New Year SMS Marketing ideas for Personal Loans Companies

The new year is a time of year when traditionally people set out to take back control of their lives, start something new and get on top of all important issues such as health and personal finance. It is also, however, a time of year when people are feeling financially stretched – even more so as we go into 2018 with inflation at the highest levels in many years. All this is great news for money lenders, who can help their customers to get things under control with personal loans. So how can such companies use SMS Marketing to their advantage? We share some ideas from the team.

Personal loans – the latest figures

Statistics published by The Money Charity in their November 2017 edition of “The Money Statistics”, the organisations monthly UK money roundup reveal the true picture of the UK’s personal loans sector. Year on year, there has been an increase in consumer credit lending of almost £300 per adult. Overall, net lending to individuals has increased by almost £160 million a day, whilst average consumer credit borrowing stood at just under £4,000 per UK adult. All this means that the personal loans sector is thriving and showing no signs of decline. However, with such a booming market competition is higher than ever, meaning that personal loans companies need to use every tactic possible to attract and retain customers – and SMS Marketing is a perfect option.

How to Use SMS Marketing

1. Loan application status

Once the customer has applied for a loan, they are not only anxious to know if they’re approved or not, they often also want to be sure that their application was successfully submitted and that things are starting to happen. SMS Marketing is a perfect way of letting customers know you received the application, that it’s in the processing and review stages and finally whether or not they were approved. By keeping your applicants in the loop every step of the way, they’ll feel like you really appreciate them. If you can provide an excellent experience from the outset, not only will this mean that they come to you the next time they need to borrow, they’ll also be much more likely to recommend your brand to their friends and family.

2. Account alerts

With the increased awareness of frauds and scams over recent years, people are keeping a close eye on their accounts more than ever. Even those who do not feel particularly vulnerable to such risks still feel a desire to be kept informed of activity on their accounts. Personal loans companies can use SMS Marketing to keep their account holders informed by sending SMS messages with balance updates and a transaction log. For improved customer service, you can allow the customer to customise the frequency of such alerts, helping them to feel that they are completely in control.

3. Courtesy messages

If you really want to make your customers feel appreciated and that you care about them, which is essential to maintaining your brand’s competitive edge, it is recommended that you develop a strategy of using SMS Marketing to thank them for their custom. Is someone a new customer? Then send a message thanking them for choosing you. If an existing customer has increased their borrowing of taken out a new loan, be sure that they are looked after in the same way too – after all, repeat customers often offer significantly more value to a company than new acquisitions, but are often taken for granted in comparison. To add a truly personal touch, you could also send birthday wishes, special thanks on the anniversary of when they opened an account, or any other of the many opportunities that happen over the life of an account.

4. Prospect follow up

As with any industry, there will always be a number of warm or cold leads that have simply not converted. In the case of personal loans and finance, this will likely be people who started an application but for various reasons never finished. As well as this, there may be customers who enquired about services but never opened an account. The new year is a great time to reach out to such prospects, and SMS Marketing is an ideal approach. Provided you have their mobile number, you can send them a message asking if they are still interested, need more information, or if they’ve already made another choice. Of course, don’t forget to remind them just how easy it is to complete their application. With people being so busy so much of the time, the fact that they didn’t come back doesn’t necessarily mean they have chosen to go with another company. One well-timed, well worded message could be all it takes to turn these cold prospects into new customers.

5. Policy notifications

If there’s one thing that’s probably true about the financial industry, it’s that there are always lots and lots of rules, regulations, terms, and conditions. And they change over time. The traditional approach to such notifications is email regular post, however it is a great idea to add SMS notifications to the mix. As and when there are changes to terms and conditions, legislation, etc that affect the end user, send an SMS notification to those whose accounts are affected letting them know of the changes. A text message is too short to say it all, so just include a link to a mobile web page where they can read the changes themselves – if they are so inclined. If you really want to be helpful, send them to a page where the changes are summarised in plain English so they don’t have to read the legalise to understand the changes. Of course, a link to the official document is always important too. As well as keeping the language simple, be personal in tone rather than cold and corporate. This will help to nurture a sense of trust and transparency which in turn will lead to increased customer loyalty.

6. Cross-selling other financial products

Many personal lending companies now offer more than one financial product. If someone has opened an account with you, they might be interested in more of what you have to offer, but having secured the product they initially sought they may well not know what you can do unless you tell them. SMS MArketing allows you to introduce the customer to related or new products, especially if you’re having a special offer (e.g. reduced interest rates on loans for a short time). SMS Marketing also allows you to easily track your results and see how effective this type of marketing is.

7. Statement notifications

Every month or quarter, your institution creates statements of account for all customers, with notifications typically sent out by email. However, not everybody checks their inbox regularly and with the ever-increasing problem of spam, statement notifications can easily get missed in an inundated inbox. SMS Marketing is a simple and customer friendly way to let people know that their latest statement is available to view, and can even include a link to allow them to log into their account to view.

With its low costs and extremely high ROI, SMS Marketing is the perfect tool for personal loans companies to increase profits in 2018. To talk to a specialist in your sector now, give our award winning customer services team a call on 0800 954 5305.