How to get your first 100 customers as a Fintech startup

by James · January 4, 2023

Opinions expressed by Contractor the contributors are their own.

In 2008, Kevin Kelly, the founder of Wired, suggested 1000 true fans theory. Attract a thousand loyal fans to your Fintech startup or any other business – and you’ll make money. However, this may seem unrealistic for a Fintech startup.

Li Jin, the co-founder of Variant Fund, lowered the original target to 100 loyal customers. In her opinion, companies can succeed by giving their most loyal fans more value at a higher price. Although this number of customers sounds quite realistic, it is difficult to attract 100 brand followers in a highly competitive environment. You can achieve this goal with a clear marketing strategy for Fintech startups. Let’s look at the most effective ways to get your first 100 customers.

Related: 7 Things to Consider Before Starting a Fintech Startup

Table of Contents

Typical problems faced by Fintech startups

Recruiting the first 100 grateful customers is difficult. The market has strict requirements for newcomers:

ThThe industry has a low entry barrier

According to Statista, the number of startups in the US, EMEA and Asia-Pacific has almost tripled in the last 4 years. Consumers like mobile banking apps, so investments in Fintech companies are growing. Project ideas for the financial industry are more relevant than ever.

Users do not hand over sensitive data to unknown apps.

Users trust financial apps that have a large audience and positive reviews. Although the App Store and Google Play check each platform for safety and quality before publication, not everyone buys new products.

A startup should come up with a brilliant Fintech marketing strategy to interest users and convert them into loyal customers.

A business does not know how to turn customers into potential customers.

To make a product visible and in demand, startup initiators need to understand their target audience and know how to convert one-time visitors into potential customers.

An effective working sales funnel will introduce a product to users and lead various customers to purchase. An advanced Fintech marketing strategy will help build scenarios for interaction with each customer type to follow them in sales until they buy a product.

To acquire their first 100 customers, a business should use a proven Fintech marketing strategy. So here are five ways to acquire new customers:

1. Use personalization to communicate with your target audience

According to Epsilon, 80% of users prefer brands that offer personalized services.

Project initiators should remember that all customers are unique, adapt software solutions to specific purposes and adapt marketing messages. Specialists interview users to find out their problems and divide them into groups.

This division of the target group will help to build more personal communication with customers. Augmenting Fintech startup marketing with AI will help you create targeted text messages and product/service recommendations.

Related: Launching a Fintech Startup? Here’s how we built ours

2. Convince customers with powerful words: Build a content promotion strategy

When users are looking for software solutions to financial problems, they search the internet. By entering keywords, they find relevant material. Marketers can use people’s desire to learn more information and compare apps to build a content promotion strategy.

The main thing is to find keywords that will answer customers’ concerns and create useful content. Write an article comparing multiple services and reveal the benefits of your financial software. Create a top list of investment apps that mention your product. Tell a post story about a customer who solved a problem with your app and describe the functionality.

Different content will encourage potential customers to try a free version of the product, sign up for a demo or purchase a discounted subscription.

3. Take care of the visual component of a Fintech app

Many studies confirm that branding has a direct impact on the decision-making process. Navigation, colours, styles and a focus on the customer’s values determine whether people buy a digital product.

Everything is important: the message of the text, the font size, the distance between elements and the color of objects. The right combination of these encourages customers to take targeted action.

Involve experienced UX/UI designers with knowledge of key psychological principles to create a landing page. They will place priority buttons so users can easily find and click them. An advertised object must point to a call-to-action element.

4. Make gamification in financial software your trump card

Gamification has attracted the attention of non-game app creators. According to Yu-kai Chou, customers feel successful when they use apps. This mechanism works just like psychological triggers, making it easier to interact with serious financial programs.

Gamification can become a lead magnet. Customers will certainly be interested in a Fintech platform integrated with a fitness tracker. A bank may provide an interest rate of 3% for reaching an exercise goal of 10,000 steps. An offer of investment education in a simulated environment also sounds tempting.

5. Go to referral Fintech marketing

In 2012, Nielsen found that 92% of people trust word of mouth more than traditional advertising when making purchasing decisions. The situation has not changed yet: Nine out of 10 buyers trust the reviews of friends, acquaintances and other users.

Use referral marketing to reach your target number of 100 customers faster. It is a powerful mechanism for acquiring new customers. Ask your first users to share positive impressions of your brand with their acquaintances, and give them a nice bonus for it (a cash reward, an individual discount, etc.).

Engaged customers will tell a story about a product/service value better than a marketer will. They reveal the benefits of the brand from the user’s perspective. Conduct a quick survey to find out what rewards your customers want. Work with them until you get the right number of loyal customers.

Getting your first 100 customers won’t be easy, but we’ve pinpointed five of the most effective main ways to do it. Start small, test ideas and use different combinations of Fintech marketing activities. Through trial and error, you will discover a working formula for success.