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Author Update: Check out all posts in this series! Links are included below.

Where some see challenges, others see opportunities. That was certainly the case for financial services marketers who were early adopters of digital marketing. These pioneers overcame status quo-and in many cases, strong resistance to change-to leverage channels like apps, email, mobile, social, digital advertising and the web. They took a page from the playbook of retailers, and in the process, raised the bar for the rest of the financial services industry.

But truth be told, those described above still represent the minority. There have been many studies to assess the digital marketing maturity of banks, wealth managers and insurers, and most findings share one thing in common: A small percentage of financial services institutions are taking full advantage of digital's potential.

Banks are a prime example. Increasingly, consumers reward those that cross the digital divide-and leave those that don't. According to a 2015 Accenture study of 16,000 banking customers, 27% purchased or subscribed to a new financial product or service in the previous six months. That's the good news. The bad? They're buying less and less from their current providers. The study also shows that 20% of bank customers are digital-only users, 58% of customers use mobile devices often when prospecting or seeking support, and the average customer digitally interacts online with his or her main bank 10 times per month (3 of which are via mobile or tablet).

Wealth managers aren't getting off any easier. Baby boomers are passing along their assets to heirs, but over half the time, not their advisors. A recent PWC survey showed attrition rates of more than 50% for intergenerational transfers of wealth. To put that in perspective, by 2020, generation X and millennials will control more than half of all investable assets. Here's an inside tip advisors: You can be absolutely certain the recipients of that $30 trillion will have vastly different digital expectations.

Which bring us to insurers. Of the more than 158,000 insurance consumers surveyed by Bain & Company in 2014, 79% expect to use a digital channel for insurance interactions. Yet almost half of property and casualty insurers say they're unprepared to deliver digital journeys.

So Where Does this Leave You?

Okay, enough of the scary stats. If you've read this far, you're either feeling great about your digital strategy-or you're ready to tackle the challenge once and for all. For those with some catching up to do, we're here to help.

Over the next several weeks, marketingcloud.com will cover a variety of topics tailored specifically to financial services marketers. We'll examine key aspects of the financial services customer journey, and provide tips and tactics for providing great experiences each step of the way. In addition, the series will look at the technical considerations that must be addressed to achieve success.

While there is no one-size-fits-all formula, we'll help you answer key questions from both a best practices and technical perspective:

What do newly acquired customers expect from financial services organizations? Why are the first 90-days so critical, and how can marketers use digital channels and engaging content to create loyalty from day one?

Now Available!

What are the keys to onboarding new financial services customers? How can cross-channel marketing help?

Now Available!

The easiest and least expensive prospects are current customers-how can you leverage existing data and digital marketing to cross sell and upsell?

Now Available!

What tactics and tools drive advisor productivity and make it easy to manage customer relationships from first identification all the way through the lifecycle?

Now Available!

How do successful financial services firms achieve maximum ROI through digital adoption? How can your firm do the same?

Now Available!

We hope you find the series valuable. In the meantime, be sure to check out the 2016 State of Marketing Report. It includes tips and best practices from nearly 4,000 marketers-it's a great resource for shaping your digital marketing strategy.