As many of you know, I fly a lot. I tend to fly Delta the most...and usually have to go through either Cincinnati or Atlanta to get anywhere. It is one of the "experiences" that I dislike about Delta. This leads me to a story about handling situations that routinely arise in business...and how to handle them in a manner that is not only true to the Brand but enhances the experience.
About 18 months ago, I was on a Delta Flight that left Dayton for Atlanta on my way to Minneapolis (you don't see the logic in that route, either, do you...but I digresss). The flight was routine in every sense and the day was a great day to fly...sunny, warm and clear. As we made our approach to Atlanta all seemed normal. As we we descending and approached the runway, all was still as expected. Nothing fantastic, just as what was expected. As we prepared to touch our wheels....I was thrust back in my seat as the pilot put the floor down on the throttle and we quickly became airborne again. What happened? Close call? Problem with the plane? It was not clear....and NEVER became clear! As we circled back around and came back to land....this time for real...no one said a thing-- not the captain, not the flight attendants, but rest assured the passengers were sure talking about it! As we landed and taxi'd to the gate...still nothing. We prepared to get off the plane...still nothing. We were ALL left up to our vivid imagination as to what happened. As I walked down the terminal, some of the stories being created or bantered around were pretty dramatic...and NONE were good for Delta! They missed their chance to manage the situation!
Now, compare that to a recent flight that I took on Southwest Airlines. We were departing Columbus, OH for Little Rock Arkansas (which I love by the way....Arkansas is gorgeous!) Another routine take-off, cruise and preparation for landing....until we approached the landing. Here we go again, I thought. But the plane hit like a ton of bricks on the runway and the pilot brought it back down for a 2nd, slightly smoother, landing...we made it! Now...a critical brand decision was made...or could be made...in this situation. Follow the Delta lead and ignore it and NOT manage the brand...or do something different. The pilot made the brand decision that was different!
As soon as we taxi'd off the main runway, the captain turned on the PA system and made an announcement..."Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to be the 1st to welcome you to Little Rock International Airport...the time is...the temp is..., etc." I was thinking he was going to ignore the rock hard landing. However, at the moment of truth...right where our brand, reputation and future opportunity for sales lies (yes, at your bank/CU, too!) the pilot made a well-trained decision. He said, "I would like to also share with you a policy here at Southwest Airlines...that there is never a charge for the 2nd landing! Have a great day!"
There it was...not an explanation...but a Brand Saving action that lived up to the brand personality of Southwest Airlines. As I walked out fo the gate and down the terminal the conversation was more laughter than concern and people saying "that is why I fly Southwest...I love it."
The Brand lives on and is actually strengthened by what happened.
Now think of your institution...what path would your staff take the Delta "A" path or the Southwest "B" path? Ask yourself and then go into your lobbies, call your call center, etc. to see what truth lies at the moment of the Brand opportunity!
It takes consistency, a stated purpose, and a clear understanding that everyone has a role in the upkeep and delivery of the brand....
Cheers!
Bruce
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Motivating Employees to Cross-Sell
ETSU02
You make a very good point in your comment to my last post. Last week was a little crazy and I was on vacation for a few days and unable to respond...so let's jump in and get started.
In my ever-humble opinion, I believe that employee motivation is directly tied to expectations. The two are so closely related that it is difficult sometimes to tell the difference. I would also argue that cross selling and sending referrals internally is about as optional as balancing the teller drawer.
In order to motivate your employees to do more cross selling, we should talk about the current culture within your institution. Does the initiative come from the top of the line and trickle down, or is the marketing department in charge? In my experience, when an institution tries to implement a sales and service culture, but is not initiated by the senior managers/CEO, it is doomed to fail. I have even run across institutions where the CEO was responsible for the sales and service culture shift but it still failed...this later failure is completely related to the lack of accountability on the part of the employees.
Shifting your culture will be one of the most difficult things you have to do. Notice I say, "have to do." This culture shift is not only necessary for success, but it is mandatory for growth. If your employees don't embrace the philosophy of better serving your customers, it will be difficult for you to grow (hence the attrition issue you mentioned in your original comment). Your competition really only wants what you have...YOUR CUSTOMERS.
Teaching your staff to better serve your customers (i.e. cross selling) is truly like teaching an old dog a new trick. However, that being said, it is still executed with great success by MANY financial institutions every day. It takes time, but here are some baby steps to help you get started.
1. Create a plan, include the expectations of each employee type and the associated rewards AND punishments for not meeting the expectations.
2. Set goals for EVERYONE with a time line for meeting those goals.
3. Training
4. Training
5. Training (it is listed three times, because not only is this THE MOST critical piece of the puzzle, it is not a one time deal. Training needs to be on-going, progressive, and refreshed frequently)
6. Measurement. What good will shifting your culture do if you can't say to your employees, "thanks to your hard work and dedication to serving the customers of our bank, we have 1000 new customers this year and our asset size has increased by 10% in the last 12 months."
I hope this will help you get started in the right direction. I have updated my profile with my email address and my phone number, should you have any questions or like additional information.
Good luck, and good selling!
Jenna
You make a very good point in your comment to my last post. Last week was a little crazy and I was on vacation for a few days and unable to respond...so let's jump in and get started.
In my ever-humble opinion, I believe that employee motivation is directly tied to expectations. The two are so closely related that it is difficult sometimes to tell the difference. I would also argue that cross selling and sending referrals internally is about as optional as balancing the teller drawer.
In order to motivate your employees to do more cross selling, we should talk about the current culture within your institution. Does the initiative come from the top of the line and trickle down, or is the marketing department in charge? In my experience, when an institution tries to implement a sales and service culture, but is not initiated by the senior managers/CEO, it is doomed to fail. I have even run across institutions where the CEO was responsible for the sales and service culture shift but it still failed...this later failure is completely related to the lack of accountability on the part of the employees.
Shifting your culture will be one of the most difficult things you have to do. Notice I say, "have to do." This culture shift is not only necessary for success, but it is mandatory for growth. If your employees don't embrace the philosophy of better serving your customers, it will be difficult for you to grow (hence the attrition issue you mentioned in your original comment). Your competition really only wants what you have...YOUR CUSTOMERS.
Teaching your staff to better serve your customers (i.e. cross selling) is truly like teaching an old dog a new trick. However, that being said, it is still executed with great success by MANY financial institutions every day. It takes time, but here are some baby steps to help you get started.
1. Create a plan, include the expectations of each employee type and the associated rewards AND punishments for not meeting the expectations.
2. Set goals for EVERYONE with a time line for meeting those goals.
3. Training
4. Training
5. Training (it is listed three times, because not only is this THE MOST critical piece of the puzzle, it is not a one time deal. Training needs to be on-going, progressive, and refreshed frequently)
6. Measurement. What good will shifting your culture do if you can't say to your employees, "thanks to your hard work and dedication to serving the customers of our bank, we have 1000 new customers this year and our asset size has increased by 10% in the last 12 months."
I hope this will help you get started in the right direction. I have updated my profile with my email address and my phone number, should you have any questions or like additional information.
Good luck, and good selling!
Jenna
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - Don't overlook it's importance!
The following are efforts that can be used for bonding or conversion. For bonding, it can help build relationship and add to LTV (lifetime value) of customer:
--An effort doesn't need to lead to a sale or inquiry to be considered effective
--"Passive" communications, such as a birthday card, a thank you note or a "just because" card assist in CRM efforts
--Freemiums all add value (i.e. eBook, a .pdf of valuable editorial content or white paper emailed to leads and/or subs)
--If all of your communications with someone are about getting something from them, they will tend to tune them out and not be as responsive. But if peppered in that communication you have a genuine peer-to-peer relationship message, they will more open to other messages, and will feel like you are building and investing in a genuine relationship. (insidedirectmail.com)
--During rough times, don't bury your head in the sand, use this opportunity to communicate with your clients. Send a personalized email, audio email (with recording), schedule outbound calls (either live or voice reach), or schedule a teleseminar. You can't control external factors, but you can control how you communicate and reinforce your commitment to your clients.
--An effort doesn't need to lead to a sale or inquiry to be considered effective
--"Passive" communications, such as a birthday card, a thank you note or a "just because" card assist in CRM efforts
--Freemiums all add value (i.e. eBook, a .pdf of valuable editorial content or white paper emailed to leads and/or subs)
--If all of your communications with someone are about getting something from them, they will tend to tune them out and not be as responsive. But if peppered in that communication you have a genuine peer-to-peer relationship message, they will more open to other messages, and will feel like you are building and investing in a genuine relationship. (insidedirectmail.com)
--During rough times, don't bury your head in the sand, use this opportunity to communicate with your clients. Send a personalized email, audio email (with recording), schedule outbound calls (either live or voice reach), or schedule a teleseminar. You can't control external factors, but you can control how you communicate and reinforce your commitment to your clients.
All Marketers are Liars. Well, we shouldn't be...
According to marketing guru Seth Godin, all marketers are liars. This is no attack on Seth, as I view him as a rock star in the marketing world, but I am writing this post to simply ask the question, wouldn't we be better off if we weren't liars? As I write this post, I am reminded of a second book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. We were taught then that lying is bad, so why is it accepted now?
We might be tempted to "spin" the truth when things aren't going our way, especially in crisis situations. However with the speed of information these days, the more you spin, the more likely you will be caught and exposed. The role of the citizen journalist has become paramount in the information age, and due in part to the popularity of user-generated content and newer technologies such as blogs, anyone can write an expos'e. So if you are caught in a crisis, avoid the temptation to spin.
Tactics for crisis communications:
1. If you have made a mistake, acknowledge it as soon as you realize it. We all make mistakes, and we have all been in situations where we have had to apologize. The first step in any crisis communications plan should be to acknowledge the mistake, own the mistake, and publicly address it in some form (i.e. an apology).
2. Transparency is the key. Many media outlets love a good juicy story. However, there isn't a story to break if you are the one breaking the news. Don't let the media beat you to the punch. Be as transparent as you can be. Don't hide or restrict information flow. It will get out, and when it does, you will look like you did everything in your power to prevent it, putting you in a compromised situation.
3. Seek feedback from your key stakeholders. After acknowledging the situation, apologizing for the situation, and keeping your stakeholders (or customers) updated, seek their feedback. Invite them into the process. You only exist because of them. You are there to serve their needs. If you haven't done that very well or have offended them, find out how you can be a better partner.
4. Release an action plan. There are those who will be satisfied by an omission of error and an apology. There are others who could care less about an apology, but want to know that a similar error will not occur in the future. They want action, and you in turn want to avoid the same mistake as well. So examine the error or situation, consider the feedback you received from your stakeholders, and develop an action plan to address the situation. And don't be shy with it...share it with all.
Remember, business is about relationships. Relationships with the press. Relationships with your stakeholders. Relationships with your customers. There isn't a business in history who hasn't misstepped. How you handle the misstep will communicate a lot to your customers. Although unfortunate and damaging, it can also be a perfect opportunity to solidify your relationships.
We might be tempted to "spin" the truth when things aren't going our way, especially in crisis situations. However with the speed of information these days, the more you spin, the more likely you will be caught and exposed. The role of the citizen journalist has become paramount in the information age, and due in part to the popularity of user-generated content and newer technologies such as blogs, anyone can write an expos'e. So if you are caught in a crisis, avoid the temptation to spin.
Tactics for crisis communications:
1. If you have made a mistake, acknowledge it as soon as you realize it. We all make mistakes, and we have all been in situations where we have had to apologize. The first step in any crisis communications plan should be to acknowledge the mistake, own the mistake, and publicly address it in some form (i.e. an apology).
2. Transparency is the key. Many media outlets love a good juicy story. However, there isn't a story to break if you are the one breaking the news. Don't let the media beat you to the punch. Be as transparent as you can be. Don't hide or restrict information flow. It will get out, and when it does, you will look like you did everything in your power to prevent it, putting you in a compromised situation.
3. Seek feedback from your key stakeholders. After acknowledging the situation, apologizing for the situation, and keeping your stakeholders (or customers) updated, seek their feedback. Invite them into the process. You only exist because of them. You are there to serve their needs. If you haven't done that very well or have offended them, find out how you can be a better partner.
4. Release an action plan. There are those who will be satisfied by an omission of error and an apology. There are others who could care less about an apology, but want to know that a similar error will not occur in the future. They want action, and you in turn want to avoid the same mistake as well. So examine the error or situation, consider the feedback you received from your stakeholders, and develop an action plan to address the situation. And don't be shy with it...share it with all.
Remember, business is about relationships. Relationships with the press. Relationships with your stakeholders. Relationships with your customers. There isn't a business in history who hasn't misstepped. How you handle the misstep will communicate a lot to your customers. Although unfortunate and damaging, it can also be a perfect opportunity to solidify your relationships.
Friday, July 20, 2007
What's Next?
Happy Friday to everyone out there in Bloggerland!
I have had this window open since I got back from the gym at 7:00 this morning...and am just now getting to sending you my Friday message, but it seems as though I am at a loss for words.
I have been trying to think of a personal story that will somehow tie back to a brilliant bank marketing idea but am coming up empty. For those of you who know me well, you know that being at a loss for words probably means someone has wired my mouth shut...But today is just one of those days. When you have as many stories in your head as I do, it is sometimes difficult to tap a memory unless someone sparks me.
So here's your Friday challenge...Me. Yep, that's right, I am challenging you to challenge me. What do you want to know? What challenges are you facing at your institution that you want a little help with? I am offering to you a wealth of knowledge...all you have to do is ask. Post your questions and ideas as a comment to this post and I will respond to as many as I can!
And to the first to stump me, a copy of my favorite marketing masterpiece...a book of unparalleled brilliance...the name of which I will share in my next post, as well as why I think it's such a GREAT book!
Good luck, and happy challenging!
Jenna
I have had this window open since I got back from the gym at 7:00 this morning...and am just now getting to sending you my Friday message, but it seems as though I am at a loss for words.
I have been trying to think of a personal story that will somehow tie back to a brilliant bank marketing idea but am coming up empty. For those of you who know me well, you know that being at a loss for words probably means someone has wired my mouth shut...But today is just one of those days. When you have as many stories in your head as I do, it is sometimes difficult to tap a memory unless someone sparks me.
So here's your Friday challenge...Me. Yep, that's right, I am challenging you to challenge me. What do you want to know? What challenges are you facing at your institution that you want a little help with? I am offering to you a wealth of knowledge...all you have to do is ask. Post your questions and ideas as a comment to this post and I will respond to as many as I can!
And to the first to stump me, a copy of my favorite marketing masterpiece...a book of unparalleled brilliance...the name of which I will share in my next post, as well as why I think it's such a GREAT book!
Good luck, and happy challenging!
Jenna
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Yardly and Vanessa
My first cross-country move happened when I was in my mid-twenties. I was moving from small-town Michigan to Plano, Texas. Plano is a northern suburb of Dallas. I picked my apartment based on two things...proximity to my office, and proximity to the Stonebriar Mall. This place was HUGE!!! It was the home of all the major chain stores, a few specialty boutiques and my first Nordstrom experience.
The Nordstrom service standard is no big industry secret. There are retailers all over this country that aspire to reach half of the Nordstrom standard. One particularly boring Monday evening, I decided it was time to try jeans that didn't come from The Gap. So, to Nordstrom I went. Upstairs, I found all of the really (expensive) hot brands...Citizens, 7, and a whole host of entirely-too-expensive-for-my-blood jeans. And unless you are a very slender woman, some of these brands just aren't quite right, even if you can afford them!
After trying on countless pairs of jeans and deciding I would come back in 20 pounds...errr...a few months, Yardly found me. She showed me JAG jeans. They are exclusive to Nordstrom and are still to this day my favorite jeans. But that's not the point.
About a month later, I was asked to read a passage at a good friend's wedding and was also asked to not wear a business suit while reading...I officially had nothing to wear. I went back to Yardly. Not only did she remember my name and the size jeans I was looking for, but she made me feel like a long lost friend. When I explained the situation with the wedding, the reading and needing a dress, Yardly walked me over to meet Vanessa Williams. Yup, that was her real name. She was equally beautiful but instead of being an actress/singer, she was a personal shopper. And she was from Grand Rapids, Michigan!!! YAY! Someone in Dallas who understands the mid-west and how DIFFERENT it is!
Vanessa took as much time as I needed to fit me for a dress, the accompanying jewelry, undergarments and shoes, and I bought it all ($$$$) and happily! While I was there, she took my measurements and made notes about my likes and dislikes. I wasn't sure why, but whatever! For the record, my favorite color is red, I hate flower patterns on anything, I love strappy sandals in the summer and will find a way to pull them off in the winter, and I will never don polka dots even if they are the newest hot trend of the season.
A few days later, I got a note in the mail from Vanessa Williams, my personal shopper at Nordstrom, inviting me to preview the new fall line. She also noted that I should bring my recent purchase with me, in that one of the new dresses was in a light reddish color and did not have a pattern...and that she had found a really great shoe to go with it.
I attended the sneak preview, returned my first purchase and bought the light red dress with the great strappy sandals to match. I had kept the original jewelery in that it was so cool, but ended up buying a new necklace to go with the new dress and sandals.
I could go on and on about all of my incredible experiences with Nordstrom and Vanessa, but I think you get the point. So, you get the point of the story, but do you understand how this relates to banking? Let me clarify.
Vanessa and Yardly are not magicians, mind readers or any psychic of the sort. They are, however, savvy with their CRM systems. Yardly may have gotten lucky, but Vanessa was smart. She knew that I would spend the money if I could fall in love with whatever it was she was showing me. And by asking a few simple questions about my favorite color and how I feel about patterns she was able to deduce that a light red dress with NO pattern would be great for me.
Do you ask your customers about what they like and don't like? Have you asked your retail customers about their family? If they volunteer that they have children, ask how old they are and make a personal connection. With your commercial customers, GET A WISH LIST!!! Ask them what ultimate tool would make their business run more efficiently and do some homework...find it for them...then find a way to finance it for them.
I know I have said this before, but banks are not that much different from retailers. Once we begin to think like them, and leverage our customer intelligence, we will then begin to truly serve our customers and earn the share of wallet that we deserve.
So, while we are talking about service standards...here's a link to a website that has lots of tools on it...and this one will really make you stop and think. Making small changes to increase our standards of service are not hard and they do not have to be expensive...take Johnny for example:
http://www.simpletruths.com/simpletruths/a.aspx?af=219&mo=stsr
Enjoy!
Jenna
The Nordstrom service standard is no big industry secret. There are retailers all over this country that aspire to reach half of the Nordstrom standard. One particularly boring Monday evening, I decided it was time to try jeans that didn't come from The Gap. So, to Nordstrom I went. Upstairs, I found all of the really (expensive) hot brands...Citizens, 7, and a whole host of entirely-too-expensive-for-my-blood jeans. And unless you are a very slender woman, some of these brands just aren't quite right, even if you can afford them!
After trying on countless pairs of jeans and deciding I would come back in 20 pounds...errr...a few months, Yardly found me. She showed me JAG jeans. They are exclusive to Nordstrom and are still to this day my favorite jeans. But that's not the point.
About a month later, I was asked to read a passage at a good friend's wedding and was also asked to not wear a business suit while reading...I officially had nothing to wear. I went back to Yardly. Not only did she remember my name and the size jeans I was looking for, but she made me feel like a long lost friend. When I explained the situation with the wedding, the reading and needing a dress, Yardly walked me over to meet Vanessa Williams. Yup, that was her real name. She was equally beautiful but instead of being an actress/singer, she was a personal shopper. And she was from Grand Rapids, Michigan!!! YAY! Someone in Dallas who understands the mid-west and how DIFFERENT it is!
Vanessa took as much time as I needed to fit me for a dress, the accompanying jewelry, undergarments and shoes, and I bought it all ($$$$) and happily! While I was there, she took my measurements and made notes about my likes and dislikes. I wasn't sure why, but whatever! For the record, my favorite color is red, I hate flower patterns on anything, I love strappy sandals in the summer and will find a way to pull them off in the winter, and I will never don polka dots even if they are the newest hot trend of the season.
A few days later, I got a note in the mail from Vanessa Williams, my personal shopper at Nordstrom, inviting me to preview the new fall line. She also noted that I should bring my recent purchase with me, in that one of the new dresses was in a light reddish color and did not have a pattern...and that she had found a really great shoe to go with it.
I attended the sneak preview, returned my first purchase and bought the light red dress with the great strappy sandals to match. I had kept the original jewelery in that it was so cool, but ended up buying a new necklace to go with the new dress and sandals.
I could go on and on about all of my incredible experiences with Nordstrom and Vanessa, but I think you get the point. So, you get the point of the story, but do you understand how this relates to banking? Let me clarify.
Vanessa and Yardly are not magicians, mind readers or any psychic of the sort. They are, however, savvy with their CRM systems. Yardly may have gotten lucky, but Vanessa was smart. She knew that I would spend the money if I could fall in love with whatever it was she was showing me. And by asking a few simple questions about my favorite color and how I feel about patterns she was able to deduce that a light red dress with NO pattern would be great for me.
Do you ask your customers about what they like and don't like? Have you asked your retail customers about their family? If they volunteer that they have children, ask how old they are and make a personal connection. With your commercial customers, GET A WISH LIST!!! Ask them what ultimate tool would make their business run more efficiently and do some homework...find it for them...then find a way to finance it for them.
I know I have said this before, but banks are not that much different from retailers. Once we begin to think like them, and leverage our customer intelligence, we will then begin to truly serve our customers and earn the share of wallet that we deserve.
So, while we are talking about service standards...here's a link to a website that has lots of tools on it...and this one will really make you stop and think. Making small changes to increase our standards of service are not hard and they do not have to be expensive...take Johnny for example:
http://www.simpletruths.com/simpletruths/a.aspx?af=219&mo=stsr
Enjoy!
Jenna
Monday, July 16, 2007
Is your personality contagious?
I think it's a very valid question. I believe that enthusiasm is contagious. I also believe pessimism is contagious. When I am around people who are happy and excited, I tend to be happy and excited too...but when I am around people who are negative and pessimistic I feel like an energy vampire has sucked the life out of me!
This is why I ask. Every Monday morning the MarketMatch team has a conference call to check in and discuss how we can help one another by leveraging each of our unique perspectives. This morning I was told that I was starting to "talk like Bruce." I used some of his catch phrases. Apparently it's contagious.
Now, I know many of you out there in the banking world have met Bruce Clapp, and if you haven't, you should. Talk about contagious enthusiasm! And the guy knows his stuff. Early in my banking career, I had the luxury to meet Bruce at a conference. We kept in touch over the long course of my career, and it wasn't long before Bruce became my mentor. He is a marketing genius. I count my blessings every day that I am now working with my mentor, and constantly being challenged to think in new ways. So, if his catch phrases AND energy are contagious, well, those are diseases I am willing to catch!
So, is your bank contagious? Does your brand resonate in such a way that your customers keep coming back and bringing their friends? Does your teller line have so much energy and excitement that your customers LOOK FORWARD to coming in? Is their day better for having stopped at the bank on the way to work? Is the enthusiasm inside your branches contagious, or do you employ energy vampires?
It's something to think about, and it's easy to fix. When employees are motivated and empowered, they feel they are a part of something bigger. And when they are happy, it shows. We don't sing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands" when we are kids because it's silly, we sing it because a it's true story.
Find a way to make your front line staff happy. And I know you are all thinking, "Whatever, Jenna...we all know it's more money." Wrong. It isn't always more money. I will bet that what is making your people less enthusiastic has more to do with lack of recognition for a job well done, lack of challenge, and lack of understanding of the importance of their role at the bank than it does their paycheck.
My final thoughts to share with you this beautiful Monday morning are these:
When you praise people for a job well done, it raises the bar of measurement for the job.
Most people live up to the expectations you set for them...but very few exceed the expectations.
Make the personality of your bank contagious! You will reap the benefits in lower attrition, greater retention, and a higher share of wallet.
Happy Monday!
Jenna
This is why I ask. Every Monday morning the MarketMatch team has a conference call to check in and discuss how we can help one another by leveraging each of our unique perspectives. This morning I was told that I was starting to "talk like Bruce." I used some of his catch phrases. Apparently it's contagious.
Now, I know many of you out there in the banking world have met Bruce Clapp, and if you haven't, you should. Talk about contagious enthusiasm! And the guy knows his stuff. Early in my banking career, I had the luxury to meet Bruce at a conference. We kept in touch over the long course of my career, and it wasn't long before Bruce became my mentor. He is a marketing genius. I count my blessings every day that I am now working with my mentor, and constantly being challenged to think in new ways. So, if his catch phrases AND energy are contagious, well, those are diseases I am willing to catch!
So, is your bank contagious? Does your brand resonate in such a way that your customers keep coming back and bringing their friends? Does your teller line have so much energy and excitement that your customers LOOK FORWARD to coming in? Is their day better for having stopped at the bank on the way to work? Is the enthusiasm inside your branches contagious, or do you employ energy vampires?
It's something to think about, and it's easy to fix. When employees are motivated and empowered, they feel they are a part of something bigger. And when they are happy, it shows. We don't sing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands" when we are kids because it's silly, we sing it because a it's true story.
Find a way to make your front line staff happy. And I know you are all thinking, "Whatever, Jenna...we all know it's more money." Wrong. It isn't always more money. I will bet that what is making your people less enthusiastic has more to do with lack of recognition for a job well done, lack of challenge, and lack of understanding of the importance of their role at the bank than it does their paycheck.
My final thoughts to share with you this beautiful Monday morning are these:
When you praise people for a job well done, it raises the bar of measurement for the job.
Most people live up to the expectations you set for them...but very few exceed the expectations.
Make the personality of your bank contagious! You will reap the benefits in lower attrition, greater retention, and a higher share of wallet.
Happy Monday!
Jenna
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
When I grow up, I wanna be a...
I grew up in a small town in central Michigan...well, home of Central Michigan University to be a bit more specific (GO CHIPS!!). My family history is one filled with two professions...teachers and bankers. When I was young, my brother and I would talk about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Keep in mind that in the late 70's and early 80's those conversations had more to do with gender and which was more "rad" than the other. I guess the word, "cool" hadn't hit mid-Michigan yet!
At an early age I started defying the things our parents called dangerous, forbidden, and "not for girls." For example, my tree house that was about 50' up an old oak tree...you had to make sure the Red Rider was carefully attached to your backpack because that fall could shatter my old crooked shooter (I became the master of compensating for that old thing!). But I digress.
So in the battle for the best "I wanna be a..." I was always the first girl fireman. Yup, long before being PC firefighters, we had firemen, and I was going to be one. Life happened, education was achieved, then some more education (I had a massive change in career path after that child development class...I KNEW I wasn't going to be a teacher after that!), and there I was...a legacy banker.
Wile my degree is in Marketing, it hasn't always been in banking. I did my internship with a beer and wine wholesaler where I did some merchandising, keg rotating, some selling and a lot of display building. When that was over, I migrated to some financial services marketing...a CPA and consulting firm most specifically where I did some contract work on a branding campaign. Then I went to the bank. Mortgage loans, new accounts and a bazillion other things that were in the catch-all job description of the Corporate Marketing Director.
Because I was spread so thin, it seemed that I was constantly putting out fires, and not able to execute the incredibly exciting and aggressive marketing plan I had written. And that's when it hit me. I had actually achieved my ultimate career goal...or at least the one I had when I was 7 years old. I was a fireman...errr...firefighter. Putting out the fires of every department head who needed that (insert the deposit product promotion of your choice) letter out yesterday!
I knew I had to make a change. Putting out fires is no way to market a bank! The change wasn't necessarily where I was working...the change had to be in the way marketing was viewed by the bank. I was on a mission. Today, that bank has shifted their view of marketing from being the people who recruit volunteers to walk in a parade and order the suckers for the drive through (and I am convinced those are called dum-dums for a reason!) to a revenue generating critical function within the bank. Granted it has taken several years (2 marketing directors and the ultimate consulting company) to get them there, but they are there and are experiencing remarkable success.
So, my question to you today is this: Are you a Marketer, or a Firefighter? Because you can't be both and I have never seen billowing smoke come out of a bank!!
No great reward has come without great risk. Take the risk.
Jenna
At an early age I started defying the things our parents called dangerous, forbidden, and "not for girls." For example, my tree house that was about 50' up an old oak tree...you had to make sure the Red Rider was carefully attached to your backpack because that fall could shatter my old crooked shooter (I became the master of compensating for that old thing!). But I digress.
So in the battle for the best "I wanna be a..." I was always the first girl fireman. Yup, long before being PC firefighters, we had firemen, and I was going to be one. Life happened, education was achieved, then some more education (I had a massive change in career path after that child development class...I KNEW I wasn't going to be a teacher after that!), and there I was...a legacy banker.
Wile my degree is in Marketing, it hasn't always been in banking. I did my internship with a beer and wine wholesaler where I did some merchandising, keg rotating, some selling and a lot of display building. When that was over, I migrated to some financial services marketing...a CPA and consulting firm most specifically where I did some contract work on a branding campaign. Then I went to the bank. Mortgage loans, new accounts and a bazillion other things that were in the catch-all job description of the Corporate Marketing Director.
Because I was spread so thin, it seemed that I was constantly putting out fires, and not able to execute the incredibly exciting and aggressive marketing plan I had written. And that's when it hit me. I had actually achieved my ultimate career goal...or at least the one I had when I was 7 years old. I was a fireman...errr...firefighter. Putting out the fires of every department head who needed that (insert the deposit product promotion of your choice) letter out yesterday!
I knew I had to make a change. Putting out fires is no way to market a bank! The change wasn't necessarily where I was working...the change had to be in the way marketing was viewed by the bank. I was on a mission. Today, that bank has shifted their view of marketing from being the people who recruit volunteers to walk in a parade and order the suckers for the drive through (and I am convinced those are called dum-dums for a reason!) to a revenue generating critical function within the bank. Granted it has taken several years (2 marketing directors and the ultimate consulting company) to get them there, but they are there and are experiencing remarkable success.
So, my question to you today is this: Are you a Marketer, or a Firefighter? Because you can't be both and I have never seen billowing smoke come out of a bank!!
No great reward has come without great risk. Take the risk.
Jenna
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Subject Lines with better open rates...
--After testing long vs. short subject lines, I've found that subject lines of less than 50 characters achieve higher open rates than those of 50 or more characters. Here's a great tool to help see which subject lines fall within email providers' parameters.
http://www.emaillabs.com/tools/from-subject-line-tool.html
Some other lessons learned:
--Contain emotional drivers (i.e. greed, fear, vanity)
--Ask a question
--Specificty rules (specific $ or %)
--Incorporate well known names in your industry
--Tie into timely news or current event
--Use a powerful call to action
--Forecasts
--Rare events
http://www.emaillabs.com/tools/from-subject-line-tool.html
Some other lessons learned:
--Contain emotional drivers (i.e. greed, fear, vanity)
--Ask a question
--Specificty rules (specific $ or %)
--Incorporate well known names in your industry
--Tie into timely news or current event
--Use a powerful call to action
--Forecasts
--Rare events
Living the Brand
Frontier Airlines. Have you ever flown them? It's an experience...and the first experience for this traveler was a little, well, how should I say it? Conflicting...that's the word, conflicting. When flying a "budget" airline, my expectations are usually in line with the cost of the flight...low!
So let's start counting my surprises. There are parents with their children and the children's grandparents EVERYWHERE. Pretty much in line with my expectations...but this is when it happens. The little boy (who announces he has to go potty) runs to his mom and says, "don't tell me who it is, I want to be surprised." HUH? I ignored it and continued my walk to the gate. I pass a few airline gates and hear "I think it was the bear." Then I hear "I watched Rachael Ray on my flight." Now I'm listening.
The same little boy comes RUNNING...I mean flat out sprint as fast as his 5 year old legs will take him...running, "did I miss it?" This time, his dad yells back, "Hurry, the plane is pulling up now." All of this running and yelling and rushing and whispering was about the animal on the tail of the Frontier Airlines plane. Our partner in flight this fine Sunday was Montana the Elk. And everyone thought that was the coolest thing ever.
Frontier Airlines launched a brand awareness campaign asking its passengers and anyone within earshot of one of their commercials to vote on their favorite animal, each having it's own name and voice. This ran for what seemed like months, and everyone was talking about it, including our local news channels...and that was free for Frontier! The anchors of the evening news were talking about who they voted for...you can't buy that kind of publicity...LITERALLY!
When was the last time another airline asked you what you thought about them? Or for that matter, when was the last time ANYONE asked you what you thought of their business, especially about something so inane as the animal on the tail of an aircraft? I am guessing your answer was, "never." Right, mine too. But you don't get voted best in class if you don't.
Everyone was so happy. The ticket agent, gate agent, flight attendants, passengers, EVERYONE was smiling. I thought it was endearing. Then I learned that each seat on my plane had it's own DirecTV with 20someodd channels. Now I am smiling...Rachael Ray on my flight, and as much commercial surfing as I can do for as long as my flight is!
I could ramble on and on about this experience, and the several subsequent, on-time, plenty of frills Frontier Airlines flights I have taken. I gave up American Airlines Gold Status for DirecTV and Sun Chips.
So what can we, as professional marketers learn from this? I can't give away all the secrets, but I can ask you to think. And ask yourselves a few simple questions:
What makes us different? (Lower prices? Maybe. Better tchatchkis? Probably not.)
Do your customers/members talk about you? (What do they say?)
Do they look forward to their next visit?
Have your customers/members become indifferent about you?
A financial institution isn't that much different from any other retail or commercial business. You and your competition are offering almost identical products at almost identical prices...I challenge you to find what makes you different, what makes you better, faster and stronger and capitalize on it!!!
See you soon,
Jenna
So let's start counting my surprises. There are parents with their children and the children's grandparents EVERYWHERE. Pretty much in line with my expectations...but this is when it happens. The little boy (who announces he has to go potty) runs to his mom and says, "don't tell me who it is, I want to be surprised." HUH? I ignored it and continued my walk to the gate. I pass a few airline gates and hear "I think it was the bear." Then I hear "I watched Rachael Ray on my flight." Now I'm listening.
The same little boy comes RUNNING...I mean flat out sprint as fast as his 5 year old legs will take him...running, "did I miss it?" This time, his dad yells back, "Hurry, the plane is pulling up now." All of this running and yelling and rushing and whispering was about the animal on the tail of the Frontier Airlines plane. Our partner in flight this fine Sunday was Montana the Elk. And everyone thought that was the coolest thing ever.
Frontier Airlines launched a brand awareness campaign asking its passengers and anyone within earshot of one of their commercials to vote on their favorite animal, each having it's own name and voice. This ran for what seemed like months, and everyone was talking about it, including our local news channels...and that was free for Frontier! The anchors of the evening news were talking about who they voted for...you can't buy that kind of publicity...LITERALLY!
When was the last time another airline asked you what you thought about them? Or for that matter, when was the last time ANYONE asked you what you thought of their business, especially about something so inane as the animal on the tail of an aircraft? I am guessing your answer was, "never." Right, mine too. But you don't get voted best in class if you don't.
Everyone was so happy. The ticket agent, gate agent, flight attendants, passengers, EVERYONE was smiling. I thought it was endearing. Then I learned that each seat on my plane had it's own DirecTV with 20someodd channels. Now I am smiling...Rachael Ray on my flight, and as much commercial surfing as I can do for as long as my flight is!
I could ramble on and on about this experience, and the several subsequent, on-time, plenty of frills Frontier Airlines flights I have taken. I gave up American Airlines Gold Status for DirecTV and Sun Chips.
So what can we, as professional marketers learn from this? I can't give away all the secrets, but I can ask you to think. And ask yourselves a few simple questions:
What makes us different? (Lower prices? Maybe. Better tchatchkis? Probably not.)
Do your customers/members talk about you? (What do they say?)
Do they look forward to their next visit?
Have your customers/members become indifferent about you?
A financial institution isn't that much different from any other retail or commercial business. You and your competition are offering almost identical products at almost identical prices...I challenge you to find what makes you different, what makes you better, faster and stronger and capitalize on it!!!
See you soon,
Jenna
Thursday, July 5, 2007
In an attempt to personalize, make sure you don't offend...
I am a huge proponent of personalizing direct mail so that the recipient feels like the package and/or offer was developed specifically for them. I think the invention of PURL (personalized URLs) technology and digital printing have created great opportunities for personalized messaging. One word of caution however -- If you don't trust all the information in your database, be careful! When pulling information for personlized direct mail campaigns, make sure that the information fields you are pulling from are correct and complete, otherwise you might end up addressing the solicitation to the wrong name or no name at all. In which case, not only did you fail to personalize the package, you have also most likely offended the recipient.
The Arts Invade Second Life...
Would you like a very inexpensive way to display your artwork in front of over 7 million people? Can't afford a gallery space in the real world--why not open one up in Second Life. Check out this article in the The Art Newspaper about the art scene in Second Life.For video tours of exhibitions and performances on Second Life, go to: http://www.theartnewspaper.com/www.youtube.com/theartnewspaper.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Welcome!
To the new MarketMatch Blog!
MarketMatch is dedicated to providing perspective and strategic vision to our clients and the financial service industry...
A major component of that perspective is the timely review of industry trends, sharing ideas across the country, and helping you to create relevance for your institution, your marketing, and your brand.
We will actively share our thoughts in a lively forum for marketing professionals throughout the country...
Check in often, read up on our thoughts, and share yours!
MarketMatch is dedicated to providing perspective and strategic vision to our clients and the financial service industry...
A major component of that perspective is the timely review of industry trends, sharing ideas across the country, and helping you to create relevance for your institution, your marketing, and your brand.
We will actively share our thoughts in a lively forum for marketing professionals throughout the country...
Check in often, read up on our thoughts, and share yours!
Monday, July 2, 2007
Where Have All the Pop Unders Gone?
Have you noticed that you don't see as many pop ups and pop unders anymore?
That's because many search engines frown on pop ups or pop unders. A matter of fact, if you start a pay-per-click campaign and happen to be redirecting traffic to your website and you have pop ups on your website, the search engines (i.e. Google, Yahoo) will ask you to disable the pop up code BEFORE they approve your PPC campaign.
That’s largely because these forms of marketing are intrusive and annoying to Web surfers. They are also oftentimes similar to ‘online spam’, where you can’t see how to close the pop up (as the publisher made the close button very small or faint in color). And the ones you do finally figure out how to close, miraculously spawn children when you hit ‘x’, and all these boxes seem to cascade out of now where and the only thing you can do is reboot to stop the madness.
It’s the oldest form of ‘interruption marketing’, and it typically doesn’t work.
So next time you’re wondering why these ads aren’t as popular as they used to be, it’s because consumers have gotten savvier and less tolerant. Thank goodness!
Lead gen success: Using online polls
Polls ... one of the best marketing vehicles I've used to gauge consumer interest or collect qualified emails. Underestimated by those that don't truly know it's value and how to leverage them. But a completely viable and reliable way to build your prospect database.
Polls can be used on your own website as well as placed on other websites/blogs via banner or text ads through a media buy. Variables for success will include the poll question, media placement, amount of media (impressions) purchased, and your overall budget.
However, unless you have an up-sell landing page that comes up immediately after completion of the poll, the leads will not be initially monetized. To some, initial monetization is important. To others, having those names convert organically in the normal sales cycle of 30 - 90 days is fine.If that’s the case, it’s important to email these names soon after you collect them with a dedicated email for a low priced offer and try and convert leads for revenues to offset the media cost.
Here are some other important things to consider when using polls for lead generation:
1. Interactivity. Your question should engage the reader, encourage participation, peak interest, and tie into a current event. Also, have a "comments" field for additional remarks. Sample proven poll topics include: Politics, economy, health, consumer breakthroughs, the stock market, foreign affairs. It's great to weave current events and hot topics into your poll. Some websites that highlight the most talked about (and searched) topics on the web include: buzz.yahoo.com/, 50.lycos.com/, and google.com/press/zeitgeist.html.
2. Relevance. Your poll question should be related to your product, free eLetter topic, or free bonus report topic. This will greatly improve your conversion rate and up-sell rate.
3. Incentive. If you're a publisher, after people take your poll or survey, mention that to thank them for their participation you’re automatically signing them up for your free eLetter, which they can opt out at any time. If you don't have an eLetter, you can offer a "must read" eReport and mention the reports value. This can be any useful "macro" level report that is anywhere from 3-10 pages. Emailing the report will reduce the number of bogus emails you get. Keep in mind, if it’s part of your privacy policy not to sell or rent email names to third parties (and as a best practice, it should be), mention this by sign up button. This will help reassure users that their email addresses are safe with you.
4. Name Quality. If your poll question and your product are in sync, these names could be extremely qualified for current … or future products. This can help allocate leads for like-minded front end products, such as a paid newsletter. Each name that comes in under a specific topic or product type should be "tagged" accordingly by your database folks for segmentation purposes to help conversion rates.
5. Market sentiment. In addition to name collection, your effort will also gauge general market opinion. The results from your poll could be helpful for product development. You'll be tapping into people's thoughts and behaviors and may consider next steps based on market demand.
6. Follow Up. To help reiterate to prospects the connection between the poll they just took and your incentive, it’s important to make sure that each name that comes in gets an immediate "thank you page" (for taking the poll) and then an auto responder email containing the free eReport or eLetter. Also consider sending a series of bonding emails that basically "warm up" the new subscriber to your company – letting them get to know who you are, what you do, and how it will benefit them. This will help improve the life time value (LTV) of the lead.
7. Results. Don’t just leave 'em hanging … make sure you tell prospects on your poll page that "results will be published" and they should check your site regularly. This will help readership and website traffic.
8. Reader Participation. Mention on your poll landing page that some comments may be published (anonymously) when the results are released. Pick the very best, most powerful and provoking responses and publish those on your website. This tactic has been extremely successful with social networking communities and blogs. It also helps with reader engagement as viewers can connect with the realism of the comments.
Polls are a viable way to build you list. So try it out...I know you won't be disappointed with the outcome.
That's because many search engines frown on pop ups or pop unders. A matter of fact, if you start a pay-per-click campaign and happen to be redirecting traffic to your website and you have pop ups on your website, the search engines (i.e. Google, Yahoo) will ask you to disable the pop up code BEFORE they approve your PPC campaign.
That’s largely because these forms of marketing are intrusive and annoying to Web surfers. They are also oftentimes similar to ‘online spam’, where you can’t see how to close the pop up (as the publisher made the close button very small or faint in color). And the ones you do finally figure out how to close, miraculously spawn children when you hit ‘x’, and all these boxes seem to cascade out of now where and the only thing you can do is reboot to stop the madness.
It’s the oldest form of ‘interruption marketing’, and it typically doesn’t work.
So next time you’re wondering why these ads aren’t as popular as they used to be, it’s because consumers have gotten savvier and less tolerant. Thank goodness!
Lead gen success: Using online polls
Polls ... one of the best marketing vehicles I've used to gauge consumer interest or collect qualified emails. Underestimated by those that don't truly know it's value and how to leverage them. But a completely viable and reliable way to build your prospect database.
Polls can be used on your own website as well as placed on other websites/blogs via banner or text ads through a media buy. Variables for success will include the poll question, media placement, amount of media (impressions) purchased, and your overall budget.
However, unless you have an up-sell landing page that comes up immediately after completion of the poll, the leads will not be initially monetized. To some, initial monetization is important. To others, having those names convert organically in the normal sales cycle of 30 - 90 days is fine.If that’s the case, it’s important to email these names soon after you collect them with a dedicated email for a low priced offer and try and convert leads for revenues to offset the media cost.
Here are some other important things to consider when using polls for lead generation:
1. Interactivity. Your question should engage the reader, encourage participation, peak interest, and tie into a current event. Also, have a "comments" field for additional remarks. Sample proven poll topics include: Politics, economy, health, consumer breakthroughs, the stock market, foreign affairs. It's great to weave current events and hot topics into your poll. Some websites that highlight the most talked about (and searched) topics on the web include: buzz.yahoo.com/, 50.lycos.com/, and google.com/press/zeitgeist.html.
2. Relevance. Your poll question should be related to your product, free eLetter topic, or free bonus report topic. This will greatly improve your conversion rate and up-sell rate.
3. Incentive. If you're a publisher, after people take your poll or survey, mention that to thank them for their participation you’re automatically signing them up for your free eLetter, which they can opt out at any time. If you don't have an eLetter, you can offer a "must read" eReport and mention the reports value. This can be any useful "macro" level report that is anywhere from 3-10 pages. Emailing the report will reduce the number of bogus emails you get. Keep in mind, if it’s part of your privacy policy not to sell or rent email names to third parties (and as a best practice, it should be), mention this by sign up button. This will help reassure users that their email addresses are safe with you.
4. Name Quality. If your poll question and your product are in sync, these names could be extremely qualified for current … or future products. This can help allocate leads for like-minded front end products, such as a paid newsletter. Each name that comes in under a specific topic or product type should be "tagged" accordingly by your database folks for segmentation purposes to help conversion rates.
5. Market sentiment. In addition to name collection, your effort will also gauge general market opinion. The results from your poll could be helpful for product development. You'll be tapping into people's thoughts and behaviors and may consider next steps based on market demand.
6. Follow Up. To help reiterate to prospects the connection between the poll they just took and your incentive, it’s important to make sure that each name that comes in gets an immediate "thank you page" (for taking the poll) and then an auto responder email containing the free eReport or eLetter. Also consider sending a series of bonding emails that basically "warm up" the new subscriber to your company – letting them get to know who you are, what you do, and how it will benefit them. This will help improve the life time value (LTV) of the lead.
7. Results. Don’t just leave 'em hanging … make sure you tell prospects on your poll page that "results will be published" and they should check your site regularly. This will help readership and website traffic.
8. Reader Participation. Mention on your poll landing page that some comments may be published (anonymously) when the results are released. Pick the very best, most powerful and provoking responses and publish those on your website. This tactic has been extremely successful with social networking communities and blogs. It also helps with reader engagement as viewers can connect with the realism of the comments.
Polls are a viable way to build you list. So try it out...I know you won't be disappointed with the outcome.
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