Know Your Customer Now -- They've Changed

So, you've done your due diligence and done a big customer research project within the last year or so, right? You know, it was probably when you did a new branding push or were going through a name change. You really honed in on who your customers were and how they felt about your bank.

So, good for you -- you have a clear understanding of what your customers wanted then. What about now?

A great deal has changed in the last 12 to 18 months in the banking industry, so assume a lot has likely changed with your customers too.

The turmoil in the industry has jumped from Wall Street to the front page of the newspapers and landed smack in the middle of Main Street. Customers can't help but be affected by all they are hearing about the banking industry.

Obviously, many now have questions about the safety and security of their funds. Here's a startling fact from a recent customer research project conducted for one of our banking clients. For the first time ever, safety and soundness and reputation of the bank was selected as more important than location and convenience in determining where to bank.

Not only are more customers focused on the safety of their funds, but many have also seen a dramatic shift in their needs. Suddenly the financial landscape has become very scary and customers who once thought they didn't want a lot of guidance or hand holding from their bank may now be looking for a much more involved financial partner. Are your employees positioned to step from product pushing to the role of an advisor and partner?

Your challenge is to find out what has changed with your customers and prospects today so that you know where and how to spend your limited marketing dollars wisely. Leveraging a small portion of your marketing budget to research so that you are really targeting your messages can offer significant payback in ROI.

I also value the touch point that research gives to the customer. Being contacted to provide feedback lets customers know you value their opinions and are working to meet their needs. It also demonstrates you recognize the significant changes that have taken place in the marketplace and want to remain relevant.

So ask yourself, how well do you really know your customers now? Well, maybe its time to become reacquainted.

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