Focus ... MOMENTUM ... Results (Part 2)

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 2 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

MOMENTUM

A quick physics lesson:

Momentum = Mass X Velocity

A heavy object moving fast has a large momentum—it takes a large and prolonged force to get the object up to speed, and it takes a large and prolonged force to bring it to a stop. If the object were lighter, or moving slower, then it would have less momentum.

It takes momentum to push ahead. That’s why everything we do is to help drive momentum for your bank or credit union.

So, what does all this physics mumbo jumbo have to do with marketing?

MASS: From a marketing perspective, mass is a relevant and differentiated message.  It is consistent communication.  And consistent experience.  It is your brand.

VELOCITY: Velocity is awareness, understanding and word-of-mouth.  It is sales success at the front line.  A success that generates a contagious enthusiasm - for your team and your customers.

It's that simple: The more people who understand and experience your relevant, differentiated brand, the more momentum you have.

External Communication: From sound strategic planning to impactful implementation … every aspect of your marketing should be designed to generate a desired action. You create mass by defining your brand message and value proposition.  You create velocity by getting and demonstrating that message to as many targeted customers and prospects as possible.

Internal Processes: We will push further when we all push together. That is the power of training and internal communication.  Each team member must be able to understand and communicate your brand.  More importantly, they must be able to demonstrate it with every single interaction. 

You can't generate momentum overnight.  It takes a prolonged force to get the momentum up to speed.  But, once rolling, it will also take a prolonged force to stop it.  

Are you looking for justification for your marketing budget?  There it is!

To get the momentum rolling fastest, you need FOCUS.

To know the power of your momentum you have to measure RESULTS. 

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

What's The Big ROIdea?

Most of us know ROI as:

Return on Investment = (Incremental Profit - Marketing Investment) / Marketing Investment

But you can take it soooo much further! 

I would argue that you can’t have a great ROI calculation without a great…

Results Oriented Idea … or ROIdea

So, how do you get a great ROIdea?

Objectives

Every Result Oriented Idea starts with desired RESULTS.  At MarketMatch, we always say that there are a thousand things you CAN be doing as a marketer … what are the handful of tactics you SHOULD be focused on?

(See Marketing Law #1 here) 

Cause & Effect:

Your work needs to make something happen to reach your objectives.  Make your target feel something.  Encourage them to interact with your brand and product.  Motivate them to make a decision and get off their couch.

Less You … More Them

Yes, your communications needs to be about your brand and product.  But more importantly, it should be about your audience.  If you want to cause momentum and generate results, you need to speak to your target’s needs, wants, desires and dreams … then tell them how your brand fits in.  This philosophy fits from ad messaging, to point-of-sale communication to staff training.

Scare the Hell Out of Them

In my ad agency days, we had a creative director that expected his team to, “Give ‘em one idea that will scare the hell out of them.”

Keep in mind, your audience will see more than 5,000 advertising messages today!  What will make YOUR’S stand out?

If it doesn’t scare you a little bit – it’s likely a cookie-cutter, boring, non-impactful idea … clearly not results oriented.

Measure, Measure, Measure

To be successful, all Results Oriented Ideas need … well … results.  Now is the time to see if you’ve impacted those objectives that you laid out earlier.

• Was there a sales lift over the months prior to the campaign?  How about the same months of the previous year?
• What was the difference between increased applications and increased new accounts?
• Did growth come from existing customers or new?  Which did you want?
• 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?

 At MarketMatch, we believe in ROIdeas so much that we offer an ROI Guarantee. 

I believe that outstanding results trump a shelf-full of awards.  When you sit down to plan your next big idea, make sure that it is a Results Oriented Idea.

With more than 127,000 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

This is a Career Changer!

Alright, stop what you’re doin’,

‘cause I’m about to ruin

the image and the style that you’re used to…

Seriously … stop … take a breath … grab the biggest, boldest writing instrument at your disposal … and write this down as large as you can…

BE DISRUPTIVE!

How will you get the market’s attention?

            Be disruptive!

How will you differentiate your brand?

            Be disruptive!

How will you get people motivated to care … and to act?

            Be disruptive!

Your new Marketing Mantra from now on ...

BE DISRUPTIVE!

Now the fun part … how?

There is no one way to be disruptive.  All you have to do is come up with the obvious answer, do an about-face, and run like hell the other way!

Message

The most obvious disruption is to not be obvious at all in your marketing message.  Think about your favorite ads.  The reason you remember them at all is because they caused a disruption and impacted your memory.

To often, marketing is like those annoying political yard signs, you see them everywhere, but nothing stands out.

Here’s a link to a past blog with 6 examples of disruptive marketing.

Actions

We’ve helped several clients be disruptive in their actions.

For a branch opening for one client, we created a Street Team staffed by college kids that went around town in branded jumpsuits and a wrapped car.  Each outing was strategically choreographed to provide giveaways and generate positive awareness for the bank.

For another client, we orchestrated a "Restaurant Ambush" where we coordinated with a restaurant to “buy dinner” for everyone at select times.  Rather than a bill, each table received a, “Dinner’s on us” message from the client.

Ideally, you can disruptive at the point of sale.  What can you do to assure that a day-to-day interaction with you will stand out and make them want to come back?

Product

Every so often, you can create a product that turns a category on its ear.  You have to be first and you have to make people wonder how they ever lived without it.  Think iPad.

Frequency

OK, back to the annoying political yard signs.  The only reason every candidate pays thousand for this legalized litter is because the schmo with the most signs has name recognition.  You can be disruptive with average ads if you go crazy on your media buy and assure everyone not only sees them, but gets sick of them.

Price

It’s an option, but not a great one!  You can price your product to a place where it disrupts the competitive landscape.  Certainly not a long-term strategy, but short-term promotions can work to jump start interest.

But a disruptive offer doesn't always have to be about price!  Can you help your customers give back to the community?  Can you create a fun contest?  Can you create an experience?

Any Crazy Idea

There are countless ways to cause a disruption in a product category, and most of them entail creative muscle.  A truly disruptive idea should scare the hell out of you.

Here’s the winning spot from this week’s The Pitch.  This approach is disruptive!

OK, I think I've disrupted enough of your day.

Take care!  Thanks for reading.

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MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate the greatest  MOMENTUM for your organization and demonstrate RESULTS with our written ROI Guarantee.

Want to learn more?  Enroll in the MarketMatch eCollege!  Smart online sessions delivered with CFMP credits, tactical advice and a game plan for success!

Learn more about us here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-426-9848

An Army of One. Focus ... Momentum ... Results.

In 480 BC, a dedicated force of 300 Spartan warriors held off a far greater Persian army -  numbering more than 100,000 for 7 days during the Battle of Thermopylae.

How?  A strategic FOCUS.  A dedication to building MOMENTUM.  Continually monitored RESULTS and the help of a few friends to achieve them.

Most community banks and credit unions that we talk to are just like the Spartan army.  They are usually an army of one person (or a small few), who is strategic planner, accountant, copywriter, art director, secretary, media buyer, interactive expert and public relations specialist.  But you too can hold off the onslaught of a much larger banking enemy.

Focus: Defend a narrow pass, making your enemies enormous size irrelevant.

The Spartans chose to defend a narrow pass, where they could not be flanked by Calvary, limiting the size of their enemy’s front line and that was ideally suited for the Spartan weapons and training.

There were a thousand strategies that the Spartans couldhave chosen, but they weighed their options and put everything into the one, targeted plan.  Similarly, there are a thousand things that you, as a financial marketer, could be doing.  What is the focused strategy that will best build your business?

Momentum: A single-minded dedication to only those tactics that best propel your strategy forward.

For the Spartans, momentum wasn’t gaining ground, but rather holding ground and chipping away at their enemy’s forces.  Their advantage was home turf and their smaller size.

You are in a similar situation.  The goal for most community banks and credit unions is not market domination, but rather market share gain.  You can accomplish this because of your small size.  Like the Spartans, you know the terrain and the people.  The larger regional and national banks have the larger budget, but you have the focus and knowledge of your own backyard.  Every dollar you spend can be to drive targeted business you’re your institution.

The Spartans smaller size also helped them to better manage resources versus the massive Persian army who quickly burned through their food and water.

Your resources are just as vital.  Your resources are hours and dollars.  Determine what tactics are most vital to your success and focus your resources there.  Do you really need to spend 2 hours on a statement message or an afternoon on a newsletter article?  Are all of your sponsorship dollars generating a return, either in awareness or actual business?  Look at how you spend your resources this week.  Are they being used best to hold off the massive big-bank army?

Results: Constantly monitor success and failure.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

After each battle, the Spartans had to compare their losses against the enemy’s.  And they did not achieve their success alone.  While the Spartan 300 are legendary, in actuality, they had the help of thousands of other Greeks.

You may not have to monitor results daily like the Spartans, but fewer resources require you to more frequently monitor results.  If a tactic works, continue or ramp it up.  The moment it fails, kill it and redirect resources.  Determine what you need to do today/this week/this month/this quarter – do you have a single-minded drive to do it?  Are you accomplishing it on time?

Finally, as well trained and skilled as they were, the Spartans couldn’t do it alone.  Really analyze your capabilities.  Determine what you do best and outsource those strategic items that others may do better.

Learn more here.

Chat with me LIVE!

Or contact me directly (click here).

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing firm, dedicated to the credit union and community banking community.  We utilize knowledge-based strategies to help you FOCUS on the efforts that will generate MOMENTUM and yield the greatest RESULTS for your bottom line.