When it comes to retail banking – big is NOT better.
I was not thrilled yesterday to learn in The Sacramento Bee that Chase Bank plans to open 80 new branches in California this year, 35 of which will be in Northern California.
Buzz Marketing, also known as word-of-mouth advertising or viral marketing, is an effective and relatively low-cost way to get your company name, product or service talked about — noticed — in your market.
If you can generate buzz it’s a great addition to your overall marketing plan. It’s important enough that buzz marketing was the featured topic of ACTON Marketing’s 2008 Best Practices symposium.
When advertising during a recession, consistency is critical.
This is especially true for smaller banks and credit unions working with diminished marketing budgets.
Even in the infant days of checking account marketing — the early 1980s — marketing strategy included outdoor signage. Specifically, hang a banner on the branch that advertises the product and offer.
It’s still an effective method today and there are advantages to using a canvas banner. For example, hanging a banner is not as difficult as installing a permanent sign. Because few businesses use this type of outdoor advertising, banners get noticed. The brief message, a few words in large letters, is easily read by commuters.
“There is more money wasted in advertising by underspending than by overspending. Years ago someone said that underspending in advertising is like buying a ticket halfway to Europe. You’ve spent your money but you never get there.”
I seldom lead off a blog post with a quote, but this one caught my attention and I felt I should share it. It’s a statement from Morris Hite, a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame and former chairman, president and CEO of the Tracy-Locke ad agency.
$50 cash, $100 cash, a free overdraft, travel vouchers, or a free gift?
Which one would you choose?
Good marketers look for ideas throughout the advertising industry, not just their own niche market, to see if there are any methods they can adapt for their own purposes. There’s an example in the publishing industry that should prompt financial marketers to re-imagine their own product promotions.
I know almost nothing about The Twilight Saga series of books that are being made into big-screen moneymakers, but I remember reading Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights for English class. What connection is there between these books?
PRE-RECESSION PARADIGM
The market doesn’t warrant multiple contacts. Heavy overdraft users need their protection and are willing to pay for it, so, most will opt-in.
RECESSION REALITY
What about your debit card users who fail to opt-in in the coming months?
A startling statistic emerged from the just-released ACTON Market Intelligence nationwide overdraft opt-in study.
PRE-RECESSION PARADIGM
Heavy overdraft users constitute only a small number of my customers, and Regulation E and the Opt-In really impacts only that small segment of my customer base.
RECESSION REALITY
You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law and the Peter Principle, which spawned similar adages like the Dilbert Principle, but I’m sure you’ve never heard of Baker’s Law.
Baker’s Law is named for Ann Baker, a long-ago creative colleague of mine who noticed a pattern in the way our in-house insurance clients reacted to projects we prepared for them. When she made her observation, it seemed like one of those aha moments when a law of the universe suddenly gets revealed in terms so simple we humans could understand.
Baker’s Law says, “They don’t know what they don’t want until you give it to them.”
Imagine standing in the checkout line at your local grocery store.
As you near the cashier, you suddenly realize you may not have sufficient funds in your checking account when pulling out your debit card to pay for your groceries. In fact, if you are like most consumers, you have no idea as to your current balance.
The results are in and overdraft users chose direct mail as their #1 choice for receiving their overdraft opt-in notification.
Is it a legitimate customer service…or an albatross?
In my long bank marketing career, I can’t remember another product or service causing so much controversy as overdraft protection.
I am shocked to discover that the number of checking account debit card customers with ten or more overdrafts in the past year soared by 160%.
If you were asked to pick a category of individuals in your market who are the best prospects to open a new account with your financial institution, who would you name?
Would you say young adults? Business owners? The Boomers? Families with pre-schoolers?
All those categories have appeal, but the best answer, no matter where you’re located, is New Movers.
Lower my payment – don’t give me cash back.
It’s my belief that Chase Bank has taken a good marketing idea one giant step too far!
You remember the Taco Bell Chihuahua. It was the star of a series of TV commercials for the fast food chain beginning in 1997. The commercials contributed to pop culture slang as well as being popular, funny, and ineffective.
Wait. What?
