Once upon a time, every town had a bank. And the bank served its customers who made deposits, wrote a couple of checks and maybe had a mortgage. The End.
When I was a kid, I called those days, "The Olden Days." As an adult and passionate marketer, I call those days, "The Irrelevant Days." Relevancy is subjective in that what is relevant to my grandmother is not relevant to my parents and what is relevant to my parents is not relevant to me.
I don't want to get on my Generational Marketing Soapbox again...you all have heard about it and it is in your hands whether or not your bank chooses to embrace the knowledge and take action. So let's talk about relevancy and how the shift has happened.
Nick Vaglio and Bruce Clapp, in their book, "Shift Happens: The New Age of Bank Marketing," talk about customer advocacy and how banks are losing their advocates at alarming rates because of their failure to remain relevant to those customers. Advocacy doesn't come from one demographic...it encompasses ALL generations, races, religions, and any other qualifier you care to throw in the mix. Baby boomers cannot be viewed as one homogeneous group. People aged between 44 and 62 have VERY different needs.
I have a good friend (Jen) who is 45 with a 16 year old son who sports a mohawk. My dad is 62 and has a countdown to retirement calendar on his desktop. Technically, they are both baby boomers. Do you really think you can market effectively to the "boomer group" if you lump them into one category?
EVERYONE is looking for the institution that is in tune with their lifestyle. My dad wants an institution that will help him manage his money and provide income direction post-retirement...a "banker" that understands his lifestyle and can help him maintain his standard of living. Jen, on the other hand, wants convenience. A bank that is quick, fast and efficient, allows unlimited debit card usage and maybe an easy way to save for not just her future, but her son's as well.
Can you do both? If you can't, you're in trouble. And don't forget the youth segment (those kiddos between 18 and 25) who are 30% of the US population, spend about $200 billion per year and have a say in household decisions. Oh, and in the next 10 years they will reach an income of $3.48 TRILLION putting them light years ahead of the Baby Boomers.
Can your bank afford to NOT be relevant? Read the book...it will help, I promise. And if you can't afford the book, email me (jrowland@marketmatch.com) because in my opinion, you can't afford to NOT not be relevant.
Make today an extraordinary RELEVANT day!
Jenna
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