handle the rest, ensuring your teams focus on strategic activities rather than repetitive tasks.

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Final Thought: Trust Is the Ultimate Currency

Remember, personalization in your creative messaging for financial services doesn’t mean sacrificing compliance. It’s about reinforcing trust. When your messaging is rooted in real customer insights and delivered with care, you create meaningful connections that last.

If you’re curious about how data-driven strategies can elevate your engagement and growth, I’m here to help turn these ideas into actionable results. Reach out and let’s unlock the true potential of your customer data together.