When it comes to business growth, salaries, employment, and profits, very few people in the U.S. will be sorry to see 2009 exit. If you work in or with the financial services industry, that’s especially true.
From all I’ve heard, financial institutions are gearing up marketing plans for the coming year, ready to get back to more normal business routines.
One thing that quickly bores me around this time of year is all the talk about resolutions. Making New Year’s resolutions sounds like a good idea, but typically, they’re quickly forgotten or crushed under the wheels of the unswerving force of Habits.
But since you come here to get ideas, why not give you a few resolutions you can use to get your marketer’s brain off to a fresh start in 2010. These ideas could help you forget 2009…which I think all professional marketers would like to see quickly happen.
Little is more irritating to a marketing person than to see examples of wasted marketing dollars.
In Monday’s blog on customer service, Joe Swatek reminded marketers that providing great customer service does not qualify as a valid offer.
There are two words those of us in the Creative Department hate to hear when we’re talking to a client about a promotion: Customer Service.
Oh, we give our clients great service. Certainly. And we appreciate any company that gives us great service either in our professional or private lives.
What bothers us, like nails scraping on the chalkboard, is when we talk to a client about the promotion’s offer and we’re told it centers on or includes “our great customer service.”
Footnotes, footnotes, footnotes. Disclaimers, disclaimers, disclaimers. Long strings of, often incomprehensible, words packed into corners and borders of our promotions. Taking up useful marketing space. Like mold invading a pristine slice of bread.
Consumers don’t want to read them. They assume the disclaimer takes away whatever sounds good in the headlines and descriptive copy. Likely, that’s true. For example, I got a mail piece that was a joint venture between JC Penny and MasterCard. The offer was $10 off a purchase in the store if I used the credit card.
After Washington Mutual was acquired by Chase Bank, all that remained in Sacramento was a huge checking account marketing void. I suspect the same is true for most markets once served by Washington Mutual.
Seems one of the best kept secrets in banking today — including among financial services workers — is the big change to how financial organizations must handle insufficient fund transactions beginning July 1, 2010.
This past November 12, the Federal Reserve issued its final rules that it believes will protect consumers from excessive overdraft fees. Congress can still tinker with the details, so I won’t go into an explanation here. What’s most important about the Fed’s new rules is this:
Whether your organization is using social media, thinking about it, or have ruled it out, there is a simple web tool you should be using to monitor what people are saying about you on the web.
It’s called Google Alerts.
Who are you going to believe?
The bank newspaper ad with the copy line which reads: “Put your trust in us.” Or, your close friend who comments, “I really trust my credit union. They called me the other day about a deposit error they made with my checking account. It’s typical of the great service they provide.”
I read an Adweek article that says 53 percent of consumers polled claim advertising isn’t likely to sway their opinions about brands. So what does this mean for you and your marketing plan?
The article tells us 53 percent of the responders to the Adweek Media/Harris Poll say ads “rarely” motivate them to switch and 30 percent claim ads affect them “some of the time.” At opposite ends of the spectrum, one percent are motivated “most of the time,” while 11 percent claim they’re “never” influenced.
The subject line on J. Peterman’s e-mail that arrived yesterday nearly yanked my eyeballs from their sockets. It read:
There’s an old saying, “Timing is everything.” In marketing, timing doesn’t overshadow the offer or list, but it’s an important factor as you try to gain more customers.
When you use direct mail marketing, and really all sorts of media, take into consideration how important it is to get your offer to your prospects at just the right time.
Proof of the importance of timing appeared in my home mailbox Thursday, December 3, when I found two sale promotions in the day’s delivery.
Imagine discovering that on November 1st, your credit union transferred $600 into your checking account.
I did a double-take the other day when I pulled an envelope from my mailroom slot at ACTON Marketing. The basic white envelope had a stamp on it. I seldom see stamps on my business mail.
There’s something else odd.
If your bank or credit union offers more than two different checking accounts, you may want to rethink your product line.
(Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of blog posts related to the training of financial institution employees. If appropriate, please pass this information to your training staff.)
As another year winds down, it becomes an excellent time as a financial institution trainer to reflect upon what you have accomplished during the past year and what you hope to accomplish in 2010. With 2009 being such a challenging year, this end-of-year exercise helps you reflect and, most importantly, refocus and get energized about your upcoming training year. This is strategic planning and New Year’s Resolutions all rolled into one.
As a direct marketing company that emphasizes using mail to advertise products and services, ACTON Marketing has always advised our banking clients to hold off promotions during December, unless it’s a time-sensitive offer.
While people might need a loan during this time of year, it’s less likely they’ll switch checking accounts to another financial institution at a time when “busy” is a daily state of existence.
