Rabbit Season, Duck Season

“ObamaCare...”

“RomneyCare...”

“We’re growing...”

“The sky is falling...”

Blah, Blah, Blah

We are smack-dab in the middle of the 2012 episode of “Rabbit Season, Duck Season!”

Think about it … no one really knows the truth, there is no compromise and, in the end, you know someone’s going to get their duck bill blown off.

There’s a similar Rabbit Season, Duck Season that’s been playing for years with credit unions and community banks.

In full disclosure, we help both credit unions AND community banks to improve their marketing.  And, aside from some basic, structural and colloquial differences, we are all VERY similar … and VERY concerned about each other.

From one perspective, I get it.  There are roughly 15,000 total banks and credit unions in America.  Of those, about 12,000 are classified as either community banks or credit unions:

• More than 5,000 community banks (Independent Community Bankers of America)
• More than 7,000 credit unions (Callahans’ Peer-to-Peer)

From a sheer numbers perspective, there is a lot to be concerned about.

However, combined, credit unions and community banks only hold about 15% of all assets in the US:

• $1.2 trillion for community banks (Independent Community Bankers of America)
• $963 billion for credit unions (Callahans’ Peer-to-Peer)

While the “Big 4” banks alone: Bank of America, Citi, Chase and Wells Fargo hold 39% of consumer deposits. (Federal Reserve System)

So, today’s discussion … do we spend time and budget resources fighting for 15% of a market against a competitor who’s VERY similar to us, or do we position ourselves against the big, “impersonal” Goliaths and try to get a slice of the larger pie?

The answer, as always, will differ from market-to-market:

• Who has the market share?  Review the FDIC and NCUA deposit data and see who your market is banking with.
•  Are there growth trends?  Is there a mid-level payer who is building branches, increasing online access and making waves in your market?
• Measure awareness.  With a quick phone survey, you can understand who your market thinks of when they think of banking.  Are you in the top 3?
• What’s the marketing activity?  We will never have the total marketing budget of Wells Fargo or Bank of America, but what are the competitors doing in YOUR neighborhood?  If Chase is dropping a huge media buy in your market, you need to consider how to compete against it – or to simply ignore it and focus elsewhere.

In the end, you have to pick your battles and you’ll ultimately have to steal business to grow.  Who has the member/customer-base that you want?  Which one or two institutions should you position yourself against?

As community-centric institutions, credit unions and community banks will ALWAYS have a story to tell compared to the big-banks.

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We bring these marketing philosophies to community banks and credit unions nationwide, and would love to bring them to your institution too.  Contact us to see how.

MarketMatch is also a nationally and internationally requested speaker.  Contact us to bring our marketing ideas to your next conference.

Here are the conferences where you can find MarketMatch.

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MarketMatch is a marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the right story that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM and prove the best RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

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