George is mine in ’09!

Comedian and talk show host Ellen Degeneres set a goal in 2008 to land actor George Clooney for her show. Her mantra then was “George Watch ‘08”. She mounted a continuing campaign enlisting popular stars to help her capture Clooney. In fact, she had some quite clever promotions . . . from lining up the Miss America contestants in his parking spot . . . to sending him a 3-D cutout of Dolly Parton . . . to hiding people dressed as potted plants outside his office . . . to a banner in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And, more important she didn’t give up. In 2009, her slogan became “George is mine in ’09!” She hit pay dirt when actor Noah Wylie told her Clooney had an affinity for Cincinnati Reds heroes Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan. Cincinnati happens to be Clooney’s hometown. Degeneres booked the baseball stars and Clooney melted, taping her show with the legends.

What does “George is mine in ‘09” have to do with bank marketing?
I think there’s a message here for your staff and marketing dept. Has your banking team targeted a goal for 2009. . . maybe even a seemingly insurmountable marketing target? But more important, are you ready to truly stick with that goal for a long time. . . like Degeneres did? Is your staff enthused enough not to give in to disillusionment? Are will you willing to try everything to attract your prospect. . . and keep the momentum moving? Another thing the talk show host did was to keep everyone engaged. . . from other guests to her staff. You’ll need to continually bolster the enthusiasm with your staff, too. . . from the clean-up crew to the senior execs. Remember, you’re not just selling your prospect, you’re selling your staff, too. And, she employed an impressive array of clever ideas. Are you willing to go to the well to drink in some new tactics?

Take Degeneres’ lead so you’ll be able to say, “The goal is mine in ’09!”

These cartoons are worth a thousand words!

I’m not sure how to grade this one. . . thumbs up or thumbs down. Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, held a “Dangers of Debt” Editorial Cartoon Contest. On their website, creditcardreform.org, Consumers Union encouraged young people to think about the dangers of debt. In their intro, they also noted that “credit card companies on virtually every college campus are luring young people into debt that could spell financial ruin at a young age.”

Amateur illustrators, age 15 – 25, could submit cartoons until Nov. 3 and then the public was invited to vote for their favorite until Dec. 5. You can see all the cartoons and the voting results. The cartoon garnering the most votes won $500, while a panel will award a grand prize of $1,000 to one worthy participant.

On one hand, you could argue the contest is promoting responsible handling of debt. On the other, it definitely gives the credit card industry a black eye. Would you conduct such a contest?

Would someone defend your financial institution with passion?

If you haven’t read Detroit Free Press sports writer Mitch Albom’s impassioned piece for Sports Illustrated (Jan. 7,2009), it’s a must read. Albom, is also the author of the best-selling books, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day. In his SI article entitled, The Courage of Detroit, he passionately defended his city of Detroit, the Lions and the auto industry. He also did an interview regarding the article for the Charlie Rose Show on PBS. His interview was even more compelling.

This got me to thinking whether anyone would stand up and be counted if their local bank simply disappeared one day. . . whoosh. . . gone in an instant. Would anyone stand up and plead your cause? I’m not talking a closure due to mismanagement where there would be mass outrage. I’m more interested if you’ve become so entrenched in your community that one branch would be truly missed.

There have been articles and broadcast coverage of how catastrophic it would be if some of the car dealers in smaller communities went out of business. First, because they are the only dealer for miles. And second, they’ve become part of the community’s fabric. They have a history there. They are the community. I’ll admit that the loss of a bank in a small town would definitely cause attention. But in my suburb there are 10 branches within a 1 mile radius. Would anyone plead their cause like Albom did for his state’s industry? While you may say, some of my employees are involved in various community activities, I ask, "Are they truly involved or they they just networking to gain more business?" If you chose one community activity or charity to hang your hat on or become a leader in that endeavor, would that endear you to your community. . . your neighborhood? Let’s say, you’ve become a solid advocate for (you name the organization, i.e. your local fire or police dept., the Red Cross). . . an organization that would become synonimous with your financial institution, would that up your standing?

Do you have a champion for YOUR financial institution . . . one like Mitch Albom?

Again, if you haven’t read “The Courage of Detroit”, please do so.

Turkish credit card holders get free ride to the ski lift.

Garanti Bank, headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, knows how to reward its MasterCard® customers. The loyalty program for its Garanti Bonus Card began in November 2007. Card holders can hop on the Bonus Ski Shuttles for free transportation to popular ski destinations favorited by Istanbulites like Uludag, Kartalkaya and Kartepe. Customers just call the Bonus Ski hotline for a van to pick them up at home and drive them to and from their favorite mountain. Check out their web page promoting the card. It’s wild!

Your private banker in a box!

It’s a low-tech idea for a high-tech world. And, it took the Dutch to come up with it. Amsterdam-based bank, Insinger de Beaufort, launched a private banking service for its high-end clientele. After discussing financial planning with their private banker, clients are then sent a cardboard shoebox by courier every month courtesy of the bank. Clients drop anything admin-related into it. . . unpaid bills, bank statements, receipts, tax returns, insurance docs, even speeding tickets. At the end of the month, Insinger sends a courier to pick up the box and processes the contents. Clients receive notification of the resulting transactions within three business days. Insinger says they are “saving (valuable) clients the time and hassle of dealing with the minutiae of their personal finances.” The shoebox service targets the most profitable, demanding banking customers with a high-cost service rumored to run 415 to 850 euros, or $565 to $1,158 per month, depending on service level. After all, Insinger’s motto is “Uncovering value inch by inch.”

Are you connecting with customers?

Billionaire Mark Cuban had a great post in his blog, Blog Maverick, a couple of years ago. Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA basketball team, and chairman of HDNet, an HDTV cable network. His remarks are especially relevant now when consumer confidence is low and sales are slow. Banks need to pull out all the stops to attract and retain customers.

Take away points (whether you’re the CEO or marketing manager):

• Customer service starts with the CEO.Treat customers like they own you, because they do. Remember YAHOO when dealing with customers, because they will. YAHOO stands for You Always Have Other Options.
• Get out there and experience your product/service like your customer does. Stand in the teller line with your customers and test the service. See what they see. Don’t rely on someone else doing it. Do it yourself!
  
  (In my experience, these next three points are especially critical. While the suggestions seem obvious, I’ve seen CEOs, as well as marketing execs, do the opposite and insulate themselves. )
  
• Make yourself accessible. Post your email so customers can reach you. The CEO who doesn’t listen to direct customer feedback will never take the institution as far as it can go.
• Communicate with your customers. A happy customer tells one person, but an unhappy one tells 20.
• It’s better to be proactive than reactive.
  

Read Cuban’s entire blog post, “Success and motivation - Connecting to your Customers.” The comments on the post are great, too.

Use this annual event to capture prospects’ attention.

What’s the event? It’s National Small Business Week. Since 1963, every President has declared a National Small Business Week to honor the backbone of the nation’s economy. This year, the SBA has slated the event for April 21-25. The SBA has dedicated a website to the event outlining activities and hosting blogs so small business owners can weigh in on issues affecting them.

Whether you have a large budget, small budget or no budget at all, you can take advantage of the event and use it to market to small business prospects. The event gives you the opportunity. . . or excuse. . . to contact prospects and clients. If your budget permits, host a seminar or business open house at your bank. No funds in the budget, or very little? Then compose a simple letter – or email – to prospects telling them about National Small Business Week and the SBA-promoted website http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com/ . And, don’t forget to tie in a financial product or offer info about your institution. This simple effort will begin to position you as a financial institution who stays relevant. And, more important, it offers information that may help the small business. If you keep up the communiqués with other news or relevant data, your position will become stronger and your business banker’s name remembered. Next, send them a new stat on healthcare and pitch your HSA program.

We prepared such an email for one client which was personalized by zip code and banker. The email offered a link to the event’s website, as well as to the bank’s website.

Simple events or relevant data in the news can help your bankers easily connect with prospects.