Branding ... It's Not Rocket Science.

... And Rocket Science isn't branding - it's two totally different industries!


But seriously, whether you're branding a retail bank, commercial bank, credit union or coffee shop, the basics remain the same.


Strategy
In its simplest form, brand strategy comes down to one simple recipe:

• One part: know thy self
• One part: know thy competition
• One part: know thy audience
• Shake well and pour over differentiation

If you follow this blog, you've probably read one of our branding blogs. If not, here are some good ones:
     What if?...
     Brand YOU Day.
     Marketing & Branding
     Branding...It's Not What You Say, But What You Do.
     Is It Time To Relook At Your Brand?


Communicate
"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"  As a true marketer, I say...who cares?!?!  No one heard it!


Any change in brand requires a focus on awareness.  Your key target audience(s) should have better top-of-mind awareness of your institution AND understanding of your brand message. This requires pre and post brand research.


Your creative doesn't necessarily need to win awards, but should be focused:

• On the right audience
• On your key point of differentiation
• Benefits, Benefits, Benefits

Employee Engagement
Advertising and logos are great, but your brand lives and breaths with the experience.  And the experience resides in your staff.

• Every employee MUST understand the brand
• They must understand how the brand is designed to make the customer feel
• They must know their role in the brand and what is expected of them
• They must be provided tools and training to make brand delivery second nature
• Experience must be measured, monitored and tweaked for improvement
• Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

See, branding is really not all that hard!

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing consulting 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.

Learn more here.

Chat with me LIVE!

Or contact me directly (click here).

What?? It's 3:00 am!

What?  It's 3:00 am... do you know where your prospects are?

Yes, its 3:00 am, but an interested marketer that cannot sleep is searching our site and sees things they like.  The key is engaging him/her NOW...when their interest is piqued!

At MarketMatch, we are always looking for ways to engage clients, intrigue prospects and demonstrate our leading edge capabilities and insights...

Our newest addition?  Workface

It is a new software that allows adding an engaging button on your website, email, blog, etc. to start instant interaction. In the words of Workface themselves, "Workface empowers your sales force to dramatically increase their visibility and engagement potential with clients and prospects. It's our unique way of making Internet commerce a lot more human."

• Our take....really cool (and cheap) way to initiate interaction and engage an
  interested party WHEN they have the interest!

If you are online, it establishes an online chat connection instantly...if you are away, it allows your profile and message to be displayed to the prospect and a message of interest for you to respond.  The best part...all this is done FOR YOU without effort or monitoring your website 24x7x365.  

Don't let people slip away when they are interested in learning more about you...and what better way than to be able to share one-on-one and in a live conversation!

Check it out on our blog, email tags and website (Team Member contact)...

Test drive the interface...  Chat with me LIVE!

Cheers!

Bruce

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing consulting 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.

Learn more here.

Contact me directly.

PS: Happy Holidays...Hard to believe its almost time for the Holidays to kick in with a furry and the new year is right around the corner!

Christmas cards that "stand out"

With Christmas only a couple of days away, I thought it was fitting to display some awesome and unique holiday card designs to get you in the creative Christmas spirit.


Very simple clean design. The Volkswagen logo converts into snowflakes when the card is opened...very cool!























With this design it mails flat in a regular envelope to save on cost. By cutting it out and sliding the 2 flat pieces together it becomes a dimensional piece.






















This example shows a multipurpose piece. It mails flat - as a decorative ornament (that can actually be used). It then opens up to the message inside. Clever!






















This one is another multipurpose piece. It mails flat in an envelope - as an elegant card. It then opens up to the gift teabags inside.



















Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Until next time,
Jeremy

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing consulting 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.

Learn more here.

Know the Lingo

You're chatting with your printer, designer or creative department about a current job or project... all is going well in the conversation until they start spatting out words like raster, kerning, cloning, hexadecimal. While you think to yourself what is a "hexawhodidhuh", here are a few resources to help with these terms.

• Graphic Design Dictionary
• Print Industry Glossary
• Proof Reading Marks
• News Print Terms
  

As always, if you need help making sense of a "hexawhodidhuh" we are always available to guide you through whatever challenges you might encounter.

Until next time,
Jeremy

Managing To The Customer's 1%

Lets face it. Regardless of your great checking product or competitive rates or fancybranches, when it comes down to it, customers really want convenience andassurance.

 

The convenience is the acquisition phase. In most cases, the FI with the most branches wins market share. But we can get into the discussion of covering the footprint vs brandawareness and differentiation in a different blog.

Today, I want to discuss retention and relationship depth …the assurance phase.

When it comes to existing customers, here’s the REALsecret …

99% of the time, your customers just want you to do yourjob!  Don’t screw up!

It’s what happens in the other 1% of the time that reallyhelps you to stand out. That other 1% -- when they’ve mismanaged their budget,want to make a major purchase, are experiencing a significant life change, needguidance.

Our rally cry as bankers should be to shine during thecustomer’s 1%.

• Train tospot the 1%: Your staff should understand this 1% rule and know thedifference between a need to simply do their jobs and a need that will change acustomer’s life.
• LifeStage: To help identify many of your 1% situations, understand the eventsin a typical life cycle that impact someone’s finances.  Define the events, understand the customerneeds, present solutions, provide front-line tools and train, train, train.
• Tell yourstory: Your staff impact customer’s lives every day.  Your bank or credit union has helped manycustomers tell their life stories. You’ve helped them buy their first home, manage their budget so they cankeep their home in times of trouble, you’ve helped to retire early orrestructure finances when priorities change with the birth of a child.  You should share these stories inside andoutside of your branches.

Being prepared for the customer’s 1% will help to createmore loyal customers, will increase referrals, and will help deepenrelationships.  Keeping their accountsaccurate and not charging ridiculous fees is expected – for the day-to-daystuff, people only notice when you drop the ball.  But, being there for customers when theyREALLY need you is what gets them talking and keeps them with you.

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing consulting 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.

Learn more here.

Chat with me LIVE!

Contact me directly.

Lessons From The Cheshire Cat

“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 
‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response.
 ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.’”

~Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

By now, you no doubt have your 2012 plan complete.  And that plan, no doubt contains annual objectives with month-by-month plans on how to achieve them.

Like Alice, you will encounter forks in the road on your way to December 31, 2012.  Setting smaller, periodic goals will help you to know where you want to go at each fork.

“The uninformed must improve their deficit, or die.”

~ Cheshire cat

You don’t need to drown in information, but each month and each quarter, what is the data that will help you best track your progress towards your annual institution goals?  The answers are as varied as the goals themselves and the means to access data.

Are you looking to drive awareness?  Quarterly, conduct a quick 100 blind phone survey exercise asking responders to name the first 3 financial institutions that come to mind.  Is your institution coming up more each quarter?  Is it showing up as number 1 more often?

Product and balance growth are as easy as a core report, but were is the balance growth coming from?  If it’s loans, are they favorable, or at least variable, rates?  If it’s deposits, are the core deposits?  How much are you paying for them?

Customer/Member growth is also as easy as a core report, but what is your product penetration with new customers?  What products are bringing them in?  Are you getting them into checking and at least 2 access products?

By collecting and regularly analyzing the right data, you will know which road to take when you reach the fork.  Then you can ignore the Cheshire cat and his mischievous grin.

MarketMatch is a full-service marketing consulting 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.

Learn more here.


Chat with me LIVE!

Or contact me directly (click here).