Content continues to be king for BFSI brands: Tata MF

Companies appear to be having a tough time in today's digital age, for serving consumers digitally is akin to feeding a hungry bear through little spaces on the bars of a cage. The barrier between the corporate and the consumer ensures a clear disconnect since communication is through an interface rather than face-to-face.

The challenge for BFSI brands is greater since they need to demystify their products.

In order to bridge the divide, brands need to ensure touch-point consistency, says MVS Murthy, Head Marketing, Digital, Tata Asset Management Limited, for managing the customer journey is highly correlated with strong revenue growth.

Keep communicating new customer

Murthy insists there is an urgent need to constantly speak to consumers in today's digital age. "Any brand that needs to stay relevant needs to keep communicating to the new customer," he adds, for an active brand does not just address, but also brings in new customers by creating enticing content or becoming a part of the ecosystem.

"Most technology giants have taught us that a good product is perhaps 10 percent of the story, the eco-system for usage is the remaining 90 per cent," Murthy told BusinessLine. So, new customers should not only be given information about product features, but also about the optimum usage conditions, its benefits and more importantly the impact of usage, adds Murthy.

Sliced and diced content is the answer. Also true for the hungry bear parable, for the spaces in the bars of the cage need to be filled with food (aka helpful support content). But to the bear, brand loyalty only goes so far, and companies need to make their customers realise that they cannot get any better service anywhere else. Once again, relevant content is the key.

However, since media and medium are both fragmented, it poses a problem. "I binge watch my favourite shows on my mobile + TV + laptop, (#FragmentedMedia). In a household there could be two or more TVs, (#MediumFragmented) and being used by different audiences, for different content at the same time. There are other occasions when TV + mobile is being consumed at the same time. Can we afford to miss any of these scenarios," asks Murthy. Hence, the urgent need to constantly speak at every possible opportunity.

But how do brands get the message across when consumer attention is dropping?

"Relevance is the primary currency to get the message across," says Murthy. "There needs to be a context to the brand’s communication. Content is also important. Is the communication tugging at consumers' life moments? Is it laced with cultural changes or nuances of society - like 'Dude' is the linguistic shift of 'fellow' and coloured hair streaks are the new norm. Communication needs to address these changes," he adds.

Emerging culture

Stating that the huge demographic skew towards Gen Z and Millennials "means a large part of the emerging culture is dictated by this cohort," Murthy opines, "Those who have crossed this age keep coming back to stay connected. So, while messaging is primary, delivery is the second part of the recipe to keep consumer attention focused."

In a growing industry like financial services, it is a huge challenge to communicate regularly with both B2B and B2C audiences. Martech (marketing and technology) provides an answer for BFSI brands.

"Martech allows us to deliver, track and measure the efficacy of the message," says Murthy. "Technology also allows us to deploy mass, yet customised communication. And if the message is relevant, content is contextual and represents moments of life, it will not only attract attention, but also go viral. That is the multiplier effect of a well-crafted communication," he adds.

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