AU Small Finance Bank goes big with Adobe Experience Cloud

Headquartered in Jaipur, AU Small Finance Bank Limited (AU Bank) is a scheduled commercial bank, a Fortune India 500 Company and India’s largest Small Finance Bank. The organization has over 25 years legacy of being a retail-focused and customer-centric institution and started its banking operation in April 2017. As of March 2022, the bank has established operations across 919 Banking Touchpoints serving 27.5 Lakh+ customers in 18 states and 2 Union Territories with a talent base of 27,800+ employees. In a short span, it has built robust deposit base of Rs.52,500 Cr.+ and a strong lending base of about Rs. 47,800 Cr.+.

As a digital first bank, engaging customers through digital touchpoints is important. In 2021, the bank launched AU 0101, a digital banking platform offering convenience, security, and 24/7 availability for modern lifestyles. Featuring a proprietary mobile app, AU 0101 supports banking via WhatsApp, in addition to the bank’s website, plus live video interactions and other innovations to make financial services more seamless and readily available.

As part of its plan to obtain a universal banking license in 2022 so it can compete with India’s larger banks, AU Small Finance Bank turned to Adobe Experience Cloud to power its growth through smart digital marketing. To deploy the Adobe applications and help achieve its goals, the bank worked with Customer Centria, an Adobe partner.

Elevating the value of every customer

Historically, many customers in India’s tier two and tier three cities have come to the AU Small Finance Bank for auto, home, and business loans. “Our bank is committed to helping all people achieve their financial goals. With Adobe Experience Cloud, we can help more loan customers tap into other financial services, such as considering savings accounts, current accounts, or fixed deposits,” says Akshay Tapase, senior vice president, Digital Marketing, AU Small Finance Bank.

Knowing when to offer the right financial product to a customer is essential in getting people access to services that would benefit them. The digital marketing team is using Adobe Analytics to better understand how customers move through the website or app and where they drop off in their digital journeys with the bank.

According to Shoorveer Shekhawat, head of Marketing, Video Banking & TFX, AU Bank, “with better digital engagement, our endeavor is to gain customer insights to create enhanced customer experiences. From a marketing perspective, these insights are helpful in having more targeted and effective communication with the right set of customers. Adobe helped us capture the insights from every customer interaction and target new customers based on their personas.”

Adobe Analytics also enables them to measure how new online experiences impact customer behavior and see what drives customers to spend more time on the site and sign up for new products. The continued insights offered by Analytics, along with automated daily reporting, will improve the bank’s understanding of what works with customers and its ability to fine-tune messages and customer experiences.

Data from Analytics is informing A/B testing of features such as buttons, CTAs, and banners with Adobe Target to see what encourages people to explore products and take action. The bank is also using Target to personalise experiences for customers based on their behavior and interests. Automation and AI features will help the company efficiently deliver meaningful customer experiences, even as the bank continues to grow.

“We are excited to see the advantages of Adobe Target in building engagement and loyalty that will pay dividends over time,” says Tripathi.

Banking on a digital future

Debuting as the first Adobe Campaign Managed Cloud Services customer in India gives AU Small Finance Bank the unique position on the leading edge of digital marketing innovation. The managed solution gives the bank the agility of the cloud while complying with security regulations, including Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines for data storage within the country.

“Security and compliance are critical, so we appreciate how Adobe Campaign Managed Cloud Services meet those requirements, while helping us reach customers with relevant communications,” Tripathi said. “Instead of generic communication or alerts, we can use Adobe Campaign to make our outreach more time-specific and related to specific life events.”

Adobe Campaign helps the bank enable simple orchestration of complex marketing campaigns across channels, such as onboarding communications to improve product awareness and use or cross-sell campaigns to introduce existing customers to new savings and investment opportunities. Enhancing customer experiences through increased message relevancy has resulted in 3X higher engagement rates for the bank.

“We’ve been able to control multiple segments, ensuring a channel mix for customers while avoiding fatigue using Adobe Campaign,” explains Tripathi.

The managed nature of the cloud services frees the bank’s team from worrying about operations so they can focus on creating compelling experiences that keep customers coming back. For example, the bank is investing in end-to-end customer journeys to better understand the impact of communicating with customers through different channels. In some cases, drop off triggers encourage customers who don’t complete a journey to return. As a result of this type of targeted engagement, AU Small Finance Bank has observed a 2X increase in adoption of its AU 0101 mobile app.

When the team ran into an issue automating communication with WhatsApp due to the phone numbers in the database not all starting with +91, they were able to sort it out using logic within Campaign. The solution also supports higher API calls per minute and offers greater flexibility than the bank’s previous solution.

“We already recognized great opportunity with India’s burgeoning population of young, digital natives,” says Tripathi. “The boom in online interactions for social and commerce needs, across a wide swath of society, during the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted our commitment to improving digital banking going forward.”