Albert Manfre has spent more than three decades in financial planning, serving since 1990 as president of Heritage Financial Services in Laguna Niguel, California, where he oversees daily operations spanning sales activity, investment strategy, and client acquisition efforts for more than 40,000 clients. Albert Manfre has grown the firm’s assets under management to more than $1 billion while working to help clients retire with minimal tax burdens, a mission that has earned him recognition as a Five Star Wealth Manager from Orange Coast Magazine and a Top Annuity Writer distinction from Global Atlantic Insurance. Outside the office, he has also served as a radio host for the Los Angeles Angels baseball network. As competition among banks, credit unions, and fintech companies intensifies, institutions like his are increasingly focused on refining how they attract and retain customers in a shifting financial services landscape.
The banking market is experiencing strong competition and changing consumer habits. Growth now often involves winning over people who already bank with different providers. Banks and credit unions are increasingly competing to become a customer’s primary financial services provider rather than relying only on attracting first-time account holders.
Banks and credit unions now compete with financial technology (fintech) companies. Consequently, they must update their customer acquisition methods to remain relevant, as younger generations often trust technology startups as much as established banks. As consumer expectations continue to evolve, institutions must adapt their marketing strategies and digital experiences to remain competitive.
Finding new customers involves high costs and specific behavioral trends. While many people stay with their current bank, a 2021 survey found that between 11 and 17 percent of respondents switched different types of financial accounts over the previous year, depending on the product. The highest switching rate, at 17 percent, was for mortgage accounts.
The same survey also found that 37 percent of respondents said they were more willing to switch financial providers than before, reflecting consumer intentions at the time rather than a current switching rate. Transitioning from one provider to another often happens during major life changes such as moving to a new city or getting married. Such events create opportunities for banks and credit unions to introduce products and services that better match customers’ changing financial needs.
Banks and credit unions must also evaluate a customer’s lifetime value to measure the effectiveness of their customer acquisition strategies and guide their marketing decisions. Banks and credit unions also separate markets using two metrics: net promoter score (NPS) and likelihood to switch (LTS).
NPS measures a person’s loyalty and how much they recommend their current provider. LTS tracks an individual’s probability of moving to a new provider within the next year.
Drive Research illustrates this method with four informally named segments: cranky customers, shifty shoppers, procrastinating patrons, and committed clients. Cranky customers report lower advocacy and higher switching interest, while shifty shoppers report stronger advocacy but remain open to alternatives. Procrastinating patrons report lower advocacy without strong switching intent, and committed clients report stronger advocacy and lower switching interest.
Institutions can test different messages for these segments, but the categories should not be treated as fixed predictions of behavior.
Customer acquisition is often more resilient when an institution tests several channels rather than relying entirely on one source. Depending on the product and audience, the mix may include paid search, direct mail, comparison or affiliate partnerships, branches, referrals, social media, community programs, or organic content.
Direct mail can be a highly effective part of a broader customer acquisition strategy when supported by accurate customer data, careful targeting, testing, and digital marketing. Partnerships with comparison websites and affiliate programs also help by using third-party trust to recommend products. Moreover, coordinating these efforts across multiple channels improves overall results as artificial intelligence begins to influence how people find financial services.
Banks and credit unions may also differentiate themselves by addressing needs that arise at different life and business stages. Depending on their strategy, institutions may offer financial education, specialized lending, planning resources, business services, or other support beyond basic deposit accounts.
Some institutions now offer digital estate and legacy planning tools that help customers organize important documents such as wills and other estate planning information. While these services represent one way to expand customer offerings, they also demonstrate how banks and credit unions continue exploring new ways to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.
About Albert Manfre
Albert Manfre has served since 1990 as president of Heritage Financial Services in Laguna Niguel, California, where he has helped more than 40,000 clients protect and grow their assets while overseeing more than $1 billion in client holdings. He has been named a Five Star Wealth Manager by Orange Coast Magazine and recognized as a Top Annuity Writer by Global Atlantic Insurance. Previously with Mission Viejo’s Security Financial Group, he also hosts the radio program Live and Retire Tax Free with Al Manfre.
