Tell the World Your Goals to Hit Them.

Any runner will tell you, "If you want to stay motivated to train for a big race ... tell everyone your goal."

What's true in running is typically true in life.  And what's true in life is almost ALWAYS true in business. 

Last year, we had a client with a core objective of growing loans.  We looked at their current portfolio, recent growth trends and local market conditions and determined that funding $100,000,000 in new loans in one year was a reasonable goal.  Now, the exercise could have stopped there ... but it didn't.

We weren't happy with simply posting an internal goal and measuring, we wanted the world to know.  So, on January 1, we bought ads telling the area that we were lending ... In a time when big banks were perceived as reining-in their approvals, we were lending ... In a time when the economy was beginning to recover and larger purchases were once again an option, we were lending.

Through the entire year, we carried the $100,000,000 theme. If we talked about an auto loan, we mentioned our goal.  When we touted our mortgage expertise, we mentioned our goal.  Whether we talked to new members or old, we mentioned our goal.  One thing was bluntly clear to the community, our members and staff ... come what may, we were going to lend $100,000,000 before the end of December 31!

Tell the world when you set it,
tell the world when you hit it!

And it worked!  Our $268 million credit union client funded 3,590 new vehicles, 548 homes, helped 185 small business grow and assured that 417 students went to college.  In all, we loaned more than $105 million in 2012. 

You can read about it in this link to the CU Times.

And this year, through refined targeting and improved processes, we expect to do even better!

How did they accomplish what so many institutions are vying for?  Consistency!  

• A consistent and clear message to staff
• A consistent message all year to the community and members

As marketers, we too often feel a need to change up creative with every single media buy.  This case proves just the opposite.  Pick a message and run with it!  Month-after-month; day-after-day.  

Tell the world your goal this year and watch it happen!

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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.

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Where Does Marketing Fit in the Org Chart?

Ahh …. What to do with Marketing?!?!

Who should you answer to?  Who are your best friends?  What department are you closest aligned with?

As marketers, we’ve all been called “crazy.”  And you know what?  They’re right!  We’re absolutely, out of our mind, certifiable … in one very specific area … we all NEED split personalities.  We must think like a CEO, CFO, Retail Manager, Lender and Commercial & Investments gurus … and still be the Marketer with the great ideas.  We are the one department who needs to be comfortable in EVERYONE’S office and who should visit each office regularly.

CEO

Everything we do as Marketers needs to be aligned with the business objectives of the bank or credit union.  The very first question we should ask in planning is, “what will our institution consider success at the end of the year.”  Then, we need to track and report the progress against those objectives regularly. 

We also need to make sure that the brand we portray is in line with the direction that the Board and CEO have set for the institution.

FINANCE

We need to think like a CFO.  Based on ALCO decisions, what products do we need to be focusing on?  You should be meeting with your CFO during planning to agree on variables to include in ROI analysis.  Then, meeting regularly to discuss any changes in the financial situations of the institution or market.


As Marketers, you should be able to look at your Call Report and make some educated assumptions on direction and easily gain specific tracking data.

RETAIL/OPERATIONS

Marketing must be involved in branch-level training and processes.  How do your campaigns affect the branch delivery?  How can you work together with Operations to streamline processes and improve the customer experience?  What do the branches see that can give you ongoing insight into changes in market conditions, perceptions and needs?  Does the team need more effective tools to facilitate meaningful conversations and better discuss what we have to offer with customers?

Our branches are often Marketing’s greatest allies.  It’s not just our job to drive traffic to them; it’s our job to help maximize every interaction at them.  A close connection with the Operations people will help you to keep your finger on the pulse of the institution.

LENDING

Certainly it’s our job to increase loans with existing customers and drive new interest from potential customers.  But which loans and to what audience?  A close relationship with your Lending Manager will help you to understand who to target.  Who are you likely to approve or deny … and why? 

COMMERCIAL/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Commercial is a personal sell.  The most successful Commercial and BD professionals leverage one-on-one relationships with businesses.  But communication and targeting are still involved.  Marketing can help Commercial in identifying the best companies to pursue, acquiring new business and growing existing business.  We can provide communication campaigns to specific industries or produce materials for one-on-one meetings.

INVESTMENTS

Like Commercial, Investments are a relationship-driven department.  And, like Commercial, the Investment folks should be partnering with Marketing for more efficient growth, segmentation, communication and measurement.

Between regular meetings with the CEO, CFO and the rest of the Senior Management Team and your continued visits to the branches to talk with front-line staff, the Marketing Manager should rarely be found at their desk.  We are literally the tie that binds all of the financial institution’s departments and initiatives. 

Where does Marketing fit in the org chart?  Smack-dab in the middle!  Driving growth everywhere and being included in most major decisions.

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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!

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Wow...It's Hot!!

OK...its the 1st of August and it is just PLAIN HOT!  Record temperatures, record number of days in the 90s, and lack of rain... it all rounds up to a tough summer for being outside!

My summer has been hectic, busy and fun!  From great client project work, baseball travels with my son, and a vacation trip to a place in Colorado that I had not been to in 30 years...wow!  But I got to share that along the way the heat was just incredible!

My entry today is about turning the heat into something productive... I know, let me cool down first and then we can talk about doing more work!

The cooling down part is what sounds great...but this time of year, everything is just starting to heat up-- for work that is.  School is starting back, vacations are winding down, budgeting for 2012 is right around the corner, and the 3rd quarter is in full swing!

Here are 5 steps to take to ensure you heat up your institution:

1. Create a back-2-school promotion and have fun with it...
2. Focus on auto lending for the all important September selling season...
3. Prime the HELOC pump for customers wanting to fix the house, repair the AC, etc...
4. Launch a small business campaign, acknowledging the power of small business...
5. Update your marketing plan and calculate all of your ROIs for the first 1/2 of 2011!

These are sure fire ways to get your blood pumping and heat up your hallways at the office (like it needed it!)...

Have a great day!

Cheers!!

Bruce

Building a Bridge...

Greetings...

This weekend, I was helping my 17-year old son with a physics project-- building a bridge from toothpicks.

The project is an interesting dilemma...build a bridge to specific dimensions using nothing but regular toothpicks and white Elmer's glue.  The project is worth 50 points for the quarter and the student who's bridge holds the most weight among ALL students earns another 50 bonus points!  One would think that you simply use a ton of glue and hold it all together...that is where you would be incorrect!

The "trick" to the best bridge design is NOT the glue...its the physics of the toothpick placement!  The glue provides stability and flexibility but the true ability to do the heavy weight is the distribution of the weight across the bridge (for us, the organization).

So...there is my connection.

We work with MANY banks and credit unions around the country.  Most that are performing well but others not so well....the difference?  Its not the glue holding the organization together-- its the design of the teams!  The best teams works together and each contributes and takes some of the weight and helps the other teams.  This is one effective bridge design...the "Warren Truss" design.  It will hold and is a fine design.  However, it will not hold the most!

Here is what I mean...each bank and many CUs have a retail group, lending, investment group, and business lending.  If they operate separately-- no matter how much glue is applied to hold them together-- if they are not designed to be one unit with multiple entry points and really work together, then they are destined to fail.  Here is the design that is truly interrelated, "Warren Truss Subdivided" designed bridge...this will hold the most weight and it designed to be integrated and work as one unit.

Remember, glue is important-- as it gives stability and flexibility.  But the best design is one where everyone ACTUALLY works together, supports one another, and is seamless in distributing the work and weight!

Cheers!

Bruce

Need Loans? Create a Need.

Remember Cash for Clunkers?

Beginning in March, the government will begin Cash for Appliances.

Many states will be offering rebates for energy efficient appliance upgrades. Like "Cash for Clunkers," this program will only last as long as the funds do.

Click here to learn about the rebate program in your state.

Sure, it's not a $300,000 mortgage, but in an environment where every loan dollar is precious, offering customer education on the program and an unsecured $5,000 loan for new, energy efficient appliances now may yield you some incremental loan dollars and a new loan customer in the future when they have additional needs.

Happy lending,

Eric

New Online Competition

If your institution provides small business loans, have you heard of Kiva yet?  If not, it's worth a look at kiva.org.  

This non-profit organization, founded in 2005 to help entrepreneurs over seas, launched today to help lend money to needy US small businesses.  To date, Kiva has half a million lenders from more than 185 countries who have lent more than $75 billion with a 98.35% rate of repayment - according to the company.

Any average Joe can lend the small business of their choosing as little as $25.

It's truly "people helping people" - sound familiar credit unions?

Sure, these are loans that the Wachovias, Wells Fargos and Bank of Americas won't touch.  But to community banks and credit unions who rely on local mom-and-pops, we should keep an eye on this.

Take care,

Eric