Great Marketing: It Slices, It Dices...

Hey, friends. Are you tired of your marketing budget getting slashed every year? Are you embarrassed because your CEO looks at Marketing as the Arts and Crafts Department? Well friends, have I got the answer for you…

The Seg-O-Matic … It slices, it dices, it improves your response and blows up your ROI.


Alright, I know I sound like a bad '70's, Ron Popeil infomercial. But, hey ... that cat knew how to sell!

Seriously, folks ... segmentation is all about slicing and dicing. Here's an example:

We have a client who is rolling out a new interest checking account. Like many other smaller institutions, they previously only offered Free Checking and are now expanding their product line with the hopes of acquiring more checking, increasing retention and increasing services per household.

In the span of a 10 minute conversation, we had 7 target segments:

1. Members who qualify for new product - Move them into it
2. Members who qualify by balance but missing ancillary product - Motivate them to open more services to step into the new checking (this segment could have been more than a dozen individual segments is we focused on exactly what they were missing)
3. Those who are close in average balance - Increase balances/retention
4. Members who have required balance in deposits but no checking - New checking/retention
5. Non-checking with loans - New checking, focus on convenience of online banking
6. Non-checking without loans - New checking
7. Acquisition - Self explanatory (this could also be countless segments, but this SEG-focused institution has access to a very targeted list)

So there you have it, an instant strategy for product roll out by simply considering who the product affects, what each segment needs and what those needs have to offer to your objectives.

This client has fewer than 8,000 members, so it would have been easy to create a postcard to sound the trumpets and proudly proclaims the coming of "The Greatest Checking Account in the History of the World." (Could you hear the echo when you read that?!?!) 

We could have printed 8,000 pieces, used "Dear Member" as the salutation, mailed them out, sat back and counted new accounts. But our clients (and your members/customers) deserve better than that.

Segmentation goes far beyond the "haves" and "have nots." Consider your target's needs, how they use you and how you want them to use you. 

The more targeted you get, the more personal you get. The more personal you are, the better you can:

• Speak to specific needs
• Focus on specific calls to action
• Address different objectives in one campaign

The goal is to get as one-to-one as possible. In our example, there were only about 50 members who qualify for the account today. They could easily be called at home in a few hours.

Once you've sliced and diced and analyzed your segments, you'll have a better feel for what tactics you can use to communicate with each. Does your culture fit an external call effort? Can you trust your team to send personal letters? Can you create a process that looks more personal but still takes the responsibility off the front line staff? Should you?

I believe that everything can be prioritized. Once you have a feel for the quantities in each segment and how those segments like to use your institution, you can use this list as a guide:

Hierarchy of External Conversations

1. Personal phone call 
2. Personal letter from relationship manager
3. Postcard direct mail/email specific to the segment
4. Mass media

But Wait … There’s More!
How much would you pay to increase your response rates? 

But wait ... there's more!

Not only does the Seg-O-Matic give you personalized conversations and more meaningful calls to action ... it also allows for better campaign tracking. Yes, my friends, you get it all ... a one-to-one conversation, more objectives met, the power to know which segments respond and which you need to tweak.  Now how much would you pay?

But hurry, this strategy is not sold in stores. It's available to you only for a limited time. Call today!

For more lessons from infomercials click here.

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

With nearly 255,000 visits worldwide, we hope that you enjoy this blog.  If you find it helpful, please share it with your colleagues. Also, check out our YouTube Channel for short video blogs about financial marketing.  

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.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848

Follow me on Twitter @egagliano

The Power of a Smile

If you follow this blog regularly then you likely know far too much about me:  Where I was married and how many animals I have, I'm a terrible poet ... and play write, my favorite TV show,  favorite coffee, and even what I drive.  Most of all, I pray that you can see how important marketing is to me.

You've probably also picked up that I'm runner.  It's my stress relief and the source of many of my best ideas.  Last week, while on a 10-miler, I discovered something really cool.  Well, a few things, really.  Have you ever noticed that runners are rarely smiling?!?!  Seriously, we usually look like we're on some sort of death-march against our will.  On this particular morning, I had the same look.  I was tired and slow and everything was aching.  But I know to never give up in the first mile.  When mile number  one of a 10-miler sucks, then you start to do some darn quick self-reflexion.  And I noticed that I wasn't smiling (well, duh!).  So I tried a bizarre idea ... I made myself smile.  Simply turned that frown upside down.  It was a beautiful day.  I was doing what I love.  I got to see hot women in spandex... well, I had reasons to smile.

Here's the cool part.  After a while of the glass-half-full method of running, I started running faster ... and easier ... and the smile got bigger.

Here's the REALLY cool part.
When other runners see a fellow death-marcher smiling, they look at you like you forgot your running shorts.  It's odd ... jarring.  But after the initial shock passes, they usually return the smile.  Now, I'm not sure, but I would swear that, when they smiled back, they sped up too.

Could it be true ... the most important muscles on my run are in my cheeks?!?!

While it sounds crazy, it may not be.  I found an article siting the 15 Health Benefits of Smiling.  And I believe every single one of them:

• Lower heart rate
• Reduce stress
• Better mood
• Increase productivity
• Encourage trust
• Produce empathy
• Avoid regret
• Kill pain
• Increase attention
• Contagious 
• Build attraction
• Earn success
• Look younger
• Longevity
• Boost immune system

Many of these benefits will help professionally too.  Increase productivity, encourage trust, make the smile contagious, increase attention, earn success.  Maybe the fastest thing that we can do to make sure our companies thrive is focus on hiring optimistic people and dedicate ourselves to making sure they are happy at work.

The power of the smile is obvious when its face-to-face, but you can hear it over the phone too.  It's not just a look, but a mindset.  An ingrained philosophy.

There is ALWAYS a positive ROI on a smile ... give it a try.

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

Nearing 245,000 visits worldwide, we hope that you enjoy this blog.  If you find it helpful, please share it with your colleagues. Also, check out our YouTube Channel for short video blogs about financial marketing.  

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.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848

Follow me on Twitter @egagliano

Ode to Bank Marketers

Twas the day of the pitch
  we’re done with brainstormin’.

Done with arguing and spit balling  
  while the coffee’s been warmin’

The strategy’s sound
  and the copy is tight,

The message is nailed …
  the layout’s alright.

We’ve defined the needs, the offer,
  the right segmentation,

the benefits, call to action
  and differentiation.

The suits were all waiting
  looking grumpy and sour.

That’s fine, cuz I’m ready,
  just get through this hour.

I’ll start with a joke,
  about getting through traffic

Then define the objectives
  and our demographic.

We’ll set the stage
  for the copy and art.

If this doesn't excite ‘em,
  then they don't have a heart.

“I just don't get it,”
  one older man said.

Good! ‘Cuz the target’s young singles
  and you’re practically dead!

In the end strategy won out,
  much to my pleasure.

Now the job’s execution,
  and diligent measure.

We will show ROI
  and market share gain

Then wake up the next morning
  to do it all again.

For a little more fun, check out To The Rescue (A Short Play)

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

With nearly 210,000 visits worldwide, we hope that you enjoy this blog.  If you find it helpful, please share it with your colleagues.  Also, check out our YouTube Channel for short video blogs about financial marketing.  

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.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848

Focus ... Momentum ... RESULTS (Part 3)

Focus … Momentum … Results 

It’s not just our tag line … it’s our business model.

This week, we take the ultimate look behind the MarketMatch curtain.  A glimpse into our innermost workings.  The drivers behind everything that we do for your credit union or community bank.

This is part 3 of a 3 part series this week that will outline the simplest of strategic processes and the true value to how we partner with financial institutions to drive bottom line success.

Focus ... Momentum ... Results

RESULTS

Because of our ROI Guarantee and because it’s the right thing to do, we measure everything.  The challenge is knowing what to measure and when.

At it's base, ROI is:

Incremental Profit - Marketing Investment

Marketing Investment

But there's so much more to the equation:

• Would the community name you in the top 3 in an unaided awareness survey? Would they name you first?  How does that compare against a pre-campaign baseline? (This begins to measure that MOMENTUM that we talked about yesterday)
• Was there a sales lift over the months prior to a campaign?  How about the same months of the previous year?
• Did you hit your required sales lift?
• What might the results have been with a different offer?  What about no offer?
• What was the difference between increased applications and increased new accounts?
• Did growth come from existing customers or new?  Which did you want?
• Is your attrition decreasing? What accounts are experiencing the highest and lowest attrition?
• What branches or markets are growing the fastest/slowest?  Why?
• If your marketing is working, how can you make it better?  If it's not working, why?

Once you understand your objectives-driven FOCUS you'll know what to measure.

With constant monitoring and tweaking, you can more effectively build MOMENTUM. 

If you can benefit from some Focus ... Momentum ... Results, click here.

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With nearly than 160,000 visits worldwide, we hope that you enjoy this blog.  If you find it helpful, please share it with your colleagues.  Also, check out our YouTube Channel for short video blogs about financial marketing.  

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.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848

The Art of War...and Marketing (Part 3)

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military document attributed to Sun Tzu a high-ranking military general, strategist and tactician.  It is composed of 13 chapters, each devoted to one aspect of warfare. It is commonly known to be the definitive work on military strategy and tactics of its time. 

These writings have helped countless military leaders win land, riches and infamy … and in a wonderful twist of irony, we will focus on how it can help you win your customer’s hearts.

This is Part III in a series of blogs that breaks down each chapter.  The brief chapter summaries are from Wikipedia, but the marketing commentary is all MarketMatch!

To read Part 1, click here.

To read Part 2, click here. 

10. Situational Positioning looks at the general areas of resistance (distance, dangers, and barriers) and the types of ground positions that arise from them.

As you are continually measuring against your objectives, you may find that you are not tracking as well as you’d like.  What are the dangers and barriers to your success?

• Awareness: Are people aware that you exist, what you sell and what you stand for?
• Perception: Are you too small, too big or confusing to the market?  Does your brand align with market wants? 
• Access: Does your target pass several competitors to get to you? We have a client who is literally one block away from heavy traffic and has a hard time generating momentum.  What about your e-access?  If you have it, is it easy to use?  Do your customers know about it?
• Price: You don’t need to be the lowest price, but this is always a discussion criterion to consider and analyze.
• Attrition:Analyze the attrition of key products within each branch.  Are they new or old relationships that are leaving you? 

11. The Nine Situations describes the nine common situations (or stages) in a campaign, and the specific focus needed in order to successfully navigate them.

The 9 stages of a campaign as I see them are:

1. Set measurable objectives: Define what success will look like
2. Determine desired action: Know what you want your target to do.  What product, how quickly and what is the desired entry point?
3. Define target: Who best fits the mold for this product?  Be as specific as possible. Where do they live?  What do they want?  What do they think?
4. Determine how best to reach target: The goal is frequency, not necessarily reach.  How can you reach the best percentage of your target at least 3 times?
5. Create messaging: Be clear, stand out and differentiate.
6. Train staff:The worst thing that can happen is for an employee to hear about a new promotion from a customer.  Be sure that your team is aware of the message, what it promotes, who you’re targeting, what you expect and how they should communicate once the customer comes in or calls.
7. Launch: Make it happen
8. Measure: Don’t wait until the campaign is over to track.  By tracking progress along the way, you’ll know if you need to make any adjustments.
9. Adjust: If needed, tweak your approach.  Is a lower cost tactic pulling better than an expensive one?  Is the target misunderstanding the message?  Is the call to action clear?

12. The Attack by Fire explains the general use of weapons and the specific use of the environment as a weapon.

As a marketer, you have a lot of weapons at your disposal:

• Traditional: Newspaper, radio, TV – these are best used to build awareness with limited segmentation.  Usually your best cost-per-impression.
• Direct:Targeted direct mail, outbound calls, email, text – though more expensive per impression, these allow for a more one-on-one conversation.  By narrowing your target focus, you can speak to specific needs. Expect a higher response rate.
• Web-based: Pay per click SEO, web banners on partner sites, micro sites, QR codes – this category is evolving every day.  This allows for a more interactive experience.  Being electronic, this is typically also highly measurable.
• Guerrilla: This is where you can use the environment as a weapon. Guerrilla marketing hits the target when they are not expecting to be sold.  An example from the MarketMatch files is when we “lost” 100 wallets (in strategic locations) around a market.  In the wallets was a message to return the wallet to a given branch for a $20 reward.  The campaign was successful in driving new foot traffic, awareness and word-of-mouth.

An army of only tanks, though powerful, would not be successful.  For true success you need to control the air, the land and the sea.  Each tactic has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.  The magic is finding the right mix for the given target that fits your budget.

13. The Use of Intelligence focuses on the importance of developing good information sources.

We have talked a lot about the importance of measurement and analysis.  Where you obtain your data is as important as what you measure.  MCIF systems are very useful here, but not vital.  For most in-house data, you’ll want to buddy-up with IT and Finance.  Clearly define what it is that you want to measure and brainstorm with your team on how best to pull it.

Aside from in-house numbers, there are countless online resources and survey techniques to gather what you need.  The emphasis should be more on WHAT to measure than HOW.

Aside from basic growth numbers, you can also consider:branch-by-branch or market-by-market analysis, attrition in key products, accounts per customer/household, debit card usage, awareness/perception, product usage trends, percentage of referrals, web site usage/effectiveness, application-to-loan conversion ratios, profitability, media channel effectiveness, cross-sell per employee, referrals across business units.  The options are limitless and should be tied to completing your key objectives.  (See “What’s the Big R.O.Idea” for more info) 

There you have it ... how The Art of War can help you take over the marketing world.  Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.  I trust that you won’t go all Napoleon on us with this information!


With more than 130,000 visits worldwide, we hope that you enjoy this blog.  If you find it helpful, please share it with your colleagues.  Also, check out our YouTube Channel for short video blogs about financial marketing.  

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848