Strategic Partnerships Are Where It's At

As my whole family prepares for our annual fall pilgrimage to the South Carolina coast for a week of relaxation and reconnecting, I began receiving information from our rental company that had nothing to do with the house rental.  These specially-tailored messages featured things like grocery discounts, bike, boat, and ski rentals, and this latest one…a complimentary beach photography package.

Walking you through the thought process of a consumer, hiring a photographer for our beach vacation wasn’t on our radar.  At all.  We have talked about having a family photo every Christmas probably for the past ten years, but it is something we’ve never been able to coordinate with our busy schedules during the holiday season.  But, after seeing this post on the rental agency’s Facebook page, I sent an email out to my family and we all agreed this would be a good idea.

This rental agency has formed strategic partnerships with nearby businesses of every stripe in order to add value to its relationships with customers of all interests.  And those partnerships are mutually beneficial for both companies.  The photography company sends business to the rental company as well through its website, storefront and social media pages. 

We are all in strategic planning mode for 2014, and I urge you, community banks and credit unions, to step back and take a look at the communities in which you do business.  Your greatest opportunity for growth lies there, but your opportunities for adding value to your customer and member relationships can be vast, which will only make the community corral around your financial institution even more.  And it not only stretches your marketing dollars, but gets your message in front of people who might not ordinarily see your message but are interested in your services.  Case in point: the photography business in Charleston, SC.

If your financial institution offers business services – loans and deposit products – there is an even greater opportunity to differentiate yourself within the market and add value to these banking relationships by finding mutually beneficial ways to partner and grow each others’ business.  These partnerships don’t have to be companies necessarily.  Niche markets within your communities like residents’ associations, special demographic groups, and interest groups can be incredible for your institution because these groups all have very specific needs that you could be perfectly positioned to serve.

Knowing your customer and member base would be a good place to start.  Where are they shopping and spending time locally?  Adding more value to your product offerings is all about looking in new and different directions.  And strategic partnerships would be a great benefit to your members and customers - and your local community as well – in 2014 and beyond.  Happy planning!

Amanda

We bring these philosophies to credit unions and community banks all over the country to help them with their strategic planning, marketing, and branding initiatives.  Contact me to learn more about how MarketMatch can help your financial institution define its "why" and achieve sustainable growth in the future.  Don't forget to ask about our ROI Guarantee - the only guarantee of its kind in the entire financial industry!

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4 Tips to Get More From Your Next Conference

There is a lot that I love about being a conference speaker!

First, conferences are rarely held in undesirable locations … I’ll see you next week Hilton Head!!!

But even more than the sunny locales, it’s the people, the energy and the brainpower packed into hotel conference rooms (and occasionally the hotel bar) that I love.  I’ve found that you can never get a group of marketers together without great ideas taking flight.

As you prepare for your next conference, here are a few tips to help you avoid simply collecting great ideas and actually putting them to immediate use.

Immediacy:

Don’t wait until you get on the plane or back to the office to create your summary notes.

• Use the voice memo feature on your phone to remind yourself of the really great ideas
• Send yourself emails so that great ideas are waiting in your inbox

Network, network, network:

We all know the value of exchanging great ideas with colleagues, but have you ever asked for a copy of someone else’s session summaries?  By trading session notes you can:

• Gain a whole new perspective on sessions you mutually attend
• Extend your conference reach by gaining session notes on breakout topics that you did not attend. 

Bring the Learning Home:

As you sit in your sessions, consider what will be best to share with your management team and staff:

• Any new ideas
• How the ideas fit into your existing plan
• How your customers or members will benefit

Ultimately, listen to your speakers and ask yourself:

• What ideas can I turn into training?
• What ideas should be the focus of our next management meeting?

Once you have your world-changing ideas summarized:

• Prioritize them based on what makes sense immediately and fits your existing plan and what should wait for future initiatives.
• Outline next steps and assign responsibilities to get it done.

Action Plan:

In short, to get the most from your conference experience, you need to treat the conference like a project or campaign with:

•  Timelines
• Milestones
• Measurement

By moving from idea collection to bringing home meaningful, actionable plans, you can better demonstrate the value of conferences and, hopefully, justify attending more.

For a quick video blog on this topic, click here.

With more than 115,000 visits worldwide, we hope that you enjoy this blog.  If you find it helpful, please share it with your colleagues.  Also, check out our YouTube Channel for short video blogs.  

We bring these marketing philosophies to community banks and credit unions nationwide, and would love to bring them to your institution too.  Contact us to see how.

MarketMatch is also a nationally and internationally requested speaker.  Contact us to bring our marketing ideas to your next conference.

Here are the conferences where you can find MarketMatch.

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MarketMatch is a marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the right story that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM and prove the best RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848

You've Gotta Be Flexible

I’m a runner.  I run about 25-35 miles per week.  And I stretch just about every day.  Why?  Because, to PREVENT trouble, you have to be flexible.

Here’s an industry example.

In December of 2011, we had a 2012 strategic marketing plan approved for a client.  It outlined the key objectives for the year and the tactics we would use to achieve them.  We had a month-by-month “map” of exactly what tactics we had planned.

In January, that same client stumbled into an outstanding opportunity … an RFP to be the “official” bank of the area’s largest college – and, coincidentally, the area’s largest employer.  By February, we had won the bid and this month we opened 2 new branches on the university campus.  This is in addition to a new branch that we opened in a different market this month.

The university project was certainly NOT in the plan.  And, though the other new branch was planned for, opening 3 new branches in one month was not!  To say the least, we had to reallocate some time and monetary resources.  

The lessons:

• As we wrap-up Q1 2012, relook at your plan and measure against your annual objectives.  How are you doing?
• Though is took a lot of hard work to put together, your plan is not etched in granite (if it actually IS, relook at your budget allocation!).  When you create your plan, you have to realize that it will likely NOT execute to the letter.
• Though the last 60 days have been crazy … because we have a well-conceived plan that is based in bank objectives, we are now starting to migrate back to executing it. 

Check your plan.  How are you performing against it for Q1?  What has had to change, or what do you anticipate changing in the next quarter?  Have you learned any lessons from your past tactics that can make the rest of the year stronger?

Just as flexible muscles prevent big trouble on race day …. A flexible plan can prevent big trouble to your marketing efforts.

For more on creating a marketing plan, click here for our 

Marketing Minute video blog, "Planning to Plan."

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Want to learn more?  Enroll in the MarketMatch eCollege!  Smart learning online sessions delivered five consecutive Tuesdays with CFMP credits, tactical advice and a game plan for success!

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM for your organization and demonstrate RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

Learn more here. (click here)

Chat with me LIVE! (click here)

Or email me directly (click here)

937-426-9848