Thanks Joe for getting me riled up about branding. Your Monday blog did the trick. I’ve read it several times and watched both of Union Bank’s new touchy/feely branding spots more than once.
What a waste of time, effort, and money.
To a large degree, cross-sell marketing efforts and new customer acquisition campaigns are mutually exclusive. They target different audiences.
But, like all things in life, there are always exceptions.
In the case of bank and credit union marketing, one of the exceptions is seminars, webinars, and workshops – particularly in-person seminars and workshops.
In hindsight, it’s probably a good thing that bank marketers weren’t in charge of the military on Tuesday, June 6, 1944.
Instead of concentrating a majority of their resources on the Normandy invasion, small units of troops would have been mounting assaults on a multitude of fronts scattered across Europe.
I’ve come to this conclusion based on the results of a recent study by The Financial Brand, “2012 Bank & Credit Union Marketing Survey.”
Let’s face it, some marketing messages are best sent to customers and prospects using the traditional mail channel.
I was reminded of this the other day upon receipt of a four-panel self-mailer from my local credit union.
In this case, it was the product being promoted that demanded the offer be sent using the U.S. Postal Service and not the more ephemeral, cluttered email channel.
It definitely cost big bucks. There’s no way small to medium-sized banks and credit unions could afford such a classy marketing piece. These two thoughts immediately came to mind as I glanced through the glossy, 16-page 2010 program guide from Chase Bank.
After seeing the four-page magazine ad from a local credit union, the first thought that came to mind was the comment made by John Wanamaker, the famous Philadelphia department store owner: “I know that half of my advertising is wasted, but I don’t know which half.”
The results are in and overdraft users chose direct mail as their #1 choice for receiving their overdraft opt-in notification.
What went wrong?
How could something as simple as a checking account overdraft turn into a potential disaster for many banks and credit unions?
Because of Reg. E, there are legal and financial reasons for you to contact your bank customers or credit union members and ask if they choose to opt-in to overdraft protection for debit cards.
There’s also a practical (cost) reason why you want to know if they opt-out.
I’m shocked!
Until a few minutes ago, I had absolutely no idea that my credit union had provided me with overdraft protection known as “Courtesy Pay.”
Recently, Advertising Age magazine ran a short article that said public service announcements with an anti-binge drinking message for college students were ineffectual if the messages relied on shame as the incentive to quit. That reminded me, when financial institutions attach shame to one of their banking services it can have a severely negative effect.
That service is also one of the current hot topic issues in banking — NSFs.
Breaking news. Based on early consumer responses to a nationwide survey on the topic of overdraft protection, NSF fees, and opt-in, ACTON Market Intelligence has some preliminary results.
Read the press release to find out more.
In my opinion, the marketing folks at Chase Bank missed an excellent opportunity to share some good news with its checking customers.
I’ve been convinced for some time that a majority of bank marketers either have little or no familiarity with the economic concept of price elasticity or simply choose to ignore it.
20,000 Consumers Share Their Ideas About Banks’ Overdraft Programs and NSF Fees
February 15, 2010
Lincoln, NE – The Federal Reserve Bank projects that banks could lose nearly half of their overdraft protection customers after banks’ compliance with the Fed’s Regulation E. But Brian Beach, CEO of financial marketing firm ACTON Marketing, LLC, believes that such dire forecasts do not necessarily apply to the savvy bank marketer.
“If the future of the banks’ overdraft programs are dependent on the will of the consumer, we thought someone should study that will,” says Beach. “And that’s what we have our research division doing. From in-depth market understanding and concepts developed from the study, we can construct a marketing playbook for banks — strategies that optimize both response and positive opt-ins.”
A woman rushes into a supermarket to buy a few last-minute items for dinner. She’s in a hurry because she has other errands to run. She swipes her debit card at the checkout, but finds her card is declined.
She doesn’t have enough money in her checking account for the transaction. She ignored the opt-in form her financial institution sent, so she didn’t agree to overdraft protection for her debit card purchases.
By the way, have you heard about the overdraft opt-in that’s coming?
From the loud noise at your end, I’ll assume you have.Training, credit union marketing, Direct Mail, email notification, Federal Reserve Reg E, Financial marketing, marketing campaign, NSF, Opt-In, Overdraft, Overdraft coverage, Overdraft Fees, overdraft opt-in, overdraft options, Overdraft Protection, overdraft research, Reg E, Regulation E
What do you think is the biggest obstacle your financial institution faces as you try to get your customers to opt-in so their debit cards continue to be covered by overdraft protection?
