There's A Movement Afoot

My friends, there's a movement afoot ... figuratively and literally.

On December 29, a new Group was created on Facebook called "Move Your Money." The goal of this "project" is to get consumers to move their money from big "Wall Street" banks to local "Main Street" banks and credit unions. As of today, just 2 weeks later, there are 21,852 fans of this page, I've seen it mentioned on several national broadcast news shows and I've read about it in 2 large article.

With 4 CEOs of some of the nation's largest banks scheduled for a Congress whipping session - the circus is coming to town. Expect this to even trump NBC's late night soap opera.

What is your community bank or credit union doing to take advantage of this?

Seriously, folks this is the biggest gift under the Christmas tree just a few weeks late! If you are not emphasizing marketing now and preparing for the big bank run-off, you WILL miss out - there's just no other way to put it. There will be a short window of opportunity to spend smart money and capture market share from competition whom you've traditionally had a hard time battling due to brand awareness, the sheer number of branches and an enormous marketing budget.

As marketers, I'm sure that your head is buzzing with big ideas on how to capitalize on this - I know mine is ... I'm just waiting for the first community bank or credit union to call and ask for help.

Take care,

Eric

Brand YOU Day

As marketers, we all understand the importance of branding, but how do you craft YOUR brand as your bank or credit union’s marketing department?

A solid internal brand can transform marketing from the “arts and crafts” department to the strategic thought leaders … from the “ad guys” to an indispensible planning resource … from an expense to a valuable INVESTMENT.

As with any brand, your department’s brand needs to be differentiating, relevant and speak to a need.

Be Differentiating: The Marketing Department should be the ONLY one-stop resource for all information within your market.  Among other things, you should be the expert on:

• How your current customers perceive and use the bank
  
• How potential customers perceive your bank and use their bank
  
• What a potential customer looks like and where they live
  
• What the competition is doing (or not doing)
  
• What the financial trends are in the market
  

Each planning session, it should be your department that leads the conversation with the management team and the Board on market conditions and a basic SWAT analysis to establish a mind-set and get everyone on the same page.

Be Relevant: Banks are more in the forefront of American’s minds that they’ve been in generations.  And people are crafting their opinion of you and your peers by what they see on CNN and the local news.

The bottom line is that YOU are the sculptor and guardian of your institution’s image.  No one else in the bank, not even the CEO, is as concerned about the perception of your bank as you are.  From the front-line interaction to the sales collateral to the external communication - you are responsible for the customer experience at every touch point.  What could be more relevant?

Speak to a Need: Remember who your internal target audience is … the CEO, CFO and Board.  Of these, most have a finance background and focus.  So, speaking about creative awards will not necessarily address what is important to them.

You need to speak in your target’s language … cold hard numbers!  A solid understanding and sharing of your marketing ROI will go a long way to adding value to your department’s brand.  Consider this … if your CEO has only $1 to invest in the institution, where will they get the best return?  An investment at today’s rates?  More technology, branches or personnel?  Or a sound marketing program that can generate 120% plus ROI?

We just need to take our own medicine and put the same emphasis on our internal brand as we put on our bank’s brand.  Imagine what it could do for your involvement in key decisions, job security and your overall marketing budget.  

As always, please share your thoughts as a comment below.  Or if you think I'm full of it ... please share that too!!!

Take care,

Eric

Change is the Word

If there’s one word that can sum up 2008, it might be “Change.”

Not only was it the steadfast motto that helped to win a historic presidential election, but it also is inherent in so much of our industry.

Now, it would be easy to talk about the change in the government’s increased roll in banking or the change in how mortgages are looked at.  But, let’s be honest … those topic have been beat to death.

What may be the most important change to anyone who’s reading this blog is the change in consumers PERCEPTIONS of the banking industry.

When I was a credit union marketing VP, I preached to management and my Board that consumers only wanted good acces to their money, a good deal and for the staff to smile at them occasionally … they did NOT, in my opinion and in very general terms, care about our involvement in the community or in the not-for-profit “credit union difference.”

I’m not saying that I was wrong – because I wasn’t – but times have changed.

With buzz phrases like “golden parachutes,” “sub-prime lending,” “predatory lending,” and “bail out” flying around, it is no wonder that the country’s perception of banking has changed … particularly BIG BANKING.

If you’re a credit union – the “not-for-profit” message will differentiate now.  If you’re a community bank, the “good neighbor” message will strike a cord.  In short, we should get back to the fundamentals and directly address this change in perception.  Are your bank’s decisions made locally with the customer’s and community’s best interest in mind?  Now consumers will care.  Have you helped local small business to start and flourish?  Now consumers may listen.

In short, CHANGE IS GOOD.  And as small to mid-sized financial institutions, we should not only embrace it, but capitalize on it.

Take care,

Eric