Customer intelligence as a strategic asset in the financial industry

Benjamin Salmon
Senior Marketing Consultant, PwC Switzerland
+41 79 612 01 47
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In today’s hyper-competitive and increasingly volatile financial landscape, customer expectations are evolving faster than ever. They no longer settle for one-size-fits-all solutions; they demand tailored, seamless and proactive engagement across every touchpoint. For banks, insurers and asset managers, this shift represents more than just a technological challenge: it signals a strategic imperative to rethink how value is created, delivered and sustained.

In particular, growing geopolitical instability is a main contributor to intensifying market volatility and is significantly reshaping how clients engage their finance partners. For reference, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, escalating tensions in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific as well as protectionist policies such as the U.S.-China trade war and renewed tariff threats from the Trump administration have caused double-digit changes in key indexes in the first half of 2025. As highlighted by the recent IMF analysis¹, these geopolitical risks not only put sustained pressure on asset prices and financial conditions worldwide but also raise challenges for investors.

In times of uncertainty, clients become more risk-sensitive, more selective in their financial decisions and increasingly reliant on institutions for reassurance, guidance and personalised advice. They expect not just stability from their financial partners but agility and foresight.

This creates a valuable opportunity to strengthen relationships by demonstrating a clear understanding of each client’s evolving needs. By actively gathering client sentiment through interviews, surveys or informal conversations, financial institutions can proactively identify emerging concerns and signals. Combined with real-time data, these insights enable more empathetic, expert and responsive engagement. A continuous feedback loop builds trust while enabling tailored, context-aware interactions aligned with individual goals and risk profiles.

Why a customer intelligence strategy is imperative in the finance industry?

Customer intelligence has emerged as a vital strategic asset across leading financial institutions. Major players such as JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and UBS have publicly acknowledged that harnessing client data and advanced analytics is fundamental for competitive differentiation and innovation. JPMorgan Chase’s 2024 Investor Day report² demonstrated this by highlighting how they integrate AI-powered insights with client data that allows for hyper-personalised experiences, improved risk management and identification of new revenue opportunities.

By integrating transactional records, digital behaviours and direct client feedback, financial firms can craft messaging, product offerings and content that resonate deeply on an individual level considering clients’ financial goals, life stages and risk appetites. This granular approach drives significantly higher engagement rates, improves campaign performance and nurtures the emotional connections essential to trust in finance.

Furthermore, the ability to adjust campaigns dynamically in response to geopolitical or economic developments ensures communications remain relevant, timely and impactful, even during volatile periods.

These client-centric insights enable marketers to remain agile. As geopolitical and economic shifts influence customer sentiment, real-time data empowers campaigns and communications to adapt swiftly, ensuring ongoing relevance even amid volatility.

Ultimately, this intelligence transforms marketing from a simple promotional tool into a value-generating, trust-building engine that underpins long-term loyalty and sustainable growth.

Example in practice

A Swiss investment bank can send a targeted customer survey to corporate clients operating in regions affected by geopolitical tensions, such as the conflict in Ukraine or trade uncertainties in Asia-Pacific. The survey gathers detailed feedback on clients’ current concerns, risk tolerance and priorities for managing exposure to the volatile markets they operate in.

Using these insights, the bank’s business development and marketing teams design highly personalised outreach campaigns. They offer tailored solutions like currency hedging, geopolitical risk insurance and portfolio diversification strategies, all aligned with each client’s specific risk profile and industry context.

Communications are delivered through clients’ preferred channels, whether secure digital platforms, personalised emails or exclusive webinars with market experts and timed strategically around unfolding geopolitical events to maximise relevance.

This survey-driven, data-informed approach not only deepens client engagement but also reinforces the bank’s role as a proactive and trusted advisor, helping Swiss corporations confidently navigate uncertainty and adapt their investment strategies in real time.

The strategic role of marketing in a new financial era

Traditionally viewed as a support function, marketing in financial services is now a strategic driver of growth and differentiation. In an industry where products can be commoditised and regulation limits price flexibility, the ability to connect with clients on a personal and emotional level has become a true competitive edge.

Marketing becomes the voice of the institution, shaping how clients perceive value, trust and responsiveness in moments that matter, from onboarding and advisory to crisis communication and retention. Client insight and data-driven understanding are elevating the role of marketing by equipping teams with the tools to engage clients with greater precision, relevance and intent.

This evolution positions marketing as a central pillar of client strategy that is not only focused on acquisition, but increasingly on nurturing and deepening long-term relationships. When guided by valuable client data and insights, marketing becomes a continuous, adaptive conversation, one that builds loyalty, drives revenue and reinforces the institution’s role as a trusted advisor.

How marketing powers strategic growth in wealth management

In a landscape where financial products can feel commoditised and regulatory constraints limit pricing flexibility, a leading Swiss wealth management institution sought to differentiate itself and deepen client relationships.

The firm needed a way to enable its client advisers to deliver highly relevant, timely insights personalised to each client’s context without sacrificing efficiency or compliance.

To meet this need, the institution partnered with a major technology provider to build an AI-driven assistant powered by cloud-based AI search and generative AI services. The firm digitised approximately 60,000 investment advice and product documents into a knowledge base.

AI-powered personalisation: Advisers receive contextual prompts and relevant insights tailored to each client’s situation and trading preferences.
Scalable intelligence: The AI solution is built to handle high volumes with cloud-scale provisioned throughput, ensuring high performance during live client interactions.
Regulatory compliance: The platform supports strict data controls and uses Swiss-based infrastructure, maintaining confidentiality and compliance while enabling innovation.

Timely and highly relevant engagement: Marketing content is delivered via advisers who leverage the AI assistant to craft personalised messaging, ensuring relevance during onboarding, market updates and advisory moments.
Humanised touch at scale: Instead of mass emails, clients receive targeted outreach that reflects their individual portfolios, concerns and language preferences.
Advisor empowerment: Marketing becomes the institution’s trusted voice—an enabler rather than a broadcaster—delivering consistent, high-quality engagement across touchpoints.

Efficient personalisation: The AI assistant dramatically reduces preparation time for advisers while boosting the relevance and quality of client interactions.
Consistent institutional messaging: The marketing teams of the firm can craft centrally aligned narratives and campaigns that advisers adapt in real time using the assistant.
Strategic value realisation for the firm: This initiative exemplifies how marketing, supported by customer intelligence, can turn client advisories and engagement into value-generating, loyalty-building experiences.

Turning volatility into opportunity through intelligence

From geopolitical conflict to shifting economic alliances, clients are looking for more than just stable financial returns. They seek reassurance, relevance and recognition. This is where customer intelligence becomes indispensable.

By continuously gathering and analysing both direct and behavioural client feedback, financial institutions can stay attuned to changing needs, concerns and expectations in real time. This insight is not static; it evolves as the global landscape shifts. Whether clients are reacting to market instability, political developments or personal milestones, their mindset is in motion and so must be the institution’s approach.

For marketing teams, this means moving beyond static campaigns and broad segmentation. It calls for a dynamic, intelligence-driven strategy that adapts messaging, offers and tone based on what matters most to each client in the moment. From calm reassurance during a market shock to relevant product suggestions aligned with new financial goals, marketing becomes a trusted extension of the client relationship, not an interruption.

In this environment, institutions that integrate customer intelligence into both strategy and execution will not only personalise at scale, but also build resilience, relevance and long-term loyalty. They will turn volatility into opportunity and insight into lasting competitive advantage.

In the next articles, we will examine in depth the strategies, advanced technologies and real-world practices that allow financial institutions to harness customer intelligence, convert it into actionable insights, craft highly personalised client experiences and establish a sustainable competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving market.