Are pocket branches a big part of banking’s future?
I’m not referring to the cell phones your customers carry in their pockets and use for mobile banking. I’m talking about size. And as the old saying goes, size matters.
So what does “pocket” mean for banking?
I’m still trying to figure out what this email’s marketing message is about. Can you tell what it means?
One day, this message appeared in my email inbox. The subject line read, “Save time by using the PMD.” No idea what PMD meant. I assumed it was another marketing white paper offer. But here’s what I saw…
The body of the email from PMD.
Sometimes I shake my head when I hear comments from people who call themselves marketers.
The statement below was in an email and forwarded to me. An individual at a bank, whose title is VP of Marketing, wrote the original message. It refers to a marketing promotion created for the bank.
“I would say let’s get rid of Free almost everywhere — seems kinda ‘slimy.’”
You probably don’t remember the old Burma-Shave billboard campaigns. The signs were used — and were popular — along highways from the late 1920s until the long series ended in 1963.
The Burma-Shave technique was to place one “jingle” style message on a series of small signs. Here’s one…
How quickly can your financial institution’s marketing department react to a breaking event? Can you match the speed of JCPenny? I have some ideas to help you.
The JCP story is widely known. Sales were already declining when in November 2011, Ron Johnson was hired as CEO of the department store to turn things around. Johnson’s ideas included eliminating merchandise sales and coupons in favor of the same low prices every day and other sweeping changes.
Shoppers stayed away, more shoppers left, and in the fourth quarter of 2012, sales were 32% lower than the same quarter of the previous year.
Have you ever heard of a Business Tell A Friend? It might not be what you imagine.
You’re probably familiar with a basic Tell A Friend (TAF) program, even if your financial institution doesn’t use one. The regular TAF program depends on a banking customer or member referring the financial institution to family, friends, or colleagues.
You might think the Business TAF would be similar: One business refers another business. But no, that’s not how it works.
Comparison charts, once a fixture in direct marketing checking acquisition campaigns, could be ready for a comeback.
Checking account acquisition promotions in the 1980s and ’90s used comparison charts that named names and showed real features of the competing banks’ checking programs. Here’s a typical example of those historic charts.
Typical Free Checking comparison chart from the '80s and early '90s.
Years ago, when I opened my current checking account, the financial institution gave me something I’ve come to appreciate. It wasn’t a cup of coffee while I waited for the account manager. Not a still-warm chocolate chip cookie I sometimes see in the lobby. It wasn’t a premium gift or cash bonus.
It was a simple 2 x 3.5-inch card with the routing number and my account number printed on it.
Why does your bank or credit union have a website? I know the real answer is, “Because all the other financial institutions do.”
That’s apparent when I visit some FI websites, as I do every week.
Certainly, some financial institutions have great sites. Full of useful information. Easy to use. Well designed.
Your financial institution must market the advantages and selling points you have that make your institution different from your competitors. That’s because most consumers believe all banking accounts are much the same.
Sure, consumers know the difference between free checking and fee checking. They compare rates for loans and CDs. But if that’s the only criteria they know about, then you can’t blame them for driving to your competitor’s branch.
It’s another warning flag for those of you who approve printed materials that the job shouldn’t be turned into a mechanical process done halfheartedly. Another public entity — this time a university — is held up as an example because of its lack of attention to detail.
It’s a lesson that tells marketers there are never too many times you can proof and reproof copy or verify information.
Product. Product. Product. That’s what your financial institution offers. Just like the hardware store, the supermarket, the clothing store all push products, your bank or credit union pushes checking, loan, and savings products.
There’s a new series of broadcast spots created by an agency for Union Bank, a regional bank based in San Francisco. The TV ads feature celebrities talking about “doing right.”
Does it make sense for business bankers to seek core deposits from their customers? This question was posed to me by a senior lender at a Northeast bank that had a declining loan to deposit ratio. This was putting pressure on the bank’s net interest margin… a story all too common in the current economic environment.
My answer: an unequivocal yes. The simple response to the “why” was that large financial institutions were being ornery to small businesses by tightening credit standards and generally being non responsive, creating an environment ripe for community bank plundering. I told the bank to hunt when the hunting was good, not when you are hungry.
If you hear rumors that your bank or credit union might change its name or logo, as a marketing professional, you should do all you can to stop the idea before it gains momentum.
Okay, so I know that’s nearly impossible. There are times when a change is necessary. A merger, for example. But often, the change doesn’t play out well.
Evidence of this was in the news again when American Airlines revealed its new logo. Read more…
The fundamental banking account for consumers is the checking account. When you ask an individual where he or she banks, the name of the bank or credit union you hear is the one where the person has a primary checking account.
So it’s logical that you want to gain new checking customers or encourage current non-checking customers to open a checking account.
Choosing to ignore social media will no longer be an option for banks and credit unions thanks to “suggestions” from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC).
Among these new suggestions, banks and credit unions must have a social media plan, and train their staffs to handle the plan, even if their institution doesn’t engage in social media. (Check all the links below.)
It’s best to get tips from an expert, so I’m going to quote, with permission, from a blog post of an ACTON Marketing business partner company, Social Assurance. The company offers social media services to financial institutions.
How much organized business-to-business marketing do you do at your financial institution?
Too often the answer is, “Very little.”
Your business marketing can be successful, just as it is for the community banks in our two latest case studies:
Recently, I wrote about J Mail. It’s a plain white envelope with an apparent newspaper or magazine article badly torn from a periodical, with a handwritten note or a handwritten post-it note attached. You probably saw a sample of J Mail at some time, either at home or at the office.
As I often do in my blog posts, I was defining a well-known marketing technique that readers should know about. I’ve done the same by explaining the Johnson Box, lift letters, sidebars, copywriting techniques, and so on.
Lately, I’ve noticed two points about bank and credit union marketing.
I watch for financial institution print ads, direct mail, billboards, even outdoor banners and lesser media. That statement is no surprise if you’re a regular reader of this blog.
Here’s my first point. Banks and credit unions are advertising again. Remember what it was like just a few years ago? Advertising budgets were slashed. No institution wanted to advertise because of the financial crisis. News stories about the crisis hit the papers and broadcasts daily.
A few days ago, I wrote about an envelope package with a dime showing through the window. Today, I have more information about these coin-carrying promotions.
My original post about the March of Dimes solicitation that arrived early this month was titled, “Would a Financial Institution Give Away Real Money?” Before I answer that question, let’s examine the origin of these types of promotions.
The very first “Penny Mailing” came from Reader’s Digest as a way to turn prospects into new subscribers. Walter Weintz was the copywriter (and a recognized marketing master) who invented the brilliant, now often-copied technique. The magazine’s Penny Mailing first appeared in mailboxes in 1955.
