Embedded payments are becoming the norm for consumer apps, and businesses now want to reap the benefits as well. It’s a great opportunity for banks, fintechs and their corporate clients – but it also introduces new challenges for marketing B2B embedded payments.
Go-to-market plans must prioritize use cases
B2B embedded payments marketing is definitely not one-size-fits-all. Over the past year we’ve been collaborating with clients to help bring their embedded solutions to market and build momentum. One of the standout challenges we’re seeing is that to differentiate, both positioning and messaging have to be very nuanced.
Why? Because payment capabilities can be embedded into many types of systems, for a wide range of use cases. And target clients will likely have multiple stakeholders involved in evaluating and choosing a solution.
Recently Beyond the Arc CEO Steven Ramirez shared a video chat with treasury management and payments marketing expert Tracey Steever. She highlighted some of the complexities with marketing B2B embedded payments:
As Steven and Tracey discuss, given the diverse use cases for embedded payments, building buy-in with clients may mean marketing from a number of different perspectives. Go-to-market plans need to include clear prioritization of targeted buyer roles and industry verticals, with clarity about the problems and pain points the embedded solution intends to address.
Marketing B2B embedded payments needs a customer lens
We’ve found that the CFO or VP Finance is always a key stakeholder for an embedded payment solution, even if the primary decisionmaker may be a head of product or digital transformation.
For corporate finance leaders, streamlining operations for greater efficiency is a top priority. How will the embedded solution deliver productivity gains and make processes easier? In what ways will it simplify reconciliation and speed month-end close? These are common concerns as they oversee financial functions – and yet they may mean different things at companies in different industries.
It’s important to understand the questions that various stakeholders may have on their minds. And more importantly, be prepared to frame the answers in specific contexts based on use cases and verticals.
Marketing embedded payments means seeing through the customer lens. That means tailoring content to focus on how different stakeholders can achieve the business wins that matter to them.
Compliance is the most important consideration
Compliance is another factor complicating B2B embedded payments marketing. As new capabilities are ramping up, so are regulatory concerns. Some early adopters of embedded finance have sparked issues that are attracting closer scrutiny from regulators. As a result, solution providers now going to market are needing to be even more cautious than usual about positioning and messaging.
For over a decade, Beyond the Arc has been tracking fintech innovation, including compliance issues that often arise with new technologies. This perspective enables us to better understand some of the challenges our banking clients face, and considerations that impact marketing.
Thought leadership is critical for B2B embedded payments marketing
Banking and fintech providers are seeing there’s a need to educate corporate clients on the opportunities and value of embedded payments. That takes more than just explaining the features and benefits of a payment solution. Marketers also need to make the business case and support it with insights and thought leadership.
B2B solutions are often complex offerings with highly technical elements. Yet marketing narratives need to resonate with an array of business audiences, not just developers. Embedded payments marketing needs deep expertise in both financial services and industry verticals, and the ability to convey important takeaways in simple and relatable ways.
B2B embedded payments marketing with Beyond the Arc
Bringing our payments and fintech expertise, we can partner with banks and fintech companies to help them successfully launch and drive growth for B2B embedded solutions.
We provide end-to-end support, from go-to-market strategies and product positioning, to content creation for web and social, sales enablement, and thought leadership.
Frequently asked questions about B2B embedded payments marketing
What are embedded payments?
Embedded payment solutions enable companies to process transactions directly within an existing digital system (financial or non-financial) to simplify money movement, keep users engaged, and streamline operations.
It means end-users may be able to send, receive, track and report on payments within the same website, app or platform they are currently using. It’s a frictionless experience that avoids the need to switch to a third-party service or toggle between desktop applications.
Why are embedded payments important?
Embedded solutions represent a significant advancement over the traditional payment process. Typically, online transactions have required redirecting users to an external screen or site. It adds extra steps (that may include entering logins and payment details) that create a disjointed experience.
How do embedded payments work?
Typically, embedded solutions center on collaboration. A fintech or other technology provider partners with a bank’s robust payments infrastructure and industry knowledge – and together, they can offer solutions tailored to client needs.
API integration connects client systems, payment gateways and processors to enable transactions, real-time reporting and analytics. Security technologies help protect payer data. And often, embedded solutions are white-label and can be customized to match the brand of the host system, and work across any device the host system supports.
What are some success factors for marketing embedded payment solutions
Like any technology scenario, many factors may contribute to the success of embedded solutions. For B2B marketers, the top job is convincing buyers that they understand the challenges and needs of their audiences. As such, product positioning and content needs to focus on the core ways the solutions add business value.
How do you design a go-to-market strategy for embedded payments?
The first steps are to create a differentiating value proposition and core messages. Then it’s time to clarify how, what, and when you will engage your target audiences—across roles and industry verticals.
There are many ways to visualize the client journey and map the strategy. Essentially you want to outline your action plan for communications at various stages from brand awareness and discovery, to consideration, to nurturing the purchase decision. The strategy should also include a post-conversion phase to represent CRM and retention.
What is an example of using thought leadership content to accelerate the sales cycle?
To help close deals more quickly and drive sales engagement, Beyond the Arc agency partnered with Bankjoy to develop a monthly content calendar for blogs and whitepapers. For content creation, we proposed strategic topics that addressed key issues faced by Bankjoy’s target audiences. We then built out content with research and financial copywriting.
This thought leadership content aimed to highlight industry challenges that are being solved with the latest digital banking capabilities. No hard or soft sell, just underscoring the need for (and advantages of) solutions like Bankjoy.