Traditional Banks At Risk Due to Digital Disruption

According to two recent reports from Accenture, 35 percent of banks' market share in North America could be in play by 2020 as traditional branch banking gives way to new digital players. The research also indicates that 15 to 25 percent of today's roughly 7,000 North American financial institutions could be gone as a result of consolidation before 2020.

To combat this shift, Accenture recommends that traditional providers take a radically new approach to distribution, combining a simpler yet more comprehensive branch offering with integrated digital services.

"Digital technology and rapid changes in customer preferences are threatening full-service banks that do business primarily through branches," said Wayne Busch, managing director of Accenture's North America banking practice and author of the report, A Critical Balancing Act: Retail Banking in the Digital Era. "Given the scale of these disruptions, traditional full-service banks, as a group, could lose significant market share by 2020 -- to banks that reorient around digital technologies and to new entrants from the retail and technology sectors."

Digital Disruption

New digital technologies, emerging digital competitors and the extremely rapid changes in customer preferences are threatening to dramatically impact those full-service banks that limit themselves to products and services that get distributed primarily through physical branch channels. The outside disruptors tend to be more agile and more innovative, while traditional banks are weighed down by unprofitable branches, legacy back offices and inefficient silos. 

Business as usual is no longer an option in an industry that could see up to 25 percent of U.S. banks disappear completely.

In conducting online interviews with more than 2,000 US retail banking customers of the 15 leading retail banks in the U.S., Accenture found that 71 percent said they were “satisfied” with their bank and 68 percent said they would be “extremely likely” to recommend their primary bank to a friend, family member or colleague. In addition, only 9 percent of those surveyed switched institutions over the past year.

This loyalty is fragile, however, since more than a quarter (26 percent) of bank customers who remain with their primary provider do so simply because they consider switching to be a hassle, while about half said they haven't seen a competing offer that was attractive enough to make them move. The survey also found that two-thirds of bank customers would consider a branch closure as inconvenient and nearly half would switch banks as a result.

Source: 2013 Accenture Retail Banking Survey

This not only exposes the tenuous relationship banks have with their customers. It also confirms that the right offering and approach can induce them to switch. "The core challenge for banks: how to build a seamless digital customer experience -- and optimize its power with a better and more cost-effective complimentary offering in the branches that customers find so attractive," concludes Accenture.

The Disruption Has Already Begun

According to Accenture, many banks have already begun losing their customers to digital disruptors. The survey showed that customers acquired 34 percent of traditional banking services such as CDs, money market accounts, personal and auto loans and even new checking and savings accounts from institutions other than their primary bank.

Source: 2013 Accenture Retail Banking Survey

While traditional players have the innate advantage of extensive branch networks that the customer still says they value (nearly 60 percent of new product sales are still closed in branches), these same players should be concerned about the the transition to an online sales environment.

The growth rates in online sales since 2012 are strong in several categories, with online auto loans growing from 11 percent to 21 percent in the past year, online sales of mortgages rising from 15 percent last year to 25 percent in 2013 and sales of personal loans through the online channels jumping from 8 percent to 24 percent in only one year.

Source: 2013 Accenture Retail Banking Survey

It is clear that the most fundamental question in the post-financial crisis environment has changed from "how do I find my future customer' to 'how do my future customers find me?" As discussed in my recent post, Is Your Bank Ready for Customer 3.0, digital shifts inside and outside the industry are rapidly changing the information flows and the way that financial firms and customers interact. It is imperative for banks to become an integral part of customers' lives with a ubiquitous presence wherever customers are.

The branch banking conundrum continues, however, since customers still use branches due to proximity. Branches continue to be the number one reason for loyalty and 78 percent believe they will use their branch as often or more often in five years' time. Conversely, with increased use of services like mobile deposit, there has been a 50 percent increase in the number of customers indicating they are using mobile banking in 2013 (32%) than in 2012 (21%).

Source: 2013 Accenture Retail Banking Survey

"The internet is now the most frequently accessed distribution channel on a monthly basis . . . well above the branch. And mobile use has soared in the past year, almost overtaking the ATM in its perceived importance to customers," says the survey.

While the migration to online and mobile channels has been somewhat additive as opposed to a complete transition of behavior, online and mobile banking will continue to weaken the branch's stronghold on the consumer as better applications and more seamless experiences are developed. This migration is imperative due to the high cost to build and maintain a branch and the misalignment between the cost and value of the branch channel.

A Path for the Future

In light of the digital disruption in the marketplace, and as expanded regulation, more onerous capital requirements, economic volatility and consolidation continues, banks need a lower cost operating model that can generate more predictable and sustainable revenues. Branch networks need to be restructured, reducing the number of large footprint offices and increasing the number of 'light' branches and kiosks.

And while some industry observers believe we are quickly moving to a 'branchless' industry, Accenture and others (myself included) believe the environment will be more of a 'less-branch' scenario, at least in the next five to ten years (Chase continues to add branch locations as do other large and mid-sized organizations). But there must be a response to the customer-centric capabilities of the digital players who can leverage big data and analytics to build a better customer experience.

Move to Digital

With inertia being the main reason current bank customers don't switch, traditional banks need to quickly mimic the new digital banking leaders. Agility and a stronger innovative culture will be required to compete effectively as our industry invests to upgrade our legacy back offices and deeper customer insights will need to be leveraged to provide real-time solutions to customer needs. 

As mentioned in my recent post, Bank Product Proliferation: Too Much of a Good Thing, banks and credit unions will also need to eliminate antiquated products, streamline offerings and build new services that leverage the new digital delivery capabilities. By using digital capabilities to track transactional and channel behavior, banks will be able to develop better services and offer new solutions in real-time. This enhances cross-sell opportunities and can increase share of wallet.

Restructure the Branch Network

According to the Accenture research, the top 25 U.S. banks spend more than $50 billion per year to maintain oversized and poorly placed branch networks. While Accenture acknowledges the importance of a branch network, they propose a less costly branch banking model that can balance the sales capability with the digital opportunity:

• 'Light' branches: Oriented primarily to sales, these offices represent less than a third of the network and are highly automated with a minimal staff and reduced real estate footprint leveraging remote advisory specialists.
  
• Kiosks: Representing up to half the total network, these units include feature heavy ATMs with video, and can handle routine transaction activities.
  
• Full-service 'hubs': Similar to conventional branches (but fewer in number), these offices offer full sales and transactional support with extended hours and specialized advisors for services like mortgages, investments, business banking, etc.
  
• Flagships: A minimal number of strategically located flagships will serve as the center of service-excellence, combining a full range of capabilities including expanded self-service tools.

While many banks are already experimenting with more open and flexible branch formats, there doesn't seem to be a silver bullet yet in response to the digital disruption occurring. A bigger question may be which branches to close or reconfigure, especially with the looming eyes of the Community Investment Act (CRA) regulators looking over the industry's shoulder.

"The acceleration in consumer acceptance of digital banking in the past year -- particularly in the areas of mobile banking and online banking product sales -- foreshadows the need for a very different banking landscape in 2020," said Goodson from Accenture. "Branches remain vital to banks, but they need to be reimagined as one one aspect of a radically new approach to consumers. It is an opportunity to recover profitability, reduce costs and to establish a much more sustainable relationship with customers into the future."

The Best of Both Worlds

Given the scope of disruption impacting our industry, organizations need to start their transformation today if they want to be relevant in the year 2020 according to the complimentary Accenture report, Banking 2020: As the Storm Abates, North American Banks Must Chart a New Course to Capture Emerging Opportunities. 

The winning formula may well be to combine the advantages of the traditional bank with the benefits of the digital bank. By reducing the cost structure of branches and optimizing the products and services provided, yesterday's banks can move into the future leveraging a core strategic asset (a reconfigured branch network) complemented by an enhanced digital experience across all channels.

To succeed, traditional banks must become significantly more agile (no more three year planning cycles), embrace an innovative culture (see my post Banking Innovation: Not Made in the U.S.A.), focus on simplification and optimization while delivering an exceptional customer experience . . . in real-time. This is a very lofty ambition for an industry that historically moves at a snail's pace, but there really are no options.

More importantly, traditional full-service banks must shift their operating philosophy from being a product-oriented organization to being a customer-centric organization with the ability to engage with customers anywhere, anytime they want.

The goal is to become a bigger part of our customers' daily lives and to become integrated with other industries in a seamless manner that reduces friction. Unfortunately, organizations such as PayPal, Square, Google and others are already moving quickly down this path, assuming the role of payments facilitators, supplanting a link to merchants and consumers the banking industry once owned.

Additional Resources

A Critical Balancing Act: Retail Banking in the Digital Era - Accenture (Nov. 2013)

Banking 2020: As the Storm Abates, North American Banks Must Chart a New Course to Capture Emerging Opportunities - Accenture (Nov. 2013)

Say Hello to Customer 3.0 - Accenture (October 2013)

Banking Leaders Predict Major 2013 Trends

Trying to predict what is going to happen in the banking industry is like trying to predict tomorrow's weather. While you may get the forecast right, it could be more a case of luck than skill. And what you see today could quickly change tomorrow.

With that as the backdrop, I asked almost fifty industry leaders who author blogs I read, post on Twitter, speak at industry trade shows or make banking a career for their thoughts on what may be the most important trends in retail banking in 2013.

The predictions ran the gamut from what may occur in payments to how bank distribution could begin to transform. While some focused on larger megatrends, others had a narrower scope. In all cases, however, the predictions provide food for thought for bankers and industry providers. It is clear the one forecast that is guaranteed to be accurate is that the industry will be different this time next year.

Battle For Payment Supremacy Will Continue

The past few years has seen a massive amount of change in the payments world, with a reduction of interchange fees, the infiltration of retailers and non-banks like Starbucks, PayPal, Square, MCX, etc. and the beginning of a shift from plastic to smartphones as the payment device of choice. While past predictions around NFC, an Apple mobile wallet and a cash-less society have not yet come to fruition, there are still no lack of industry luminaries placing bets on how we will transact in the future.

Tom Noyes, author of the mobile, payments and advertising blog, FinVentures, states, "Retailer friendly value propositions (MCX, Square, Levelup, Fishbowl, Google, Facebook, etc.) will get traction . . . but MCX will not deliver for another 2 years."

Ron Shevlin, senior analyst from Aite Group and publisher of the Snarketing 2.0 blog believes the most significant trend in 2013 will be the evolution of the digital wallet concept. According to Shevlin, "The digital wallet will be the new battleground – for technology companies, financial services firms, and retailers/merchants. They say that politics makes strange bedfellows – but so will digital wallets. The evolution of the concept will involve a lot of interesting partnerships and joint ventures." 

Matt Wilcox, senior vice president of Zions Bank and financial industry blogger believes we will begin to see the separation of contenders from pretenders in the payments space. "While there will still be multiple players vying for position, I believe a few companies will begin to emerge as leaders in this space." Alex Bray, retail channel solutions director at Misys in London agrees, saying "I think we will see the market coalesce around a standard form of mobile payments - and contrary to what PayPal may say, I think this will involve NFC."

Delivering On The Promise of 'Big Data'

There is no doubt that 'big data' was overused and misunderstood as a term and underutilized as a tool in 2012. There is also little disagreement among industry leaders that banks will be aiming to use both structured and unstructured data more extensively in 2013 as the collecting, storage and processing capability becomes easier and less costly.

As David Gerbino, digital product, marketing and strategy manager at Provident Bank in New York told me, "The big trend for me every year is data. Not big data, not small data, just the right data". He went on to say, "Once the data elements needed are identified, the challenge becomes using these components correctly to drive success."

Rod Witmond, SVP of rewards platform provider Cardlytics, emphasized the trend of utilizing data from the consumer perspective in 2013 but warned, "Big data can be incredibly insightful but, if it isn't leveraged in a simple way that allows the consumer to maintain their current habits – or adds enough value that the consumer is willing to change their habits – the value of the big data will be lost because consumers don’t ‘try something new or different’ if what they have already is working."

Some of the Twitter responses I received regarding banks improving the utilization of both structured and unstructured data at their disposal included:

Finally, Nate Gardner, vice president of strategic partnerships at Provo Utah based MoneyDesktop, believes that intuitive data visualization will begin to deliver on the promise of big data for banks in 2013. According to Gardner, "Intuitive analytics will make it easier for bank executives and marketing teams to customize the user experience and deliver tailored messaging, product offers and solutions that best meet specific consumer needs and interests."

Transformation of Delivery Channels

Consumers want a convenient, secure and familiar experience when they interact with their bank using mobile, online, phone, ATM or their branch. They also want their bank to realize that they may use multiple channels at the same time. This channel agnostic interaction has been recently referred to as an 'omnichannel' experience in the retail industry.

According to Mary Monahan, EVP and research director at Javelin Strategy, “To correct current shortcomings, FIs will focus on changing their perception of omnichannel banking as necessary rather than novel. Moreover, for FIs to increase or even maintain their competitive positions in the coming years, they will need to invest in developing an integrated architecture wherein data and platforms can seamlessly converge while enhancing the quality of the brand experience.”

Branch Delivery

Under the heading of 'traditional branch banking', there was no hesitancy for industry leaders to provide warnings. Serief Meleis, a partner at Novantas warned, "Continued overcapacity of branch distribution resembles the airline industry of the early 80's. Fundamental restructuring must begin sooner rather than later." Not surprisingly, Brett King, author of the new book Bank 3.0 and founder of branchless start-up Movenbank added, "Market analysts will start to discount retail banking stocks with large branch networks as poor branch performance becomes visible."

Andy Will, senior vice president of deposit products and card services at BMO Harris agrees that the traditional mid-sized branch has too much real estate and staff costs to be viable going forward. Discussing a trend he believes will extend beyond 2013 Will states, "I believe branches will get simultaneously bigger andsmaller. There will be the addition of regional 'Apple store' sized branches in prime locations combined with micro branches to 'fill in' the rest of the markets." Will adds, "Both the large and small branches will be highly automated with two-way video, touch terminals, etc."  

None of the experts put the trend in perspective better than Bart Narter, SVP of Celent who stated, "The branch is banking's new alternative channel."

Mobile Banking

In a report just released by Juniper Research entitled, 'Mobile Banking: Handset and Tablet Strategies 2013-2017', it was estimated that more than 1 billion mobile phone users will have used their device for banking purposes by 2017. In addition, it was projected that more banks will have multiple mobile offerings, maximizing customer penetration potential. These trends were reflected in many of the predictions for 2013.

Fred Hagerman, CMO of FirstMark Credit Union out of San Antonio, TX emphasized, "Mobile is a freight train coming down the tracks - and it's here to stay. Banks that need proof only need to look at their web analytics from the holidays to see a significant bump in mobile device usage in the days after holiday gift-giving."

Some believe that banks, in an effort to speed delivery to market, have created fragmented mobile apps that served limited purposes. Bradley Leimer, Vice President of Mechanics Bank and publisher of The Discerning Technologist feels that 2013 will be the year we move the mobile banking conversation beyond transactions (transfers, bill pay, a brief snapshot of transactions, maybe some financial management) to include enhanced engagement through personalization . . . and more. 

According to Leimer, "We need to engage our customers with their own data, and drive new levels of personalized service to help them create their own value from their transactions. Our mobile applications will see renewed focus on engaging and simplified customer experiences, and improved contextual offer placement. We’ll see more applications leveraging voice, as well as the social graph, because individualized preferences are critical."

Matt Wilcox, from Zions Bank agrees, "I believe we will see the proliferation of “fat apps” that allow for a convergence of multiple applications as well as enhanced personalization for an enhanced customer experience."

Online banking will improve as well in 2013 if the industry leaders are correct. The online banking experience will be holistically reviewed this year according to Bryan Clagett, the chief marketing officer at Geezeo. "The user experience will finally take precedent, and the definition of a 'banking website' will be re-written. Products like PFM will help consumers make better decisions, save money and leverage the vast merchant data that lies within."

Serge Milman, CEO and founder of Optirate sees the focus on new and enhanced delivery channels as being a requirement to stay relevant, but not an inexpensive proposition, especially for smaller institutions. "Mobile and other delivery decisions will become 'infrastructural' initiatives", states Milman. "Banks will spend significantly to implement technology, but smaller organizations may find these expenditures prohibitive and will be slow to see returns."

Marketing and Technology Converge

Significant changes in marketing have been occurring for the last couple years, allowing bank marketers to leverage new technologies to improve targeting, offers, timing and the marketing channels used to communicate. The ability to combine structured and unstructured data described above, with the digital channels available, are a powerful combination for those bank marketers able to keep pace with change.

According to Nicole Sturgill, research director at CEB TowerGroup, "The embrace of digital channels as primary to the customer experience is significant for two reasons. First, it acknowledges the fact that the branch is no longer primary in many customer’s eyes; and second, it places digital sales at the top of the technology priority list for 2013."

Bank website design will also improve in 2013, enabling sites to become better selling tools. Tim McAlpine, president and creative director of Currency Marketing, believes that the use of HTML 5 will flourish saying, "Firms will put more weight into building websites that work on every screen size, versus the current trend of building dumbed-down mobile versions of corporate websites."

David Gerbino, digital product, marketing and strategy manager at Provident Bank in New York agrees. As he stated in my recent post on bank marketer resolutions, "Bank need to rapidly say goodbye to the web. The web of decades past is dead. Today's web needs to be responsive and device agnostic with one website supporting all devices."

These changes will improve the customer experience as is mentioned by Jelmer de Jong, global head of marketing for Netherlands based Backbase and editor of the BANKNXT blog. "Banks have to focus on creating ONE unified superior customer experience, across devices, across channels. Multi-channel strategy and creating a cross channel journey will be key."

While some banks are just beginning to utilize digital channels for their marketing efforts, some have found the power of new strategies such as search engine optimization for digital ads and retargeting for reaching people who are ready to buy.

According to Lloyd Lee, SVP, Integrated Services for direct and digital agency New Control, "The benefit of retargeting is clear - among all offline and online channels, retargeting is often the most efficient acquisition strategy on a cost-per-approved account basis." Lee added, "In 2013, retargeting will become much more widely used by banks as it ensures that banks are capitalizing on all of the traffic being driven to a bank's site from both offline and online acquisition efforts. It will be at the core of the most progressive bank's digital strategies."

The technology will also allow lifecycle and multichannel marketing efforts to merge, providing bank marketers to know who should get what offer, in which channel, in addition to WHEN they should receive the offer according to Bill Secrest, director of Datamyx. "New data solutions are emerging that can add context around when to target a consumer for marketing treatments."

Many of the industry leaders emphasized that these new tools and strategies will be more important in 2013, as the industry moves further away from the industry meltdown of a few years ago and into a period where shifting market share will be needed to grow top line revenue.

J.P. Nicols, CEO of wealth management consultancy Clientific, was rather blunt when he said, "All of the popular buzzword talk of improving client experience, optimizing channel preference and engaging clients on social media is now being viewed through the filter of 'how quickly can we see the impact in our results?' In 2013, this emphasis will put additional pressure on marketers, vendors and partners to prioritize the right projects and the right products and features that will yield results quickly."

On a more fundamental level, Mark Arnold, President of Market Strategies in Dallas, sent me the following trends which will be required as marketers implement new customer-facing technologies:

Product and Segment Opportunities

With regard to which products and services will be most important in 2013, some leaders believe there are untapped opportunities that will emerge in 2013. "Business account acquisition will be – or should be – a top priority for most FIs in 2013 since hardly any bank has been aggressive in this space or made many positive product changes in response to the repeal of Reg Q" offered Mark Zmarzly, vice president of financial services for ACTON Marketing.

Salil Ravindran, lead solutions architect for Oracle in the Netherlands agrees, "Banks will start focusing more and more on servicing the business banking segment through digital channels. The extent of services required by this segment is largely an extension of retail banking and not as complex as those required by the higher end wholesale segment, and hence banks should be able to largely leverage existing digital channel infrastructure to extend these services."

Credit union leaders provided the following tweets regarding where financial organizations may focus in 2013:

Roger Conant, curator of the original credit union tweet tracker site out of Houston believes that focusing on the women's segment will move beyond a niche play in 2013, while Salil Ravindran and J.P. Nicols both believe banks will focus more than ever on the mass affluent market in 2013. In referencing trends in both the EU and US, Ravindran says, "I believe more banks will start offering financial planning services over digital channels, thereby scaling the scope of digital channels from simple products and services to much more complex ones."

New Entrants and Non-Bank Competition Increase

Competition in and beyond the payments marketplace will continue to grab headlines and customers in 2013, making it imperative for traditional banks to keep a watchful eye on both new entrants and new forms of competition. As Simple continues to grow by providing streamlined banking to a growing list of consumers standing in a virtual queuing line to open accounts, Movenbank will open their virtual doors in early 2013>

At the same time, Walmart continues to innovate, leveraging partnerships like those with American Express for Bluebird, focused initially on the middle class consumer. And there is no reason why Walmart should stop with a prepaid offer according to Emily McCormick from Bank Director Magazine. "If successful with Bluebird, I'd look at what Walmart's next move would be, especially if they can dodge the regulatory hurdles than encumber banks."

Of greater concern in the longer run could be those offerings that bypass traditional banking channels completely. The rise of alt-lending (p2p lending, crowdfunding) in both the consumer and small biz space could present interesting challenges according to Jim Breune, CEO and founder of the Online Banking Report and founder of The Finovate Group. "Lending Club's $600-million-year (in loan originations) shows that US investors are buying into the concept and the British Governments recent announcement that they will lend 10 mil (GBP) through Zopa and 22 mil (GBP) through Funding Circle demonstrates that at least one government understands the economic potential of alternative forms of banking."

Continued Focus on Compliance and Security

Viewpoints differ on whether banks have fully adjusted to the impact of increased compliance and the CFPB. On one hand, a mid-sized bank executive stated, "The CFPB will still be a factor in 2013 for retail bankers. The question is, will it help add transparency and customer choice to the market for financial services or will their actions end up stifling choice and innovation because banks will be afraid to try creative new approaches to products or processes for fear of criticism or fines?"

Steve Cocheo, executive editor of the ABA Banking Journal has a more positive perspective when offering, "I believe that bankers will get over their compliance shell-shock in 2013, understandable as it is. While the regulations they face are often overwhelming, many will figure out new ways to meet their regulatory obligations with creativity and some fresh ideas. Not every institution will follow this path, but I believe more will than some think."

Management consultant Steven Ramirez from Beyond The Arc Consultancy sees potential for banks that embrace the context of the CFPB when he said, "Banks that expand the scope of their Voice of the Customer efforts will see an added benefit: mitigation of regulatory risk."

The impact of regulations is not just being felt in the U.S. Of particular concern for banks in the U.K., and potentially the rest of the EU, are proposed 'ringfencing' proposals that are focused on separating a banks' day-to-day retail banking arms from riskier investment bank activities. With the intention of protecting taxpayers from the potential of bailing out banks, these pending rules impact larger banks more significantly and will cause additional distractions similar to what has occurred in the U.S.

While the impact of the CFPB may be stabilizing and many banks are prepared for the impact of ringfencing, the same can't be said for the preparation for cyber attacks. This disturbing trend, which is impacting banks worldwide, may define issues ranging from consumer trust in banks to channel usage in 2013.

Mary Beth Sullivan, managing partner of Capital Performance Group, LLC stated, "I believe the cyber security threat will continue to increase, and retail banking organizations across the country will need to adopt more sophisticated security protocols and educate customers about it much more in 2013."

Bryan Yurcan, associate editor of Bank Systems and Technology agrees with his rather pessimistic post:

Change is Inevitable . . . Or Is It?

As mentioned by Bryan Clagett from Geezeo in development of this post, "Those in traditional retail banking need to realize that banking, as we know it, is evolving largely due to new disrupters in the space. I say, embrace the inevitable and look from within and outward at ways to build better, more efficient experiences."

Jeff Marsico, banking consultant and publisher of his own industry blog, referenced a sentiment similar to Jelmer de Jong's 'Just Do It' resolution for 2013 regarding the hopeful trend regarding the way bankers should look at the future:

Alternatively, maybe we could all step back and hope that Chris Skinner's slightly cynical prediction could become a reality.

Are there any trends you believe will be significant in 2013?

Additional Resources:

Financial Services Analyst Firm Announces Top Ten Trends in Banking, Payments, Mobile and Security for 2013: Javelin Strategy and Research, January 3, 2013

Top Trends in Retail Banking 2012: Celent Research, December 2012

From the rooftops...

 Greetings:

There are two schools of thought when it comes to advertising your marketing message...

1. Constant and consistent
2. Loud and Proud

Much of our work is dedicated to development of client strategy for communications and marketing.  A consistent question we receive that I thought would make a great blog post...

How often should I be advertising my marketing message?

Our answer??

Whenever you have something to tell...tell it loud and proud with consistency!

Perfect...so the answer falls squarely between the two schools of thought...nice consulting!  Actually, the reality of life says that EVERYTHING falls between the two certainties...that's Murphy's Law at play!  Consulting advice is nothing different.  The key to great consulting is knowing where and when to apply the strategic pressure...not just that you apply pressure.

So, what am I meaning??

We believe that you advertise WHEN you have a:

• compelling story
• unique product or offer
• cannot wait item or news/interest
• market opportunity

and IF do you have one of these instances... say it LOUD and PROUD...meaning make enough noise in the marketplace that your unique and powerful message is heard!  Then be consistent with that message for as long as your budget can support and the uniqueness stands.

If you don't have of these instances...then be constant and consistent... a drum beat is the description we use.  Be constant and consistent but at a lower level-- you know,  the level just above "not much" and below the "hear us now" levels.

The key is making sure that your investment in advertising is doing the two items it is intended to do....create awareness and generate interest.  To create awareness the market needs to know about it...and to generate interest it has to be relevant and compelling.

That's where the marketing strategy comes into play for the advertising.  Knowing when to hold your cards and investment is sometimes more powerful than playing all of your cards!

So...if you have a compelling and relevant message...Shout it from the ROOFTOPS with all the gusto you can muster!

Cheers!

Bruce

PS>> Look for our announcement of a game-changing Leadership Session coming in the fall!

 

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New Online Competition

If your institution provides small business loans, have you heard of Kiva yet?  If not, it's worth a look at kiva.org.  

This non-profit organization, founded in 2005 to help entrepreneurs over seas, launched today to help lend money to needy US small businesses.  To date, Kiva has half a million lenders from more than 185 countries who have lent more than $75 billion with a 98.35% rate of repayment - according to the company.

Any average Joe can lend the small business of their choosing as little as $25.

It's truly "people helping people" - sound familiar credit unions?

Sure, these are loans that the Wachovias, Wells Fargos and Bank of Americas won't touch.  But to community banks and credit unions who rely on local mom-and-pops, we should keep an eye on this.

Take care,

Eric