Generating Loans With Behavior Triggers

While loan business overall is down, the ability to quickly respond to a customer's behavior when they are shopping for a loan can be the difference between expanding a current relationship or potentially losing a customer. 

By leveraging relatively easily accessible credit bureau insight, you can deliver highly relevant communications through multiple channels to generate a steady stream of qualified and ready-to-borrow households.

As the name implies, a loan behavioral trigger lead is created when a customer or prospect is applying for a new loan or is about to refinance an existing loan. Used extensively by the mortgage industry recently due to the large number of households seeking to refinance, triggers also point to households looking for an equity line of credit, new car or even a credit card. 

These loan shopper lists are available on a daily, weekly (1-7 days old) or monthly basis (1-30 days old) and are very time sensitive since the candidate is actively seeking a loan or line of credit. As can be expected, using daily triggers is the most expensive due to both the cost of the list and the cost of daily processing/production, but these lists also produce the best results.

The lists can be customized, allowing a financial institution to select candidates based on filters such as credit score, amount of revolving debt, seasoning, LTV, monthly payment amounts, number of recent inquiries on file or any other criteria desired. Phone numbers can also be appended to the lists for an additional charge. History shows that those households with multiple recent inquiries are better prospects since they are considered 'active shoppers'.

By helping to solve for the mystery of timing, many multichannel loan trigger programs can result in marketing program performance improvement of 5x, 10x or more compared to traditional loan acquisition programs. The challenge for many banks and credit unions is developing an implementation strategy that can process and deliver communications daily and can follow-up on the leads quickly and effectively.

Loan Behavioral Trigger Process

If the program is focused on identifying current customers shopping for a new loan, there is the potential to connect with these households using direct mail, email, digital communications, mobile and a phone call. This integrated cross-channel strategy is the most effective since most institutions don't know which channel(s) their customer is most responsive to. In addition, while a phone call and email are the quickest to implement, the penetration of usable/allowable phone numbers and email addresses is limited.

Some banks reach out multiple times using direct mail and email to ensure they are 'in the mix' when the customer makes a final lending institution decision, while many financial institutions are using their online banking 'offer' pages and even retargeting strategies to keep their message front and center. Due to the time sensitivity, mobile messaging may also be effective if a financial institution has the capability to connect with a customer through texting. In all cases, landing pages are an important component of the communication strategy.

Loan behavioral triggers can also target prospects within a certain geographic area using close to the same strategy. The primary difference is the difficulty in appending as many phone numbers to the files and the hesitation of most organizations to use email for prospecting. Digital communication can still be integrated, however, using advanced geo-targeting techniques combined with SEO tools. With prospecting, integrating a landing page is paramount to success.

The chart below illustrates the potential effectiveness of a behavioral trigger program built by Datamyx, a provider of tri-bureau data for financial institutions. As can be seen the impact of such a program across product lines can be significant.

List Options

All major credit bureaus have the ability to support behaviorally based loan trigger programs and can provide lists on a daily basis. They can also allow your institution to select your candidates based on a wide selection of credit and non-credit attributes. But all credit bureaus are not created equal. Each tend to use different collection, aggregation and reporting strategies and as a result differ on their depth of data for any particular household.

As a result, many of my clients have begun to use multiple bureaus to support their event-based trigger programs. By doing so, greater data can be leveraged for both selection and modeling purposes. In fact, a recent case study by Datamyx found a 70% lift in marketing universe (scalability) as well as a 25% improvement in both response and conversion rates by using three bureaus as opposed to just a single bureau.

Benefit of Tri-Bureau List Sourcing - Datamyx 2012

Creative Messaging

As with any effective direct marketing program, it is important to use creative that clearly states the benefit to the customer as well as how the customer should respond. Since the nature of this marketing communication is in response to a overt customer activity, the communication should be direct with regards to why the customer should include your bank in the competitive set for a new or refinanced loan. If they are a current customer, you should also leverage the power of your relationship with the customer.

All channels should support each other and should provide multiple options for response. A phone number should be provided as well as a landing page where the customer/prospect can initiate the loan application process. Most importantly, since the loan can most likely not be closed online, immediate follow-up by a live representative of the lending area is paramount to the success of the program. Without timely follow-up, the customer/prospect will move to one of the several other alternative organizations that have also reached out to the candidate.

Test and Learn Approach

Behavioral trigger loan marketing requires a 'test and learn' approach to determine the most effective list and channel combinations. This is especially necessary given that the most effective trigger based data is derived from a combination of potentially dozens of credit criteria. The payoff for testing alternative strategies is directly correlated to the level of investment in sourcing, creating, evaluating, testing and modifying trigger criteria over time.

Additional Insight:

Are Your Customers 'Missing in Action' - Datamyx White Paper (2012)

Best Practices for Leveraging Mortgage Acquisition Triggers - Datamyx White Paper (2007)

Implementing Trigger Based Marketing to Drive Customer Loyalty - Genroe White Paper

Bank Brand Loyalty Tested With Every Move

When it comes to lifestage marketing events, new movers have always represented a significant opportunity and risk. This is because consumers who move tend to significantly increase spending in a variety of categories while also changing their brand loyalties as to where they shop, eat, buy personal services and even bank. 

But, with new home sales in 2011 being 80 percent below the peak in 2005 (making the number of existing and new home sales the lowest in almost two decades), should bank marketers still invest in this target audience? Do consumers still spend at the same rate as in the past? Is this target audience even scaleable?

Interestingly, despite the ongoing reduction in home sales, the number of people moving has steadily increased since mid 2009, indicating that consumers in transition still represent both a risk and opportunity for marketers. In fact, the New Mover Report 2012 from Epsilon found that consumers continue to spend thousands of dollars in the months following a move, representing a valuable opportunity for those marketers who can identify and effectively communicate to new movers. 

The study also found three major themes when they looked at consumer spending habits, brand affinity and channel preferences associated with a move from one location to another:

• Consumer brand loyalty is tested during a move, with new movers being twice as likely to change brands or service providers than non-movers.
• New movers have an interest in changing and/or upgrading services such as banking, credit cards and insurance after a move.
• Direct mail continues to be a highly valued channel for receiving information during a move, and is even highly valued by Gen Y consumers.

New Movers and Home Purchasers are Not Synonymous

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 17% of Americans move each year, representing more than 53 million people. Those who move tend to be younger, with the distance of the move also being greater for younger demographic segments. The only exception being those households reaching retirement (around age 65) who also are more likely to move. 

Research shows that while the economy is showing signs of slow and steady recovery, the volume of home sales continues to lag behind the highs achieved in the past. As a result, the ratio of renters on the move versus new homeowners continues to favor renters as it did in 2011. While this trend is not necessarily surprising given the scope of the housing market difficulties, marketers need to understand the difference between these two segments of movers as it relates to demographics, loyalty and purchasing behavior. The good news is that both new movers and home purchasers appear to be on the upswing.

The bad news is that as many as 33% of the people who move do not report their new address to the USPS (the central compiler of the National Change of Address (NCOA) file. As a result, targeting new movers (or even keeping a house file current) requires compiling multiple list sources including utility connections, phone changes, county records, etc.

Do Households on the Move Remain Brand Loyal?

Research shows that even when a household moves a short distance, marketers can't assume purchasing patterns will remain the same. According to the research done by Epsilon, brand loyalty is tested during a move, with the frequency of changing providers/brands being twice as likely for a new mover compared to a non-mover (some categories of services have a much higher propensity of change).

As shown below, some of the lowest levels of loyalty were in the category of professional services, where the difference in likelihood of changing brands between movers and non-movers were greatest for home insurance (3:1), auto insurance (2:1), credit cards (2:1), and banking accounts (3:1).

While a move, by itself, may not prompt a change in providers, it does appear to put loyalty to a specific brand or provider in play which indicates a defection risk for current customers and acquisition opportunity for prospects in a trade area.

When the research dug deeper into the reason for why movers changed brands, the overwhelming reason for change in the professional services category was the move itself (63%) compared to pricing (40%), service (19%) or any other feature/benefit offered.

Finally, beyond changing brands, new movers were also more likely to acquire or upgrade products and services in the professional services category. As was the case for the reason why movers switched brands, new movers indicated that the move itself as a major reason for acquiring or upgrading a professional service (59%), with pricing again being important but taking a back seat as a reason for upgrading (39%). 

What Communication Channel(s) are Best?

As consumers use more and more channels to shop and buy services, it should be no surprise that a multichannel approach is recommended to connect with new movers related to retaining or acquiring households on the move. While there is very little disparity between the preferred channel of communication between movers and non-movers, word of mouth (referrals), email and direct mail are the channels most often mentioned as the way households want to learn about products and services. 

It should be noted that recent research indicates the desire for direct mail being even more pronounced for the marketing of financial services as discussed in a number of previous blog posts including As Channel Proliferation Increases, Consumers Still Prefer and Trust Direct Mail for Financial Services Communication (December, 2011). This study also indicated a higher preference for direct mail among Gen Y consumers than for any other channel.

And while there is always a great deal of buzz among marketers around the use of social media, this channel is the least desired by both movers and non-movers. That said, social media should still be integrated as part of a marketing strategy since targeting new movers using social media will be much easier than with other channels such as mass media and email (due to list availability and accuracy).

Key Take-Aways for Marketers

As I mentioned in my previous post on the subject, Targeting New Movers for Enhanced Growth (February, 2010), the keys to reaching this transitional segment include:

• Be the first in the mailbox (or on the computer, phone or newspaper box) after a household moves to avoid clutter and benefit from early decisions
• Develop a system of immediate processing of prospects/customers to provide the foundation for being the first to reach the new mover in your category
• Measure the incremental impact of the program against your alternative acquisition/retention initiatives

For the majority of my clients, a new mover program is the foundation of their acquisition efforts, generating one of the strongest returns on investment and a steady flow of new households at a time when market growth is at a premium. In addition, a physical convenience is becoming less important for households, more and more of my clients are looking for ways to identify current customers who may be preparing for (or have just completed) a move to protect this household from attrition.

According to Don Hinman, SVP of Data Strategy at Epsilon, "An average household moves every five years on average and spends approximately $9,000 on a broad array of goods and services. By understanding at a deep level where new movers are spending and what opportunities are available to gain share of wallet, brands can create more effective, targeted campaigns to reach consumers during this transition."

The 2012 New Mover Report can be downloaded free of charge here.

Additional Insights:

U.S. Census Bureau Geographic Mobility/Migration Tables - December 2012

10 Resolutions Bank Marketers Can't Ignore in 2012

2011 was year that many bankers, and especially bank marketers would love to forget. Not only was focus diverted by the need to respond to new regulations for the second consecutive year (this time it was the Durbin Amendment), but the image of our entire industry was challenged as foreclosures and bank failures continued to be in the news. 


We didn't do ourselves any favors in 2011 either, as some of the larger banks learned the power of social media when they decided to increase (and then rescind) debit card fees, or when the industry fought internally with Bank Transfer Day. 


The biggest impact of all of this noise was that attention was diverted from what should have been accomplished in 2011. As I reviewed my post from last year, Ten Bank Marketer Resolutions for 2011, it is clear that most bank marketers lacked the time/focus to make much progress on any of last year's goals. So, in writing this year's Bank Marketer Resolution post, I could have simply posted the same resolutions from last year (similar to what I do with some of my personal resolutions). Instead, I reached out to bank industry leaders from across the globe for their ideas. There was surprising uniformity in their suggestions, and a sense of urgency around the need to achieve much more than last year.


So here are the resolutions bank marketers should not ignore in 2012 according to industry leaders:


1. Validate The Value of Marketing Through Measurement: As highlighted in my recent post 100 Years Later, Marketers Still Have Difficulty Measuring Up, there is still a tremendous gap between what bank marketers implement and what is measured. Not only are there almost 20% of marketers who don't find measurement of results imperative according to recent research by Ifbyphone, but less that 50% of any channel is measured. Dan Marks from First Tennessee says, "Bank marketers should resolve to measure and optimize true marketing ROI – having the courage to seek out the unproductive part of the marketing mix and replace it with other activities that generate real shareholder returns." Serge Milman, CEO of Optirate states, "In 2012, bank marketers should resolve to have a more diligent focus placed on business drivers that can help manage and grow the bank," while Bradley Leimer, vice president of online/mobile strategy at Mechanics Bank said that,  "The number one resolution for bank marketers in 2012 must be to 'put data first,' since the proof of any program resides in the measurement of results." 

Jeffry Pilcher from The Financial Brand added a common sense resolution that is not always followed . . . "stop doing things that don't work." It is clear that if only one resolution can be accomplished in 2012, the measurement of attribution and program results is the most important.

2. Don't Confuse Channel Economy with Channel Effectiveness: One of my resolutions from last year that needs reinforcement is that bank marketers should leverage the measurement mentioned above to ensure that the right channel (and mix of channels) are used for the right customers. While social and digital media seems less expensive, it doesn't work as well on its own as it does when mixed with traditional channels. In fact, recent research discussed on this blog has shown that for financial services, many of the traditional channels are more desired and effective than new media. In addition, many bank customers are not reached at all with phone, email or social media programs. As mentioned above, 2012 should be the year of improved measurement and improved attribution analysis, which will help to answer the questions around which channels should be used.

3. Be Customer-Centric: Ron Shevlin, senior analyst from Aite Group and author of the book and blog Snarketing 2.0 stated in a recent post, “banks need to be perceived as doing what’s right for their customers and not just their own bottom line.” One of the banks I work with stated it best when they said that customer centricity means:

• Know who the customer is and what they want
• Look out for the customer and help them make the right decisions
• Reward the customer for their patronage with tangible and intangible benefits

Saying you're customer-centric is not enough, though. "When claiming your bank is customer-centric, actions speak louder than words," warned Elizabeth Lumley, special projects editor at Finextra. This was especially evident in 2011, when many large banks made fee changes that created an uproar in social media, resulting in reversals of those decisions. To this new phenomenon, Chris Skinner, author of the Financial Services Club Blog suggested, "Bank marketers should resolve to make 2012 the year where good communication and real transparency ensures that we don't get screwed by social media campaigns."


4. Build a Social Media Strategy That Complements Your Overall Marketing Plan: Instead of engaging in social media because other industries are doing so, it is time to treat social media like other channels, with defined goals, strategies and expected ROI outcomes. "While simply having a Facebook page or Twitter account may have been sufficient in the past, customers are expected to utilize these channels to connect with their bank even more in 2012," says Karen Licker, financial consultant and social banker (independent) for J.D. Power and Associates. "Given the public nature of these contacts, bank marketers should have a resolution to be aware of these conversations and direct customer outreach, and be equipped to respond quickly to questions or issues raided via these channels." 

Nicole Sturgill, research director for delivery channels at TowerGroup, suggested that bank marketers should resolve to engaging the front line in social media since many don't realize they are being talked about. Alex Bray, managing consultant at IBM recommended, "Bank marketers should create a clear vision for social media based on a genuine customer value proposition while killing vanity projects that don't add value." Added John Owens "In 2012, bankers will need to understand the role and importance of social media to better serve clients and receive feedback."


5. Leverage Big Data for Better Conversations: There is a lot of discussion in the marketplace about the use of 'big data' to transform customer communication and the customer experience. There are very few places where more customer insight is available than in the financial services industry, where we not only have access to demographic and financial service ownership data, but also transactional insight that gives us a view into financial and purchase behaviors. But big data is nothing new, and should not be overwhelming in an environment where the ability to process data has also grown exponentially.


Unfortunately, as was found by Ron Shevlin from Aite Group earlier this year and in a soon to be published report, bank marketers are still not very comfortable with communicating online or through mobile channels using available insights. This may require new talents and new teams according to Brett King, founder of Movenbank, and author of the best-selling book and blog Bank 2.0. "In 2012, bank marketers should have a resolution to build a team that can create compelling customer journeys in real-time," states King. "Marketing is no longer about 'pushing' messages," continues King. Fred Hagerman, CMO of Firstmark Credit Union adds, "Bank marketers should have a resolution to combine web analytics and database knowledge to drive even more relevant communication."


6. Build Customer Value From Day 1: While there has been a great deal of discussion around the cost of a checking account since the December 9 American Banker article on the subject, there is no disputing the fact that fees alone can't make a relationship profitable. As a result, it is imperative that bank marketers look at customers as valuable assets to the bank that need to be nurtured and grown through increased engagement, relationship expansion and retention. As stated by Matthew Wilcox from Zions Bank, "2012 is a year when all bank marketers should resolve to have multichannel new customer onboarding programs as well as highly targeted relationship growth initiatives. To not have these programs in place would leave valuable money on the table and risk losing potentially valuable relationships."


7. Build Bank Value Daily: The past few years have been difficult for our industry, with the faith and confidence in many leading financial organizations being shaken. In 2012, consumers will look for solid value in products and services with every purchase and decision they make. Those organizations that don't reinforce the value they provide - every day - will be challenged. Dan Marks said that bank marketers should resolve to "refine, renew, and reinforce the bank's key brand distinction across the entire enterprise – everyone should know and exhibit how the bank uniquely serves customers’ needs." Steve Cocheo from the ABA Banking Journal suggested a rather straight forward resolution, "Bank marketers need to accentuate trust and value in the communications they develop and strategies they build." Bank consultant, Lori Philo-Cook seconded this resolution when she recommended, "Bank marketers should resolve to find new ways to communicate with customers in order to rebuild trust and strengthen relationships."


8. Innovate: Plain and simple, 2012 is a year where bank marketers should try new things and support innovation done in other areas of the bank. Bryan Clagett, CMO and investor at software services provider Geezeo put it best with his recommended resolution, "Bank marketers should not be afraid to experiment and think outside the box in 2012." For those organizations where budget, philosophy or other variables may make true innovation challenging, payments pro Scott Loftesness provides a suggestion, "Bank marketers should prepare to be a fast follower, especially in mobile for 2012, unless they have the budget to be an innovator."

9. Focus on Personal and Professional Development: While the skills needed to do effective bank marketing remain pretty much the same (targeting, messaging, measuring, etc.), the channels available have definitely increased. Therefore, bank marketers can no longer rest on their laurels and hope to succeed in the new marketing environment. More than ever, there needs to be a dedication to becoming familiar with the changes in the marketplace from a product and channel perspective. As stated by bank consultant Jeff Marsico, "The goal for bank marketers is to earn a place at their bank's strategic planning table and to be more than just an ad budget." Being aware of the changes in the marketplace can help earn this respect.

For me, I find that following industry leaders on Twitter and subscribing to industry blogs (like mine) are a great way to keep up to speed. Throughout this post, I have provided links to some of the industry pundits who share valuable insights and research on Twitter. Following them will go a long way towards keeping you in the loop. Watching who they follow will further expand your depth and breadth of knowledge. Bob Williams from Harland Clarke put it well in his suggested resolution, "Bank marketers should resolve to listen, discuss, think, read, and write. In short, they should be part of the conversation." Community banker David Gerbino provided a more basic, yet important resolution that, "Bank marketers need to resolve that they will understand finance, financial reports, and know how to calculate product profitability."

10. Don't Be Afraid to Break From The Herd: The banking industry is notorious for having a 'herd mentality', following each other's lead as opposed to thinking independently. In the past, the logic for doing this was usually based around risk aversion. Today, following other bank's can be both risky and can inhibit value creative. Look at the events around the raising of debit card fees by Bank of America, where many large banks followed the strategy of Bank of America only to have to follow the bank again as they rescinded the fee. The same can be said for the jumping into the social media waters without a defined strategy. While almost all banks are doing something in social media, very few can define the value it is bringing to their bank or what the ROI on this investment is.

2012 should be the year of breakout opportunity for those bank marketers who want to embrace the challenges associated with change. It is definitely not 'banking as usual', but is the environment where market leadership is gained and disruption creates new business models and customer segments.

I doubt if any bank marketer will succeed at all of the above resolutions. There may even be better resolutions than the industry experts provided above. If you have one that we missed, let me know. If you think some of the resolutions above are not valid, let me know as well.

I look forward to your comments and to a very exciting 2012.

Collecting Behavioral Insights Increases Value of Relationship

Over the past 30 years, the new account opening process hasn't changed very much. Sure, there is a far greater use of technology at the new account desk and there is the opportunity to open accounts online, but the overriding objective for most banks is still operational efficiency as opposed to building the foundation for a lasting relationship.

This is why new customer onboarding has become so important to the banking industry. Without a rapid deployment of communication around the best way to use the product(s) opened and encouragement to expand the functionality of the product by taking advantage of engagement services such as online banking, direct deposit, bill-pay, mobile banking, etc., the customer experience will be lessened and the potential for attrition increases.

In fact, first year attrition continues to be a strategic challenge at most banks, with defection rates of 20%, 30% or even 40% not being uncommon. For those organizations with a multi-touch, multichannel onboarding program, however, the rate of attrition drops significantly. Unfortunately, even for those banks that have an onboarding program in place, the program may not be optimized due to a reliance on transactional and demographic insights as opposed to psychographic and behavioral insights.

While demographic and early transactional data can provide directional guidance, a deeper knowledge of the customer's financial goals, channel preferences, product usage, preferred channels and reason for coming to your institution is needed to personalize the onboarding communication and move the customer from product engagement to relationship entrenchment. The importance of gathering this additional insight was highlighted in the Javelin Strategy research entitled, '2010 New Account Onboarding: Using a Systematic, Tactical Approach to Deepen Financial Customer Relationships'.

According to the research, communication channel preference, messaging, offer selection and even transaction channel choice can be impacted by behavioral characteristics such as why the consumer came to your bank in the first place, the lifestage of the customer and the financial services the customer has used in the past.Unfortunately, these types of questions are usually not pursued during the efficiency-driven new account opening process.

To fill in this knowledge gap, best-in-class financial organization supplement traditional new account opening with an onboarding process that includes a short survey of needs and behaviors of the new customer. While this survey can also measure customer satisfaction with the new account opening experience, most banks focus on gathering insights into the reason for opening the new account, communication channel preferred, the financial goals of the customer and what financial services the new  customer holds elsewhere. In addition, some banks ask questions to determine key life events that may be on the horizon and determine who in the household will be in charge of managing the new account.

According to Sherrie Riley, Vice President of Sales at Scantron, a leading provider of assessment and survey solutions, "New account surveying is another way that banks are reaching out to find out more about their customers. This first touch assessment fits within a series of strategic survey programs that help an organization measure, monitor and improve the customer experience". The new AllianceLink™ Financial surveys include the a New Account, Closed Account Survey, Teller Transaction Survey, and Product Survey. 



Source: AllianceLink Financial 

 Without new account surveying, banks are limited to just basic demographic and transactional data since the customer has no history with your bank. This limited insight relegates a bank to treating all new households the same or building segmentation on only limited information as to the household's growth potential. With the application of additional insight, we have found banks improve the overall value of relationships by 50%, 100% and even more than 150%, while reducing attrition and increasing both engagement and share of wallet. In fact, the question around services held at other organizations has had the ability to impact relationship cross-sell rates by 1.5 to 2 services on average during the first year of the relationship.

In the same way that using the opening balance in the account is a poor proxy for determining future value of a relationship, an incomplete picture of the customer's needs and behaviors can lead to sub-optimal communication treatments, offers and/or messaging. By using additional insights captured through new customer surveys, banks can improve their onboarding program by identifying those customers with the highest potential and can better serve customers with lower potential by providing services geared to their unique needs. This will reduce attrition and will increase the likelihood of share of wallet build.

Does your bank capture additional insights to enhance the new customer experience and increase the potential value of the relationship to your bank? I would love to know.

Ten Bank Marketer Resolutions for 2011

It is the dawning of a new year in banking with many of the same challenges that we saw in 2010. Our industry continues to be viewed in a less than positive light from both the consumer and small business marketplace. The need for new customer growth and share of wallet expansion underpins the need for new sources of non-interest fee income at a time when regulations are dramatically reducing many traditional sources of revenue. In addition, the expansion of transaction and communication channels are changing the ways we interact with customers. These challenges are combined with an historically low interest rate environment and a credit environment where there is a massive amount of money to lend at a time when borrowing is more difficult and less desirable for many.

According to a national survey, the majority of personal resolutions in 2011 will revolve around saving money, losing weight, changing a bad habit and being closer to loved ones. Achieving any of these goals will take commitment, focus and changes in behavior. The same can be said for the resolutions I have developed from traveling the country over the past few months and being involved in a number of banks' annual planning efforts.

Here are areas where bank marketers believe they should focus in 2011:

1. Replace Lost Fee Income
Nothing has impacted banking over the past 12-18 months or will impact banking in 2011 more than the loss of fee income caused by the combination of the Card Act, Reg. E, and the upcoming changes from the Durbin Amendment. Almost all other resolutions for the upcoming year are built to address this need. The role of bank marketers in achieving fee income replacement goals will include checking product restructuring and new fee-based product development, increasing card transactions, improving customer engagement and better resource allocation for results.

2. Improve the Customer Experience
Another overarching resolution similar to the personal resolution of being closer to loved ones, bank marketers need to view all of their initiatives using the lens of understanding customer's needs, looking out for customers and rewarding their relationship. In an environment of heightened scrutiny of how we are treating customers, it will be more important than ever to market to consumers and small businesses on a more personalized basis from the day they open their first account and to build a reward structure that reinforces our commitment to relationship retention and growth.

3. Focus on Incremental New Customer Growth
A new balance between quantity and quality of new accounts needs to be struck. With the elimination of Free Checking occurring at most banks I visit, new acquisition models need to be developed that take into account the new checking account continuum. Instead of generating as many accounts as possible, banks will be focusing on the potential value of relationships including the likelihood of engagement and retention. A premium will be paid for those households that will immediately contribute to the bottom line.

4. Gather Email Addresses
When presenting at the BAI Retail Delivery Conference this Fall, it amazed me that there were more banks that collected cell phone numbers than collected email addresses at the new account desk. I suppose this phenomenon may be caused by the combination of more households using a cell phone as opposed to a land line for home communication and the relative ease of having a bank's IT team build another phone field into the new account process as opposed to an email field. But with other communication channel cost increasing and the improved results achieved when email is combined with more traditional channels, the importance of collecting (and using) email addresses has never been more important. Some banks are even considering stand alone marketing initiatives to address this need in 2011.

5. Reduce Customer Attrition
At a time when the cost of acquiring a new customer exceeds $200 and the annual income potential from a new relationship is at least as high, banks can ill afford to accept first year attrition rates of 30-40%. Multichannel onboarding programs that encourage alternative channel use, enhanced services (such as online bill pay, automatic savings, privacy products, etc.) and increased transactions need to be leveraged to stop the massive outflow of accounts that occur early in the customer's lifecycle. Improved tracking of relationship diminishment and win-back programs will also be used to achieve this resolution.

6. Expand Share of Wallet Through Lifestage Marketing
To compensate for the increased difficulty of generating high value relationships, there needs to be a much greater focus on organic growth, including behavior based cross-selling and lifestage marketing. While the movement from product centricity to being customer-centric has been discussed for decades, the removal of product silos is no longer an option for those banks who are seeking optimal resource allocation. More banks than ever are investing in improved models and strategies for relationship growth which will improve both engagement levels and retention in the long term. New service introductions such as privacy protection and enhanced personal financial management (PFM) tools will further allow for relationship deepening in 2011.

7. Don't Confuse Channel Economy with Channel Efficiency
No communication channel is 'free'. While email may seem like a far less costly channel to use for reaching customers, the lack of clear targeting and message development may prove costly as customers opt-out of future communications or simply ignore email messages. In my experience within the banking industry, email has not proven to be as good of a replacement for channels like direct mail as it has been a good supplement for improved results. In 2011, banks will develop much better processes for measuring the incremental impact of alternative channel communication and will continue to expand communication channels to include mobile, ATMs, social media, etc.

8. Leverage Social Media Personally and Professionally
Social media channels definitely can be beneficial or a distraction. Not many of us have time for reading about someone else's dinner plans or personal political opinions on Twitter, yet Twitter can be a great source of timely financial industry or marketing insight and competitive research delivered in a very compact format to the desktop for consumption at a time and place desired. Banks have also realized that social channels need to be used differently in financial services than with retail or other industry verticals. As opposed to trying to find 'friends' of our brands, social media has been used most effectively for customer service (Twitter) and for the promotion of broad based public relations initiatives (Chase's very popular Community Giving Campaign). The coming year will be a year of expanded testing of these new channels for the banking industry. Unlike the past, however, investment in these channels will need to generate a tangible ROI.

9. Deliver On The Mobile Banking Promise
The opportunity to be a 'first mover' in the mobile banking marketplace is quickly closing as more and more financial organizations are introducing products that work on multiple platforms. Bank of America has found that their market leading mobile banking customer base has significantly less attrition than a customer without a mobile banking application. USAA has continued to push the envelope on ways to use the mobile phone for financial convenience including remote deposit capture, receiving auto insurance quotes, requesting proof of insurance cards, etc. While building a concrete business case for mobile banking may be challenging, the marketplace will eventually demand this channel for P2P payments, geolocational applications and even low cost banking alternatives. Next year will also see the first wave of iPad and Android tablet applications that go beyond minor adjustments to current phone applications and leverage the enhanced capabilities of the popular tablet hardware.

10. Reconfigure The Branch Bank Model
The most challenging resolution for 2011 may be the testing and development of new branch banking models in light of the shift in channel use by the consumer. As branches are increasingly used primarily for account openings and small business servicing, the physical and operational configuration of branch networks will need to be evaluated. But what will be the best model for the future? While Citibank introduced a refined branch model late last year similar to an Apple Store, Huntington Bank went in an opposite direction by expanding their branch network and increasing hours and days of operation. With such a significant investment in real estate and human resources to support branch operations, each bank will be testing a variety of options in the next few years with multiple configurations most likely winning based on specific market dynamics.
I am sure there are several more important resolutions that can be added to my list, but there are already more than many of us can handle. This will definitely challenge the ability to focus and to achieve meaningful results especially in an environment of continuous change. Similar to personal resolutions, however, we all need to start as soon as possible and focus our attention on those resolutions that have the greatest impact and opportunity for success.

Let me hear where you will be focusing your efforts in 2011.

Building Long-Term Deposits and Relationships Automatically

Over the past several years there have been a number of financial institutions that have built automatic savings programs where customers can set goals, establish recurring transfers between accounts to fund the goal(s), and track their savings progress.

One of the first programs developed was the Orange Savings Account from ING Direct which greatly simplified the process of opening new accounts for various savings goals. Following the success of the Orange Saving Account, SmartyPig was another program with that same goal in mind, making it easy for a customer to setup savings goals.

A customer can name their accounts, set the deadline for reaching their goals and even use an interactive calculator to determine the amount they will need to set aside each month. What makes Smartypig unique is that they added a social element to the mix . . . allowing other people such as friends and family members to contribute to the customer's goals as well.

The customer can even place a widget on their Facebook or MySpace page. Once the customer reaches their goal, they can either put all of your savings plus interest on a debit card, have it sent back to their bank, or receive bonuses by having the amount placed on a gift card from participating merchants like Macys, Amazon, Best Buy, etc.

While SmartyPig brings unique technology to its enterprise, it remains a one trick piggy (offering only savings accounts) and is a still-small Internet start-up. Being able to grow a savings account product from $0 to $500 million in deposits in less than two years is a phenomenal feat but its success can be assailed.

Full-service banks have begun to copy some of SmartyPig’s basic features and leveraged their own new savings features. For instance, U.S. Bank introduced the S.T.A.R.T. (“Savings Today And Rewards Tomorrow”) program in late 2009 in test markets, giving a $50 Visa gift card to a customer depositing $1,000 or more into a U.S. Bancorp money market savings account and establishing a monthly transfer from their U.S. Bank checking account. If a customer chooses to transfer between $.25 and $5.00 from their checking account into his money market savings account each time he uses his U.S. Bank debit or credit card, the S.T.A.R.T program counts those toward program term fulfillment.

In addition, customers maintaining a minimum $1,000 balance in the new savings account for 12 months will receive another $50 bonus, while U.S. Bank is offering another $100 bonus for establishing an automatically funding savings account tied to the bank’s standard checking account.

Building new products that encourage a long-term savings perspective supports the current trends toward more conservative money management while providing tremendous opportunity for additional cross-selling and relationship building. I fully expect more banks to develop both online and offline savings alternatives and to use these products as part of their onboarding and lifestage communication processes.