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Research Report

The Marketing ROI Gap in Banking

How financial institutions spend, measure — and struggle to prove — marketing’s value

 

Financial institutions spend 0.10% of assets on marketing annually but most still can’t clearly connect spending to results. This report from Cornerstone Advisors, commissioned by Fintel Connect, explores how financial institutions spend, measure, and struggle to prove marketing’s value and reveals why the widening gap between investment and impact is holding marketing back from being a true driver of growth.

 

Key Insights:

  • Spend vs. performance is misaligned. Paid search gets the most budget, but email delivers the strongest ROI.

  • Measurement is broken. Nearly 60% say their CRM/core limits ROI tracking.
  • Budgets rely on guesswork. Most institutions still base spend on last year’s numbers.
  • Big opportunity: affiliate marketing. Underused, yet high-performing and often overlooked.

What You'll Learn in This Report

  • Which marketing channel delivers the most impact — but is the most under-leveraged?
  • Why you may be giving budget to the wrong marketing channels
  • Why getting attribution, measurement, and outcome-based accountability is critical
  • The 3 things needed to make marketing a growth strategy
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About Cornerstone Advisors

For over 20 years, Cornerstone Advisors has delivered gritty insights, bold strategies and data-driven solutions to build smarter banks, credit unions and fintechs. From technology system selection and implementation to contract negotiations, vendor management, performance improvement programs, strategic planning, merger integration and enterprise program management, Cornerstone combines its expertise with proprietary data and research to help financial institutions thrive in today’s challenging environment. For more information, visit www.crnrstone.com, connect with us on LinkedIn and Youtube, and subscribe to GonzoBanker® for our opinionated take on all things banking.