ING Group is a global financial services company operating in banking, insurance and asset management areas. ING Bank, which operates 350 branches in Turkey, perceived the rise in mobile and cross-device usage as a key opportunity, seeing mobile as the heart of banking in the future. “In Turkey, mobile grows with tremendous speed,” explains Feyza Tamer, the company’s Senior Vice President for Digital Marketing and Bancassurance. “According to the latest data, the number of mobile internet users tripled and mobile data consumption quadrupled in only two years.”

In the past, ING had primarily focused its digital campaigns on performance and cost per lead. In order to capitalise on the potential of mobile web banking however, Google advised ING Bank that success in mobile platforms would require a long-term commitment.

Banking on a mobile-first approach

ING revamped its website using responsive web design and optimised both the mobile landing pages and online loan application process. “We adopted the ‘mobile first’ strategy,” Feyza says. “We built the whole strategy on offering a full-fledged and perfect end-to-end banking service on mobile.

”After the launch of the responsive website, ING shifted focus to promoting the site to mobile audiences. The Google team helped ING to design and optimise its AdWords campaigns to drive performance on mobile. The goal was to use mobile as a new sales channel to boost consumer loan applications. Specifically, the activity aimed to generate leads and minimise the cost per acquisition.

Mobile sales are up, costs are down

Following the launch of ING’s responsive website, 30% of all online applications now come from mobile. Thanks to AdWords mobile optimisation strategies, ING has seen consumer loan sales through AdWords mobile grow fourfold while the cost per acquisition has dropped by 57%. Today, 60% of total applications via mobile channels come through AdWords mobile ads. What’s the secret to this success? “We started designing our banking processes primarily for mobile, and adapted to desktop and other devices,” Feyza says. “Our customers can easily access our products and quickly apply on their mobile devices. We will be continuously investing on mobile and providing need-based solutions.”