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Why a Percentage of Last Year’s Budget Doesn’t Work as a Strategy

Fintel Connect mini guide cover showing why financial marketing budgets still start with last year's number, with a tablet preview of the guide on shifting from historical budgeting to outcome-based bank marketing investment

From Historical Budgeting to Outcome-Based Marketing Investment

Stop Budgeting on Autopilot

Marketing is expected to drive growth, but most financial institutions are still funding it the same way they did a decade ago: start with last year’s budget, adjust by a few points based on the rate environment or executive priorities, and repeat. According to new research from Cornerstone Advisors and Fintel Connect, 56% of financial institutions are doing exactly this, and it’s costing them.

What Marketing and Growth Leaders Will Get:

  • The benchmark reality check: How 126 senior U.S. bank and credit union executives actually set marketing budgets, and why the dominant approach is a strategic liability.
  • The attribution gap your CFO needs to see: Not one institution surveyed could reliably attribute results across all measured outcomes. 31% believe they’re crediting the wrong source more than 25% of the time.
  • Where the money goes vs. where the ROI comes from: Paid search captures 46% of budgets but ranks below email and affiliate on ROI. The highest-performing acquisition channel receives the least funding.
  • A four-step outcome-based framework: Stop presenting a spend request. Start arriving at budget season as a growth leader with a cost-per-outcome model your finance team can hold you accountable to.
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