Adobe helps The Co-operative Bank grow customer engagement 700% with in-app messaging

Since its birth from a co-operative movement almost 150 years ago, The Co-operative Bank has taken a different approach to banking. As the UK’s first ethical bank, its commitment to strong values and sustainability has been reflected in its customer-led ethical policy which drives everything it does. In the community, this means maintaining ten years of carbon neutrality and zero waste to landfills, raising awareness of economic abuse and pioneering banking that makes a positive difference to the lives of its customers and communities.

So, when the bank recognized a shift in the way its customers were banking, from in-branch to online and mobile banking, it relished the opportunity to explore new digital channels that would improve the banking experience for its customers. Through its mobile banking app, The Co-operative Bank implemented in-app messaging which would allow it to reach customers with targeted and relevant communications, in the environment where customers were most engaged.

“When we decided to unlock push notifications and started utilizing Adobe mobile services, we looked into in-app messages as well,” says Rob Aston, optimization manager at The Co-operative Bank. “We were really excited about opening up a new channel that would allow us to better communicate with customers.”

Outreach for service improvements

The opportunity to deliver its first in-app message came when the bank moved its technology systems and needed a way to notify customers about service outages.

Using Adobe Target and Adobe Analytics, part of the Adobe Experience Cloud and partnering with Adobe Consulting Services, The Co-operative Bank deployed the first message within the bank’s mobile app. Within two days, over 100,000 customers had seen the communication. The bank received no negative feedback, and credits this success to being able to deliver real-time communications to customers in this way.

Building better behaviors

With the first in-app message a success, The Co-operative Bank looked at how it could use this channel to better engage customers with advice on how to manage finances and build healthy financial habits.

“With COVID-19 restrictions in place, we saw our customers spending less and saving more”, says Becky Franks, head of UX and optimization at The Co-operative Bank, “We wanted to provide our customers with clear financial guidance to help them manage their funds effectively and kick-start savings programmes.”

Together with Adobe, the bank used in-app messaging to deliver the Online Saver campaign which prompted customers to apply for a programme that encourages monthly saving. According to Aston, “Savings pots help customers to save more effectively by helping them to get into a routine of saving each month, rather than simply leaving funds in their accounts at the end of the month, or saving ad hoc.”

To create the best customer experience possible, The Co-operative Bank partnered with Adobe Consulting Services.

“Having the expertise from Adobe to integrate Analytics and Target within mobile services was vital,” says Aston. “Adobe’s helped us unlock the powers of Analytics, and understand how and when we should fire the in-app messages for the best response.”

Customers reacted with enthusiasm. The message generated nearly 30,000 clicks. Of those clicks, the bank saw an almost 500% increase in applications within the app and close to 700% increase in applications across all digital touchpoints for the savings programme.

Bringing ethics to innovation

The Co-operative Bank recently launched a dedicated banking app for its small and medium-sized enterprise customers, with accessibility at its heart.

“It’s important that our products and services are inclusive, accessible and deliver a great experience to all of our customers. Working with Adobe we made sure our implementations of Target and Analytics were optimized and accessible for everyone,” says Aston.

The bank believes it’s this level of care and consideration for its customers that sets it apart, and forms the foundation for its future innovations.