Taking My Own Advice

So here I sit taking my own advice! In last week's blog I talked about how to refresh yourself, how to better your mood and I closed with how the weather was beautiful and the temperatures were above normal. Well, I should have known better - we are still in February - and in OHIO!

I'm looking for that pick-me-up this snowy, Friday morning. I've had my morning shot of caffeine and usually by 9:45 I'm ready to dive into my day. But I am draggin' booty! It might be the weather, it might the result of a long week but either way I need to snap into it.

So I'm going to take a trip down memory lane and look at some pictures of my family on the beach. I am going to visualize my upcoming trip to the beach.

It's Friday morning, I can do this! I'm going to clear off these piles sitting here on my desk and I'm going to think of the beautiful spring weather that is to come. I am going to enjoy my Friday and make it a great weekend.

I wish the same for you! Enjoy your Friday. Make it a great weekend and until we talk again.

Debbi

Pick-Me-Ups

There are so many times that I run from place to place, or work through the piles on my desk with such frenzy, that I miss events that are happening around me.

We all have things that refresh us. We have things that can change our moods almost instantly, but the challenge is not to be so busy that we forget to take advantage of those things that we thoroughly enjoy.

Seek those things that pick you up and better your mood instantly. What are they? They may be much simpler than you think. Come up with a few of them that are just the pick-me-ups you need on your busiest days.

Keep a few of these things handy or schedule them into your day and allow yourself a few minutes every now and then in order to stay refreshed. Not only will you be happier, you will have more enjoyment and a better frame of mind as you return to the rest of your day. Remind yourself to do this and chances are you will find that you are much more relaxed at the end of the day.

As for me, I'm going to take a quick walk and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and the above normal temperatures out there today.

Enjoy your Friday. Make it a great weekend and until we talk again.

Debbi

Stay Consistent!

Consistency is the gateway to great branding. Without consistency and the lack of guidelines your brand, product offerings, and overall organization can suffer. There is no better way to make sure your marketing efforts are received in a memorable fashion than being consistent.

This cannot be stressed enough. It not just about applying a logo in a consistent manner, and having the right PMS colors. It is about ensuring that all the messaging of all communications materials is pulling in the same direction. That it all “looks” consistent. Even the way the copy is written should be considered in the light of the brand messaging, the way the website is displayed and the quality of paper used in printed materials – all of these points should be consistent because of they are not, it will cause consumers to loose trust in the brand and it’s messaging.

Your message should be clear when reaching out to potential/current clients – making sure all marketing materials match in look, feel, and message is important for achieving this. Even if you are working with totally different campaigns or projects consistency and brand guidelines need to stay in place. You should be able to look at one piece to the next, one campaign to the other and recognize that as an offering from your organization.

Until next time,
Jeremy

Breaking Down the Silos

When we talk to bankers and credit union professionals from around the country, we often sit down with our client's business unit leaders. And what we often find is a series of banks within banks. For example, the mortgage department knows their products inside and out. They can tell you what money is available for first-time homebuyers or if there are any government programs that can help you with your down payment. They can quote you the 30-year fixed rate for an average credit rating with no problem-- but they likely can't tell you a 10-year CD rate.

Too often, institutions are operating in silos ... like mini-banks inside of banks. There are HUGE opportunities being lost in the branches with our existing customers.

So, what can we do about it. I think it falls on Marketing. Not "marketing" as external messaging (necessarily), but Marketing as an internal communication conduit.

I believe the sledge hammer to the walls of these silos is knowledge. We shouldn't expect all employees to know every aspect about every bank product ... but they MUST know the product exists, how to identify prospects and who to contact to help the customer out.

If you want to break down the silos you need to set up processes to:

• Know who each departments best customers are and what they look like
• Better communicate with the customer to identify their needs
• Have a process, not to refer, but to facilitate a conversation with inter-departmental experts

Want to learn more? Join our FREE Brown Bag webinar this Friday at 1:00 est.

Register for the free monthly series here

Take care,

Eric

Get Focused with Focus Groups

Our team just completed a week-long series of focus groups in Mississippi. We talked to both customers and prospects for a client in 3 different markets.

If you've never done focus groups before, they can be awfully handy! They allow you to dig into specific subjects in a way that you simply can't duplicate with quantitative research.

Do you want to know why someone chooses a checking account or who they'd go to first for a loan? What about price versus service? Would your market be willing to pay 10 basis points for the absolute best service in town? Great ... now how do they DEFINE service?!?! You can find it all out with focus groups.

Here area few tips:

• Conduct groups in all relevant markets. You'll likely find that perceptions and purchase criteria are different from market-to-market (and if they're consistent, that tells us something too!)
• Talk to both customers and prospects. Your customers will give you great insight into their experiences with you. Prospects can tell you why they're not currently banking with you.
• Be very targeted in what you want to learn. Identify 3-4 things that you MUST learn from the session and 2-3 other items that would be nice.
• Be very targeted in who you want to learn from. Do you need to focus efforts on a specific demographic? Recruit them. Want to learn what a specific competitor's customers think? Recruit them. Just note that the more narrow your target, the more expensive recruiting will likely be.
• Stay consistent. use a professional facilitator who can keep each session consistent so you can use data across all your markets.

Take care,

Eric

Welcome....to the future!

Greetings...

The future is here...are you ready for it?

Here is the test:

1. Do you wait to see if something "works" 1st, or do you dive in and test it?
2. Are your plans built with flexibility in mind...or do the plans crumble if things change?
3. Is your communication built on paper or is it alive from person to person?
4. Does your organization anticipate tomorrow or use yesterday as the starting point for today?
5. If you talked with 10 people from across the organization, do they at least have 2 similar ideas on where your organization is heading?

If you were able to answer YES to each of these five questions...congratulations, you are ready to capture the future as one nimble organization!  If you answered YES less than 5 times, you have work to do...but the future is still within your grasp.  The key is to GET MOVING TODAY!

It's Friday...the truest test is that will you make changes necessary to move you forward starting Monday?

Cheers!

Bruce

How to get more from your debit card

We all know we want to increase debit card usage and increase signature-based transactions but how can we communicate that to our customers? Have you done any research in your market to find out what will motivate your customers to not only use their debit card, but to use it as a signature based transaction instead of a PIN transaction?

We know that reward programs help. Other ways to add value are to offer insurance products, ID theft protection, shopping discounts, cash back benefits and other discount options for a nominal fee.

They say that over time, active debit card users display greater potential for growth and loyalty versus those customers who do not use a debit card. Active debit card users are also more receptive and attractive targets for cross-sell promotions, especially online banking and loan product sales.

Here are some ideas to make your debit card program more profitable:

• Instant issue debit cards at the branch level
• Target activation and utilization campaigns
• Promote debit cards as bill payment options
• Market the use of debit cards for internet purchases

How do you make your debit card program profitable? We would love to hear your ideas!

Make it a great Friday. Enjoy your weekend and until we talk again.

Debbi

Understanding Your Markets

Markets can differ in income levels, demographics, population, family size, brand awareness, product usage and more. All of your markets should vary in some level and getting to know the unique differences to your markets will better help you market to them.

If you are mass marketing a broad message to all markets, it is time to take a closer look. Try identifying how each of your markets differ in:

• Geography (region, size, population, climate, etc.)
• Demographics (age, gender, family size, generation, income, education, etc.)
• Psychographics (activities, interests, opinions, values, etc.)
• Behaviors (benefits sought, usage, brand loyalty, etc.)

Once you determine the differences in your markets, don’t be afraid to use the information! This market information will better allow you to target your market so you can better speak to that audience.

Best,

Jamie