Bringing the Zappos Culture to Your Branches

If you're going to learn, learn from the best!  

Zappos went from a struggling start-up in 2000 to being acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2009.  And the driver to their success?  An unmatched dedication to customer service fueled by a relentless focus on a positive corporate culture.

"If we get the culture right, then everything else, including 

the customer service, will fall into place."

Tony Hsieh, 

CEO, Zappos

Hsieh is a genius.  It works for Disney, it works for Ritz-Carlton and it will work for you!  Focus on the culture.  Your competition can copy products and beat your price.  They can build more branches or out-tech you.  But if your culture rocks, they cannot take that.

We need more retail strategy in banking and the bank or credit union in your market that differentiates on culture will win the market share.  Here's how the best in the biz has done it:

ZAPPOS FAMILY CORE VALUES
1. Deliver WOW through service: To WOW, you must differentiate yourself, which means doing something a little unconventional and innovative. You must do something that's above and beyond what's expected. And whatever you do must have an emotional impact on the receiver.
2. Embrace and drive change: If you are not prepared to deal with constant change, then you probably are not a good fit for the company.
3. Create fun and a little weirdness: We don't want to become one of those big companies that feels corporate and boring. We want to be able to laugh at ourselves. We look for both fun and humor in our daily work.
4. Be adventurous, creative and open-minded: Over time, we want everyone to develop his/her gut about business decisions. We want people to develop and improve their decision-making skills. We encourage people to make mistakes as long as they learn from them.
5. Pursue growth and learning: We believe that inside every employee is more potential than even the employee himself/herself realizes. Our goal is to help employees unlock that potential. 
6. Build open and honest relationships with communication: Strong, positive relationships that are open and honest are a big part of what differentiates Zappos from most other companies. Strong relationships allow us to accomplish much more than we would be able to otherwise.
7. Build a positive team and family spirit: The best leaders are those who lead by example and are both team followers as well as team leaders. We believe that, in general, the best ideas and decisions are made from the bottom up.
8. Do more with less: While we may be casual in our interactions with each other, we are focused and serious about the operations of our business. We believe in working hard and putting in the extra effort to get things done.
9. Be passionate and determined: We value passion, determination, perseverance, and the sense of urgency.
10. Be humble: We believe that no matter what happens we should always be respectful of everyone.

Think of the power and freedom of these values.  Every single employee understands what is expected of them, every day - in customer and internal interactions.  In recruiting and hiring, candidates and employers know if Zappos is the right fit.  If you want to wear a suit and tie, fill out TPS reports all day and disappear into the woodwork to pick up a weekly check ... Zappos is not for you.  


So it's easy, right?  Just add these 10 values to your employee manual and voilà, your world will change overnight.

No so much.  What makes the Zappos brand and culture so powerful is that you CAN NOT simply slap anyone's logo on it and make it work.  Are you prepared to shave the heads of your employees?  Are you ready to have a record-long 10 hour service phone call to get it right for the customer?  Will you hire a corporate life coach?  Will your culture support a daily photo game where staff match employee photos to names so they get to better know each other?  Zappos did!  The Family Core Values are not just words on paper, but demonstrated every single day.

When you sit down to define who you are, make sure that it is unique to you.  Something that defines who you are and aspirationaly what you want to be.  And above all, it needs to be centered around the people who walk into your doors, click your website and call you every day.


Folks, this stuff works!

Zappos list of awards:

• J.D. Powers Customer Service Champion, 2011
• WGSN Global Fashion Awards - Outstanding Customer Service, 2010
• CMG Vision Award, 2010
• Innovation All-Star, Fast Company, 2010
• NRF Innovator of the Year, 2009 & 2010

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 more than 265,000 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)

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937-426-9848

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Don't Begin Your Next Planning Session Until You Can Do This!

The Super-Duper Credit Union/Community Bank member/customer is family focused. She is a married woman with a good job, but (combined with her husband's income) making just enough to support her family's comfortable lifestyle. She has one or two young children and a husband who likely earns a little more than her. They live in a 2 bedroom home in a middle class neighborhood with lots of swing sets and have been there for 5-10 years.

Retirement seems like a pipe dream. Though they invest a little through their employers, it is not the focus. They are more concerned with meeting monthly bills and still squirreling away some savings for their children's future college bills - who's majority will ultimately be financed through student loans.

Her time is divided by maintaining a career that she is proud of, raising children that she loves dearly, supporting her kid's activities, volunteering for community groups, exercising 3-4 times per week, and trying to salvage a relationship with her husband, family and friends where she can find time. She has replaced time on the phone with her friends with frequent pictures and updates of the kids on Facebook.

Because her husband is "busy earning more," or because she's more responsible, she's in charge of most of the family finances. While she is technologically savvy, she received her first email account when she started her first real job, about 20 years ago. That said, she writes more checks than she probably should but is beginning to see the efficiency of online banking and starting to trust it more. She's certainly not an early adopter of technology - but she LOVES her i-Phone.

Though she and her husband each switch cars every 3-4 years, they do not lease. They want the look and amenities of a BMW or Mercedes without the hefty monthly payments.

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The off-site hotel is set and the golf reservations are made. You know how you'll entertain your Board and they are looking forward to a weekend together. Now, it's time to begin the REAL pre-work to your planning session.

As credit unions and community banks, everything we do is 

built around our members and customers ... EVERYTHING!  

You, of course need to be prepared to talk business: How will we decrease loan loss while still being open enough to grow the portfolio? How will the health care act effect us? How do we increase non-interest income without establishing big-bank fees? Are there new markets that we should look at? Do we want to merge (or be merged)? Are we over or under staffed?

This is all vital to discuss, but before you break into THAT agenda ... think about who you're doing it for.

Can you tell a story like the one above? You need to!

The days of being all things to all people is over. Your margins shrank years ago and have little promise of coming back any time soon. Your marketing budget isn't limitless. You need loans NOW and your 65 plus year old members simply aren't borrowing like you need.

So you need to focus! You need to determine who in your market(s) you are attracting now and who you WANT to attract. You need to understand your best customers and what makes them the best. Then learn everything you can about them. 

When you can tell a story about your customer: where they live, where they work, what they do for fun, what drives them, what they fear, what they care about ... then you can start making strategic decisions on your product suite, pricing, branching, tech investments, your website, and your marketing message.

Related Articles:
The Great Storyteller Gets the Audience
You'll Never Get Everyone to Love You
Mirror Mirror

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 more than 260,000 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

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What it takes to be Carnac the Magnificent.

As marketers, we are always looking into our crystal ball, reading the tealeaves and flipping the tarots. 

Whatever it takes to be the industry's Carnac the Magnificent.

"Who needs our product?  Who will buy?  What will they buy?  When?"  

As we discussed on August 12, a great deal of focus in the magical, mystical world behind the marketing curtain is spent in segmentation. The scientific and not-quite-so-scientific methods of running human being's through a filter to better manage our time and monitory resources.

Recent blogs have yakked about segmentation from topics like: 8 life stages that you should market to and Mirror Modeling and Birds of a Feather methodologies. These are all great ways to plan for today and the near future. (And they're absolutely brilliant prose!)

But how can you look a bit further out? Elementary, my dear Marketer ... watch the schools.

The 2004 NEA research paper, K–12 Education inThe U.S. Economy: Its Impact on Economic Development,Earnings, and Housing Values, discussed these findings:

"With regard to effects on economic development, one statistical study found that cutting statewide public K–12 expenditures by $1 per $1,000 of state personal income would reduce the state’s personal income by about 0.3 percent in the short run and by 3.2 percent in the long run. They also note that another study found that such a cut would reduce the state’s manufacturing investment in the long run by 0.9 percent and manufacturing employment by 0.4 percent. Similarly, another researcher found that a decline in educational quality, as measured by a 10 percent drop in standardized test scores, would lead to a 2 to 10 percent reduction in home values.They also cite a study that found a 10 percent reduction in school expenditures could yield, in the long run, to a 1 to 2 percent drop in post school annual earnings."

My simplistic, "If-Then" interpretation: When schools are managed poorly and/or necessary levies are routinely voted down - the level of education suffers. When the education suffers - people choose to move other places. When people move other places - so do business. When businesses move - so do jobs ... then the community truly can't afford the levies to fix the schools and the snowball gets bigger.

So, when you're trying to decide where to build a branch, or what region of your footprint should demand your attention, or where the future opportunity is ... of course, look at the current demographics, employment and economy ... but also look at the schools. They hold the key to every city's future.

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 more than 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

You DO NOT sell deposits and loans.

Human beings make emotional decisions 

and support them with logic and rationale.

It's a bit of a fault, but it's partially what makes us who we are.  It's one of the many beauties of humanity.

Think about some of your most recent purchases...

"I need that Fred Flintstone sized driver to hit the inch and half wide ball."

"The Louis Vuittons will be 100 times more comfortable and last 100 times longer."

Really?!?!

So, if we are emotional creatures, why does so much bank marketing revolve around "Free Checking!" and a big ol' rate?

The truth is that we do not sell checking accounts ... or loans ... or CDs.  People can get THOSE things anywhere!  Let the Wells Fargos and Bank of Americas of the world take the obvious route - they can afford to be lazy.

You, my credit union and community banker friend, are different ... better ... smarter.  You understand that every single  day - with every single branch and electronic interaction - we are dealing with people's money.  And aside from child care, what is more emotional than that?!?!

No, we do not sell products, we sell TRUST!  

Take a look in your lobby right now.  Those people aren't there for your free checking, and they likely past a competitor or two to get to your branch.  They are there because they trust you.  In their mind, you are the expert.

When you sit down to plan your next campaign or draw-up your next brochure, start your planning where your target audience starts it's decision making ... with emotion.  THEN, you can support it with logic and rationale.

Learn from this retail example.

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 223,000 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

Thoughts from a 100 Mile Ultra-Marathon

My sister-in-law is amazing!

Last weekend, she ran in a 100 mile race. To put that in perspective, it's a race the equivalent of Dayton, Ohio to Indianapolis, Indiana ... on foot! 

She had 30 hours to complete the 100 mile trek, and she was ready! She had been training for months, and she had a plan. She knew when she would rest, when to eat, when to take electrolytes and when she would ... well, when you're planning to traverse 100 petrol-free miles, you need to plan for everything!

She toed the line on Saturday morning confident, prepared and excited. Ahead of her lay six 16.6 mile laps, all she had to do was work her plan.

Much like the plan you're currently working. As we race into the 5th month of 2013, you fully understand your objectives, have a in-depth understanding of your target audience, know when you want to promote key products and have defined milestones to reach. You have a plan to acquire, retain and build relationships. When you toed the starting line in January, you were confident, prepared and excited too.

For about a week before the race, it had been raining in Indiana. Though the April showers might bring May flowers, they also brought terrible flooding to the ultra-marathon course. On each of the six laps, racers were expected to cross 8 knee-to-hip deep water crossings. That averages one water crossing per every 2 miles ... for 100 miles. Add to that, when the sun set, temperatures fell significantly colder than anyone had predicted. In the end, her plan was spot-on. Her legs held up great, her cardio was outstanding and her mind was clear. But after roughly 3 consecutive marathons, the water and cold won-out. With symptoms of hypothermia, she had to stop, take off her shoes, and think back on the adventure.

The real story here is not in how the race ended, but in that it ever started at all. The ambition of a 100 miler is amazing.

Now, look at your plan. What factors this year have made you want to stop, take off your wet running shoes and look back? Has unemployment taken a sharp climb in your market? Has a competitor gotten more aggressive than expected? 

The lesson is that the best, most thought out planning and preparation can never prepare us for the actual outcomes. Since we will never experience life-threatening physical limitations in marketing, we simply need to adjust, tweak the plan and keep running.

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 211,000 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

And the Oscar Goes to... The Customer!

Greetings...

The Oscars were watched by an estimated 1 Billion people globally last night... it must be true-- movies and perhaps a short "escape from reality" brings people together!  I had an "a ha" moment during the 2013 Oscars telecast -- specifically during the "Captain Kirk" intro an it was reinforced throughout the evening.  Giving people a "moment in time" what they really want...escape to Paris in Les Miserables, journey on a boat in the sea with The Life of Pi, or simply see action at its finest with James Bond in Skyfall.

So my Oscar goes to...the Customer and Member!

Our customer, or member, simply wants a "moment in time" when they visit us, too.  They want that new car, the dream vacation, or simply to pay for my child to go to the right college!

And we can give them that moment!!  IF, we have all of our touch points and brand aligned.

As I began to think about this-- and how we can give our customer/member that moment...there were three key lessons that jumped out at me while watching the Oscars last night...

1. Relevance matters:  How can we provide the "right moment" for our customer/member? By asking the "right questions!"  James T. Kirk STILL draws attention and a standing ovation?  He has stayed relevant across time!  How does a make-up artist on a small, low budget film attract any attention?  She/he is relevant to his target audience and blows out their opportunity!  Both important points for marketers in every industry...relevance is the ONLY thing that matters.
2. YOU can win:  How does the small film from Africa make it to the Oscar night with a 9-year old leading star?  Because she has talent! No matter how small, how remote, how unknown you are today...tomorrow can be a different day is you have a true point of difference AND everyone works together to make it a night/day of magic for the customer/member!
3. The Story Matters:  Regardless of age, color, creed, economic, or social status... having a moment in time that is all about "me" is what connects people.  Action film, historical documentary, love story, epic drama..that format has mattered little...the moment that I can "get away" from it all has mattered greatly. Remember, its the STORY people want to hear and connect with!!

Money connects people, too.  Big bank, small bank, savings and loan or credit union....we can ALL connect to our customers/members.  We operate in the banking industry where money is the great connector for us...but that MOMENT of TIME is the sticking point for the customer!  You can get "money" lots of places...but meeting my dreams and having "my time away from it all" is where price is minimized and value enhanced.

Think Starbucks...that's EXACTLY what they provide.   Sure a good cup of coffee...but the WIN is that the cup of coffee is EXACTLY how I want it and WHEN I want it.  People want access to time (mobile deposit)...more of it... security for it.  EXACTLY what we as bankers and credit union folks provide.

Our challenge??

Being Relevant...Realizing that WE CAN win...and connecting people to US how they want and when they want...regardless of the format.  Sure, some formats offer better storytelling or better service but the bottom-line...there is ROOM for each of us to stake our claim and be a Oscar winner.

It just takes focus and energy...

But that is the next blog!

Cheers!

Bruce

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With more than 182,000 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.

See our story here. (click)

Chat with me LIVE! (click)

Or email me directly (click)

937-832-7894 x101

FOCUS ... Momentum ... Results (Part 1)

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 1 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

FOCUS

Thank God it's Monday!  That's right, TGIM!!!  

Most of us, like most every other Monday, are attending staff meetings ... and management meetings ... and meetings on when to have our next meeting.  

We are gazing at our calendars, as we drain another cup of coffee, trying to figure out how the heck we're going to get everything done this week.

But Mondays in December are a bit different, aren't they?  It's not just what can we get done this week.  On these special Mondays, we're thinking about what we can get done next YEAR.

On any given day, there are a million strategies that you can focus on. The trick is to identify the handful of strategies that you should focus on. 

Our Approach

We recommend you start with the desired end results and back into the most relevant and impactful strategies to help pin-point the focus and maximize the available resources.

• Identify no more than 3 core objectives for your credit union or bank.
• Most growth-oriented objectives typically have 3 parts: Acquire new accounts, Grow or expand existing accounts and Retain existing accounts.
• Identify the 3-5 most impactful tactics to fill these 9 buckets.

It's really that simple.  If a new opportunity doesn't fit into this chart, it's not a priority.  If a new "fire" doesn't affect this chart, it's not a priority.  If a new idea doesn't enhance this chart, it's not a priority.

At the end of the day, if you stay focused on this chart, you should drive MOMENTUM for your institution.

At the end of the year, if you complete each tactic on this chart, you should experience the RESULTS that will achieve your core objectives and drive growth for your institution. 

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