Be A Good Host

As I sit here writing the report for a recent competitive shopping report, I thought I'd share some of the "low-lights" and talk about fixing them.

I've done these shops for clients all over the country ... experiencing life as a potential customer who's motivated to switch checking accounts, and the results always amaze me. In every market that I've done this in, from California to Michigan, nearly all of the experiences have been lousy. If I was really in the market for a new checking account, I'd have a hard time finding an institution that I trust. Here are some examples:

• The "Point and Send": When a teller is handing off a prospect to a new accounts rep - or worse yet, simply sending them to a brochure rack, they simply point in the general direction and say "Go there."

The Fix: Whenever possible, the teller or reception person should walk the prospect to the new accounts person ... preferably after introducing themselves and getting the prospect's name and asking a few basic qualifying questions (where they bank now, what kind of checking account they have now, do they use debit/online banking/bill pay) ... and make a personal introduction to the new account rep and explain the situation to the new account staff.

• "Bored Guy in Ties": I walked into an empty branch where almost every office was staffed with a bored looking guy plankly staring at his computer ... I can only assume checking his Facebook account or playing solitaire.

The Fix: They could have been doing ANYTHING productive: writing personal, handwritten "Thank You" notes to new accounts, conducting random account reviews then making outbound calls with recommendations to top customers with suggestions for products that may help them ... anything!

• The "Product Puke": This is my favorite and most common. When the prospect says that they are interested in checking and the teller or new accounts person READS from a sales brochure literally every account with fees and features. I've had folks talk to me about 50+ accounts (and I'm only 38!!!)

The Fix: This ONLY happens when your staff doesn't ask qualifying questions. First find out how the prospect uses their checking (average balance, access needs, etc.) and make a recommendation based on their answers.

The bottom line here is simple:

Treat every customer as you would treat a guest in your home.

• Shake their hand and welcome them
• Introduce yourself and others
• Never "Point and Send" - escort them from place to place
• Offer a drink of water or coffee if they are sitting to talk to new accounts
• Find out what they need and make a recommendation - you are the expert!
• When they are leaving, walk them to the door and thank them for coming in

These basic - common sense - acts will certainly make you stad out from anyone else in your market.

Take care and Happy Veteran's Day,

Eric

Why your bank's strategic marketing plan can't wait!

It's that time of year when everything begins to compete for our time...the Holidays are here, family activities are in full gear; and wrapping up this year's marketing activities, planning the budget for next year, keeping an eye on new legislation, and many more items are also priorities. What I have found in working with numerous banks over the years, is that it is all too easy to let the marketing plan for next year be put off until January. Does this sound familiar?



I know it takes alot of time to research the market data, competitor data, review internal reports on balance sheet, profitability, study MCIF reports to find those golden opportunities, meet with division heads to find out their priorities and goals and marketing support they require, and then create a targeted plan for the investment of your marketing budget. I feel your pain!



Yet danger lurks in letting this important component of your job go until January. Namely, that you lose the first quarter. If you write the plan in January, get it approved in early February and start implementing in late February, you can't really get started until late March or early April.



A good marketing plan should be designed so that you are more than halfway to all of your goals by June and many would agree that most of your budget should be spent by the end of September. For any sales results to have an impact to the bottom line during 2010, this is the optimal schedule. If you don't get started until March or April, you won't achieve what you could have with your marketing budget in 2010, and as a direct result, you lessen your probability of getting the same or an increased budget for 2011.



A great marketing plan is the basis for a great year! If you are strapped for time and would appreciate some outside support for this critical component of your job, contact us at MarketMatch. We have years of experience at it. Check out our new "Expert2Go" services here: www.marketmatch.com/services/expert2go.



It won't cost you much, but it could get you way ahead of the game!

Here's to this busy time of year,

Sharon

Catering to the Recession Mentality

Good morning!

What a great Monday it is...November is kicking in gear and its the 9th already!  Only 47 more days until Christmas.  That thought leads me to my post today!

In reading the Wall Street Journal today, an article struck me....it is entitled the same as the blog post- Catering to the Recession Mentality. It discusses the reality that many people are still sticky pretty close to the vest when considering spending. In fact, they quote two very telling statistics:

• 74% of people intend to buy items on sale
• 54% intend to use more coupons

If we are in fact retail businesses, we need to take a cue from our retail brethren and follow their lead (and the consumer, too!)  While I am a true value marketer and that may seem to fly in the face of using coupons and having "sale" items.  I am reminded of a time that at Bank One (yep, pre-Chase) we had a display at a technology fair and had t-shirts for sale at $10 a piece.  We did not see ONE shirt the 1st day.  The 2nd day, we got creative...we posted a sign with a $15 price with a slash through it and a note that said "Today only $12".  We sold EVERY shirt we had...and at $2 MORE than the day before!

The consumer is seeking VALUE...and if PRICE is their only sense of value then that rules.  If we can paint of different picture of value through relationships, account packaging, etc. we can address the consumer's need for a "deal" and take a page from our retailing brethren.

So you task is to strategize ways to bring VALUE to your marketing...price is one option...but leave that one for last....

Happy marketing!

Cheers!

Bruce

When messages send the wrong message!

Everyone has said something they thought was harmless (or worse yet - well intentioned) only to have the message completely misinterpreted. You have heard the old adage "sometimes it's not what you say, but how you say it."

Financial institutions often place messages in their branch locations designed to inform but end up sending the wrong message. Case in point - A community bank had a $5.00 fee for cashing a check drawn on another bank. A well intentioned marketer had signs created on colored paper, laminated and posted by the teller windows. The signs were created because there had been instances where a non-customer came in to cash a check drawn on another bank and became very upset about the $5.00 fee. The sign was very well written and stated the bank policy accurately and was created to help avoid future incidences.

The problem is - that sign was the first thing that both customers and prospects see when they walk into the branch. While the policy probably affects less than 1% of all visitors to the branch, it is boldly communicated to the other 99% of visitors to the branch. Clearly, this policy would best be handled with a one-to-one conversation as the need arises.

Take a fresh look at everything on display in your branches. Make sure that everything on display supports your "brand promise." Communicate your ability and willingness to serve as financial adviser's to both customers and prospective customers.

Display product information that is informative and suggests a "call to action."

Have a review process in place that eliminates outdated information and validates that messaging in your branches conveys the "right message."

Have a great week/weekend!

Mike

Meeting Your Twitter Customers Face-to-Face

Wow, check this out. While researching for an upcoming conference speaking gig, I stumbled on this great example of Social Networking done right.

Addison Avenue Credit Union, a $2.4 billion credit union in California with about 150,000 members, has a heavy online following through their website and Twitter. They provide a forum and encourage members to share their thoughts, concerns and advice online. And I'm not just talking about boring financial stuff either! As you can see from the photo, there's a posting about a cheaper alternative to Odwalla drinks (whatever that is).

They simply have a few rules:

We implemented Groups for you, not for us. Rather than corporate-speak and glitzy sales offers, Groups are here to let you to chat with each other, and to find and provide answers cooperatively.

Groups are public. While some of the Groups can only be posted to by Addison Avenue members (such as “Make Addison Avenue Better”), the majority of the posts are part of a broader public network where people other than Addison Avenue members are discussing things together and helping each other out. The more the merrier.

Anything goes in the discussion groups, except for things you wouldn’t tell your grandmother or personal account information. So share and share alike, and if you do have a specific issue regarding one of your accounts, we’re only a phone call or secure message away.

Everyone has their own story. What’s so great about Groups is that everyone is at a different place in life with different financial needs, which means everyone has something unique to offer. We hope you find what you are looking for. Welcome to the community.

We’ll help things along. If you see a response with a little Addison Avenue fencepost next to it in some discussions, that means it came from an “official” here at Addison Avenue. We’re here to help!

But here's where it gets REALLY cool. Not only does Addison Ave. understand social networking and how to add value to a key demographic, but they took it to a level that makes perfect sense ... and I wish I had thought of.

Recently, the credit union hosted a "TweetUp" where they invited Twitter followers to an in-person get together at a local coffee house to discuss topics ranging from the economy to the credit union's new campaign. Not only did they attract their existing Twitter followers and members, but also locals "just passing by."

That's what I love about this job. When you have the perfect blend of common sense and creativity, it's divine!

Take care,

Eric

Using Social Media...

Good morning...

As noted by Sharon, we conducted a series of marketing sessions in Indiana on Friday...what a great group!  One of the sessions dealt with the new mix of media; namely social media.

I thought I would share a cartoon that truly hits home on the emphasis on not only USING social media, but its understanding PRIOR to launching your participation...

Social media (Twitter, Facebook, blog, MySpace, etc.) is here and IS a mainstream communication channel. The decision is truly not should we, but how do we!

Need help figuring it out? Call me...

Have a great day!

PS...Remember to vote tomorrow....Democracy is a gift...exercise it!

Cheers!

Bruce

Blogging from NAMP...

Once again I find myself at the National Arts Marketing Project Conference, which is being held this year in Providence, RI. This is my fifth conference, and instead of presenting like I have done in the past, I really wanted to listen in on other sessions to hear what is being discussed. I have been asked to blog about my experiences for Americans for the Arts so these posts can also be seen on their blog.

This morning I was lucky enough to sit in on the Every Dollar Counts: Using ROI to Prove Marketing Effectiveness session. I decided to go to the session because one of my favorite arts marketing experts was presenting--Philippe Ravanas, marketing professor at Columbia College and former VP of Corporate Communications for EuroDisney. I have seen him speak at several conferences and he is always extraordinary.

This morning he discussed a situation he found himself in when he was the Manager of Client Development at Christie's in London. Each year, they would produce a beautiful catalog of auction items that they would send to most of their database. These catalogs were highly coveted, and cost the organization $20 a piece to produce, however Philippe noticed that his ROI (return on investment) for these catalogs was poor. It was costing him too much to produce and mail these catalogs in terms of how much revenue they were bringing in. After researching the problem, he found that they were mailing these catalogs to almost every purchaser, including those people who purchased once twenty years ago and people who only purchased a minor item just to get on the distribution list, as the Christie's catalog seemed to be a popular coffee table item. He soon cut back the distribution, and only sent the catalog to his higher end purchasers. This action greatly improved his ROI on the catalog.

It brought me back to a previous blog post I wrote about the future of the subscription brochure. If you read the post, you can see that I have some serious doubts as to whether or not a subscription brochure works as a sales piece. That being said, our subscribers at Arena Stage love our season brochure because it invites them into the process. There are articles by our featured artists, a letter from our artistic director, beautiful artwork, etc. We have heard from our subscribers that they anxiously await our brochure each year, and that these brochures have become collector's items. So they perform a very valuable function in maintaining relationships with our higher end purchasers, but they aren't necessarily needed to push acquisitions. In fact, we have found that other smaller pieces with a clear central message that cost significantly less to produce and mail actually perform better for acquisition campaigns.

As Diane Ragsdale says in her article Recreating Fine Arts Institutions : "Arts leaders may be tempted to think that the solution to dwindling audiences lies in better marketing, but if arts organizations are going to survive, they have to put more than the season brochure on the autopsy table." I completely agree with Diane...but what happens if an organization isn't even willing to put their season brochure on the autopsy table?