There have never been more options and opportunities that serve EMEA consumers with their saving and purchasing needs. But in the latest Braze data report, we’ve discovered that the majority of EMEA consumers surveyed (59%), aren’t happy with the type of service they receive.

Banking on the Customer Journey: 2022 Financial Services Insights is a global report launched to help financial services brands better understand and respond to the challenges they face in the current business climate. Today, we’ll take a look at key takeaways from our analysis on how financial services are faring in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, and what brands in that space can be doing to build stronger customer loyalty and relationships with their consumers.

Our Two Key Takeaways in EMEA

#1. EMEA Banks Have the Opportunity to Win Trust

Interestingly, 42% of EMEA consumers surveyed only use one financial service provider, and 90% have at least half of their financial assets in a traditional bank. This makes them much more likely to place their trust in just one institution compared to consumers based in APAC or the US, demonstrating how important it is for FinServ brands in the region to focus on building trust and boosting retention.

However, the report also found that financial services brands in the region are currently demonstrating overconfidence in their performance that isn’t necessarily reciprocated by consumers. In fact, 84% of surveyed EMEA marketers think their customers are very or extremely satisfied, but only 41% of customers agree.

This is particularly relevant for traditional financial brands to grasp due to the huge presence of challenger banks and popular FinTech firms gaining ground. There are now more than 30 FinTech unicorns in Europe, making up a growing slice of the overall financial services marketing in the region. But as theseFinTech firms work to capture new consumers, traditional banks can still retain their customers by offering solid reassurance and security within the context of their business relationships.

#2. How EMEA Banks Can Build That Trust

For financial services brands to start building trust, they have to learn and understand how their consumers prefer to receive communications. For example, 56% of EMEA consumers surveyed want to receive general communications through email, compared to 45% of APAC consumers and 44% of US consumers. Brands that understand and respect that preference are putting their relationship with those customers on a solid foundation; brands that ignore their customers’ preference are undermining that relationship with every message they send.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when determining what makes a communication valuable to a consumer. But financial services brands can work to ease friction with their consumers by identifying each individual's preferences and key user behavior. One way to do this is build a strategy based on trigger-based messaging, giving consumers responsive and valuable experiences in response to the actions they take in ways that work to increase engagement and conversion rates.

EMEA financial brands could also develop a net trust score and link it directly to business KPIs and customer deposits. This could prove valuable if recession and inflation continue to hit consumers in the region, thus resulting in consumers turning more to trusted financial institutions to safeguard their assets.

About the Study and the EMEA Countries Represented

• Wakefield Research Marketers Survey: Conducted by Wakefield on behalf of Braze, this survey gathered insights from 1,500 marketing executives working in the financial services industry in Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, the UK, and the US.

• Wakefield Research Consumer Survey: Conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Braze, this survey collected information from 5,000 adults in Australia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, the UK, and the US.

• Braze Data: As a leading customer engagement platform that powers experiences between consumers and 1,500+ brands in 60+ countries, Braze has exclusive insight into the marketing and technology landscape. For this report, we analyzed customer engagement data for over 200 financial services brands between the period of January 1, 2022 to June 1, 2022. The data has been anonymized and aggregated.

Final Thoughts

The rise of digital platforms and channels over the past two decades and the renewed focus on digital transformation that COVID-19 brought to the financial space have brought with them rising consumer expectations and steep competition. Now, not only are customers overwhelmed with options, but they are looking for the same engaging, seamless experiences they’ve come to rely on in other industries. Ultimately, your customer communications need to provide value for your customers—but that’s only possible if you understand consumers and their problems in the context of their daily lives.

For additional insights on financial services insights in EMEA and how FinServ brands in the region can make the most of today’s opportunities, get your copy of the Banking on the Customer Journey: 2022 Financial Services Insights.