In 2021, there were over 800 global FinTech M&As - the largest volume ever. And valuations for these brands are also at all-time highs. For example, in Europe, FinTech companies are valued 2x more than any tech sector on the continent.
This industry boom is fueled in part by changing consumer behavior. Post-pandemic, 71% of consumers say they use P2P vendors, like Venmo and Paysend. This consumer FinTech adoption is highest in China (87%) with the U.S. trailing at 46%.
Alloy client Instant Financial is one FinTech brand benefiting from this uptick. The earned wage access (EWA) provider grew 33% in the first half of 2021 and recently announced large customers, like Randstad, as employers offer workers real-time, on-demand access to same-day wages.
We chatted with the company’s VP of Marketing Ryan Ashton, about standing out in a noisy industry, reaching FinTech buyers, and measuring KPIs in today’s environment.
QUESTION: Throughout your career, you’ve worked for a wide array of industries. What drew you to the FinTech industry and your current role at Instant Financial?
ANSWER: I was drawn to the appeal of building and bringing a solution to market that could quantifiably improve the lives of those who use it. There are countless technologies and solutions that are wants-based, but delivering on an individual’s personal needs is rewarding.
QUESTION: Thanks to the always-connected consumer, we’re seeing a record number of new entrants in the FinTech space. What inbound marketing tactics have you found to be the most successful for driving new prospects into your funnel?
ANSWER: It’s a competitive landscape, with everyone fighting for the same group of eyeballs. And today’s business audiences are savvy, with countless tools at their disposal that allow them to do their own homework, well in advance of even approaching a vendor. Our goal with inbound activities is to act as a resource and take a consultative approach for our audience when they’re at various stages of the buying process. Our inbound activities seek to educate, inform and help our various personas make the right decision when it comes to our solution category.
QUESTION: How do you measure the success of your inbound marketing program?
ANSWER: We set manageable and attainable goals that ladder up to the larger organizational goals, and measure against them constantly to ensure programs are tracking the way we expect. Those that aren’t, we evaluate and optimize, with a goal to adjust course accordingly. Those that are, we double-down on.
QUESTION: Speaking of measurement, what advice do you have for marketing executives on the best way to report metrics up to the board level?
ANSWER: Related to the previous point – we try to marry up specific marketing goals, KPIs, and results to the larger organizational goals, and connect the dots to how our efforts in marketing are connected to contributing to what the organization is chasing more broadly.