Village Tavern Menu and Marketing

So, by now you all know that I live in Broomfield, CO. My home is about 10 minutes from a fabulous mall that several amazing restaurants call home.

This week, I felt at a loss for words. If you know me well, you are LOL right now..."a loss for words, Jenna...HAHAHAHAHA!!!" That changed today when I had a revelation while enjoying my birthday lunch with my husband at my favorite tavern-not-bar restaurant. The Village Tavern. Some of the best French Onion soup I've had.

On this fine birthday, I noticed something on the menu that I hadn't noticed in the past. It was a bacon and gruyere cheese flatbread. Bacon, cheese, bread...we have a winner!!! I ordered it, ate it and LOVED it. Officially, this flatbread slice of yumminess goes in the craveable category for me.

I asked my server how long it has been on the menu. She replied with, "forever." Really, forever? "Well, for as long as I have worked here, and I have been here for 3 years." WOW. I have been coming here a few times a month for the last 2 years and have never noticed this cheesy perfection before.

That's when she said it..."Oh, well if you come at lunch time you wouldn't have seen it because it has only been on the dinner menu. It sells really well as an appetizer for the dinner crowd so the chef thought he would offer it to the lunch crowd too."

I asked for a copy of the dinner menu. For the most part the lunch and dinner menus were nearly identical...with a few exceptions like prime rib, big steaks, etc. But everything else was the same. I will cut slack to the heavy hitters like beef...but a flatbread! Good grief.

So, forgetting about the steaks for a minute, and relating this to banking...what if you promoted your HELOC product through statement stuffers? Or, better yet, what if you only told your customers about your HELOC product if they asked.

I can try really hard to relate this, and when I started typing I had a couple of really good points. And they are still VERY important, but not be totally related to my flatbread. I think I just wanted you all to know how awesome it was!!!

So, the point:
1. Know your audience
You would have better luck selling ice to a penguin than you would have selling a HELOC to a 20-year old college kid with a zero balance in his free checking account. When you are marketing your products, utilize the tools available to you. Many MCIF systems have a predictive modeling tool that can help you. And if you aren't that lucky, use common sense. Market your HELOCs right after a mortgage gets approved (within your lending standards of course).

If you want to work on deposits, look at your pool of customers and how many have direct deposit coming in. Those with direct deposit are the most likely to (or at least the most eligible to) have the desire to establish a longer-term savings program.

2. Communication
Tell the world how awesome you are. Don't make your customers work to figure out whether or not you offer a certain product. Many customers will go with what they know and trust...or, if there isn't a strong relationship, whoever asks first. Do you buy Thin Mints to the first girl scout who asks politely or do you hold out hoping that your niece decided to stay in the scouts for one more year? Unfortunately, many decisions are made this way...in the absence of a strong relationship and knowledge of products, decisions are made with the first person who brings you an offer you know you love.

Build those relationships. Communicate with your customers, frequently, consistently, accurately, and lovingly. Without them you have nothing.

Have a great week!!
Jenna