Today, we will be talking about the marketing strategy of a company whose name you will immediately recall if you have been watching cricket or are active on social media - Cred. Cred is a fintech service using which users can pay all of their credit card bills on a single platform. It also helps users manage their finances better, resulting in a better credit score for the user. Cred was founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah who wanted to leverage the increased quantum of digital transactions in the aftermath of the 2016 demonetisation of banknotes. Cred’s growth has been fuelled by the increasing dependence of the Indian economy on credit markets.

Understanding the target audience

In order to sign up for Cred, one needs to have a minimum credit score of 750. This means the target audience will not be very young. Estimates based on the type of marketing campaigns Cred have run say that their ideal customer is 25-50 years old. People in this age group will have the credit score required to sign up for the service, but they will also not be old enough to prefer using traditional methods to pay their bills.

Marketing strategy - How does Cred create an emotional connection?

Now that we know who their target customer base is, let us see how they come up with their marketing plans. The first thing to understand about Cred’s marketing game is that because their target audience is slightly older, their main strategy is nostalgia/retro. Their primary point of contact with many people will be ads based on quirky takes on retro/nostalgic themes like celebrities, political figures or daily life experiences from the 90s. This immediately leads users to associate Cred with memories from their past. This type of association is everlasting, especially in the case of older audiences.

Indian Premier League (IPL)

IPL is one of the most-watched sporting tournaments on the planet, drawing a viewership of more than 50 million viewers in the first 2 weeks of IPL 2022 alone. Given that most of the population in the 25-50 age group in India is an avid IPL viewer, this is a golden opportunity for Cred. Combining the 2 powerful Indian themes of franchise cricket and nostalgia, Cred has made itself one of the most recognisable brands in India by sponsoring India’s biggest event and marketing through some immaculately produced video ads featuring the likes of Rahul Dravid, Madhuri Dixit, Kumar Sanu etc. They have also taken advantage of in-match moments with high viewership like the Powerplay overs to run event marketing campaigns using special offers for users who pay their bills during those periods.

Blogs and articles

Just because they have made themselves into an immediately recognisable brand, it does not mean that all customers, especially serious customers who are conservative, will sign up to use their services. So they have also backed up their hype by doing serious thought/research pieces on socio-economic and financial matters affecting the credit markets. This makes them stand out from other unicorn startups because most of them just focus on initial client acquisitions to raise more money. However, Cred puts in the time and effort to combine the new-age digital marketing methods with good old digital content marketing to cover all its bases.

Social activities

These days, it is not enough for a company to come up with good products or services at reasonable prices. Customers today care more than ever about the company's contribution to society and its stances on social causes and global issues like racism, sexism, income inequality, global warming etc. Cred also carries out social activities and promotes causes like planting trees or building schools and playgrounds etc. using the hashtag #credmissions.

Along with these, they also send cakes to its customers who pay their bills on time, giveaway contests with gifts like automobiles, jewellery, vacations in order to not only acquire customers but also retain them and keep them happy.

So, what lessons can we take home from how Cred markets itself? Some of the in-Cred-ible lessons are as follows:

1. Establish a solid association with your brand in the customer’s mind.

2. Make the customer feel valued with incentives linked to their usage.

3. Engage with your target audience on different platforms and with different types of content.

4. Establish your company’s image as a responsible social citizen, not just a profit-focused corporation.Click To Tweet

In a nutshell, it all comes down to getting the basics right and then building on the connection established with the customer. Once you do this, you’re on the road to success!

Schedule a call with our experts and discover how we as an SMO agency can help to grow your business.

Schedule A Call

Disclaimer:
The trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Idecution Marketing Studio LLP does not claim any intellectual copyright over or intend to use it for any commercial purposes whatsoever. This blog is only meant to provide information to the digital marketing community.