By: Joe Gillen
Financial institutions typically implement mobile marketing campaigns that target specific demographics. However, one demographic in which banks and credit unions should focus their attention and resources is the Hispanic mobile user group.
A recent survey, Hispanic Mobile Banking Trends Study, conducted by Zpryme and ThinkNow Research, found that 69 percent of Hispanic bank customers utilize their smartphones to conduct transactions, while another 47 percent rely on tablets to perform mobile functions, such as balance inquiry and money transfers. Among Hispanic mobile banking users, 55 percent said they were "very satisfied" with their mobile banking service, and 35 percent said they use technology at least once each day. In addition, 30 percent of respondents said they would switch banks to secure more sophisticated mobile banking services.
"With seven out of ten Hispanic mobile bank users deferring to smartphones to bank mobile and almost one-third swapping banks that are 'mobile friendly', banks that incorporate social networking to address banking issues will lead to greater customer loyalty and extol the mobile banking features that are available," said Jason Rodriguez, CEO and Director of Research for Zpryme. "It is not enough just to translate pixels of the mobile experience into Spanish, financial institutions such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo are blushing examples of listening to the voice of Hispanics via social media; translating a tweet, a like, a comment into real-world consumer-centric results."
Appealing to Hispanic mobile users
The research falls in line with customer satisfaction research indicating that mobile banking programs drive customer sentiment and impact their decision-making when choosing a bank. The Hispanic market represents a prime area of opportunity for banks and credit unions, making it important that they take action quickly. The same study revealed that Hispanic mobile users are also frequent visitors' of banks' social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter. As such, reaching out to consumers via these channels may enable banks to promote their products and dispel myths that may be discouraging Hispanic smartphone owners from adopting mobile strategies.
For example, 44 percent of non-mobile users cite "informational security" risks as their primary reason for shunning this technology. By reinforcing the security of mobile systems and separating myth from fact on social media platforms, banks and credit unions can both educate potential users and drive up customer acquisition numbers.