In 2008, Kevin Kelly, the founding editor of Wired, proposed the 1,000 True Fans theory. Attract a thousand loyal fans to your Fintech startup or any other business – and you’ll make money. However, this might seem unrealistic for a Fintech startup.

Li Jin, the co-founder of Variant Fund, lowered the initial goal to 100 loyal customers. In her opinion, businesses can succeed by giving their most loyal fans more value at a higher price. Although this number of clients sounds quite realistic, attracting 100 brand followers in a highly competitive environment is difficult. You can achieve this goal with a clear marketing strategy for Fintech startups. Let’s look at the most efficient ways to acquire your first 100 customers.

Related: 7 Things to Consider Before Launching a Fintech Startup

Typical problems Fintech startups face

Recruiting the first 100 grateful clients is difficult. The market has strict requirements for newcomers:

The industry has a low barrier to entry

According to Statista, the number of startups in the U.S., EMEA, and Asia-Pacific has nearly tripled in the past 4 years. Consumers like mobile banking apps, so investment in Fintech companies is growing. Project ideas for the financial industry are more relevant than ever.

Users don’t entrust sensitive data to unfamiliar apps.

Users trust financial apps that have a large audience and positive reviews. Although the App Store and Google Play check each platform for safety and quality before publication, not all people buy new products.

A startup should invent a brilliant Fintech marketing strategy to interest users and convert them into loyal customers.

A business doesn’t know how to turn customers into leads.

To make a product visible and demanded, startup initiators must understand their target audience and know how to convert one-time visitors into leads.

An efficient working sales funnel will introduce a product to users and lead different clients to purchase. An advanced Fintech marketing strategy will help to build scenarios of interaction with each customer type to accompany them in sales until they buy a product.

To acquire its first 100 customers, a business should use a proven Fintech marketing strategy. So, here are five ways to acquire new customers:

1. Use personalization to communicate with your target audience

According to Epsilon, 80% of users prefer brands that offer personalized services.

Project initiators should remember that all customers are unique, adapt software solutions to specific purposes, and personalize marketing messages. Specialists interview users to find out their problems and segment them into groups.

This division of the target audience will help build more personalized communication with customers. Augmenting Fintech startup marketing with AI will help you create targeted text messages and product/service recommendations.

Related: Launching A Fintech Startup? Here’s How We Built Ours

2. Convince customers with powerful words: Build a content promotion strategy

When users are looking for software solutions for financial issues, they search on the internet. By entering keywords, they find relevant material. Marketers can use people’s desire to learn more information and compare apps to build a content promotion strategy.

The main thing is to find keywords that will answer customers’ concerns and create useful content. Write an article comparing several services, and favorably disclose the advantages of your financial software. Create a top list of investment apps mentioning your product. Tell a post-story of a customer who solved a problem with your app, and describe its functionality.

Various content will encourage potential customers to try a free version of the product, sign up for a demo or buy a discounted subscription.

3. Take care of the visual component of a Fintech app

Many studies confirm that product branding has a direct impact on the decision-making process. Navigation, colors, styles, and focus on customers’ values determine whether people buy a digital product.

Everything is important: the message of the text, the font size, the distance between elements and the color of objects. The right combination of these encourages customers to take targeted actions.

Involve experienced UX/UI designers with the knowledge of key psychological principles in creating a landing page. They will place priority buttons so that users can easily find and click them. An advertised object must point at a call-to-action element.

4. Make gamification in financial software your trump card

Gamification has attracted the attention of non-gaming app creators. According to Yu-kai Chou, customers feel successful when using apps. This mechanism works just like psychological triggers, making it easier to interact with serious financial programs.

Gamification can become a lead magnet. Surely, customers would be interested in a Fintech platform integrated with a fitness tracker. A bank can give an interest rate of 3% for reaching a fitness goal of 10,000 steps. An offer of investment education in a simulated environment sounds enticing as well.

By cleverly advertising financial product game features (avatars, quizzes, rewards, infographics, etc.), you’ll surprise customers and gain new ones.

Related: 6 Great Content Marketing Examples for Fintech Startups

5. Resort to referral Fintech marketing

In 2012, Nielsen found that 92% of people trust word of mouth more than traditional advertising when making purchasing decisions. The situation has not changed yet: Nine out of 10 buyers trust reviews of their friends, acquaintances and other users.

Use referral marketing to reach the target figure of 100 clients faster. It is a powerful mechanism for acquiring new customers. Ask your first users to share positive impressions about your brand with their acquaintances, and offer them a pleasant bonus for that (a cash reward, an individual discount, etc.).

Engaged customers will tell a story of a product/service value better than a marketer will. They reveal the benefits of the brand from the user’s perspective. Conduct a quick survey to find out what rewards your clients want. Work with them until you gain the right number of loyal customers.

It won’t be easy to get your first 100 clients, but we have pointed out five of the most effective major ways to do so. Start small, test ideas, and use different combinations of marketing Fintech activities. Through trial and error, you’ll discover a working formula for success.