Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

You need to focus. Instead of seeing all the places you can't be-- look at where you can be. With limited resources you should be lazar sharp in your marketing. You don't need to sell everyone-- don't dilute your focus. Concentrate on what you can do well-- and do it well. Focus on your community and plan to be the leading provider of your service in that area.

Maria,
The very best ways in the world that has ever been and will ever be to market a bank that fit every and all situations no matter what the locale, competitive situation, and core competencies and take absolutely no staff to implement and cost nothing......do not exist! There are no marketing magic pills.

First, to most consumers, banking products are a commodity. There's a bank on every corner and the consumers believe banks offer exactly the same services as each other. And the banks make it that way for their benefits - competitive advantage by confusion. Oh, sure, on May 13 between noon and 1PM on a full moon if you wear red and are a single mother, you can save a quarter point on a car loan at one bank, but at another, you can achieve less fees. Have you ever tried to put together a matrix of product and service features and benefits for several banks to see who's products and services are the best? And then, banks advertise they are different because they give personal service and care about their customers. If all banks care about their customers and give personal service, that's hardly a differentiator, right?

So, what is it that your customers need in a bank? That's where you start with marketing. To find this out, it's best to ask your customers, not banking workers or marketing professionals. Then, how well do your competitors meet those needs and more importantly, where do they NOT satisfy their needs? This is opportunity for you - to use your core competencies to satisfy your customers' needs better than your competitors. So what are your core competitors? Given this, you can understand the images and words to use to reach your customers best to communicate your advantage. You use the processes, methods, and media to reach your customers. All this depends on your geography and demographics - where you are, who your competitors, who your customers are, etc.

So back to your question: Best ways for marketing a bank: Those ways that fit the analysis above. I can tell you worked here in Western PA in a town of 30,000 people made up of mostly middle to lower middle class Baby Boomers. But unless that fits your geography and demographics, it won't fit your situation. Also, since marketing is an investment which has a return in multiples of the investment, then spending very little yields small results - you have to adjust your expectations. If a marketing activity yields 10X your investment and you invest a dollar, expect $10 in return. By the way, the rate of return will depend on your situation too. You need to find out what it is for your situation. The list of possible marketing activities is not limitless and there are few revolutionary ones - you know what they are. Your competitors probably use them. One more thing: Marketing is not a short term thing - it's an investment that bears fruit over the long run. If you want results tomorrow, you should have started months ago, not today.

So my recommendation is do your analysis. It won't cost you must except your time. The analysis will tell you what you need to do that will work best. With your limited budget, invest in those activities that have the highest projected payback. Stack your activities so that they are complementary - $1+$1 invested will yield greater results than the activities done separately.

I hope this helps.

Wayde

Karen, are you sure about social responsibility being as important as you say it is? I personally don't know anyone that cares about the engagement in the local community from their bank. Obviously they shouldn't do bad stuff, but I still think the focus should be more in improving the product and services they provide, along with providing GREAT customer service. That's the big key - customer service.

I personally love my bank, as they give us very personalized services - I almost feel like we're friends. Their products are also quite competitive both in terms of interest rates and offerings. Couldn't get any better if you ask me. And I would care at all about what they did to support the community as long as they keep doing a great job.

Focus on efforts that don't require a branch: online banking services. What services can you offer that your competition can't? How about allowing your customers to use (your competitor's) local ATMs to bank with you?