A chief marketing officer (CMO) survey of business-to-business (B2B) firms by Deloitte, Duke University and the American Marketing Association found some interesting things. Top challenges are: driving growth (37.5%); delivering a powerful brand that breaks through the clutter (14.8%); securing marketing budget (11.4%); providing ROI of marketing (10.2%).
Many of these issues above also impact community banks. Certainly, today's marketing tends heavily toward the digital, with websites and Facebook pages vying for customers' attention.
If you think back on your own marketing memories, though, you might find that efforts made via traditional media -- radio, television, and print -- are much more likely to stick in your mind. Most people who grew up in the US during the 1970s, for instance, can still sing the Oscar Mayer theme or rattle off the tag line of a vintage McDonald's commercial.
Does that mean your bank should abandon digital marketing in favor of traditional media messages? No, but perhaps a smarter way is to integrate your digital and nondigital marketing efforts. This can boost the leads you find and the relationships you build, while giving customers useful ways to interact with your bank.
Some easy things to try could include:
Combine Efforts. Maybe start by adding your digital information to print marketing. Your website address, Facebook page, or Twitter address can be part of a magazine or newspaper ad, a billboard, or a brochure. Viewers interact with the colors, images, and writing that print incorporates, plus they get an address that lets them interact through another channel.
Consider Codes. A barcode or QR code that leads to your web page or social media site when readers scan it with a smartphone is another item you might add to traditional print marketing. Viewers reach your digital footprint quickly, without having to remember or note a web address.
Televise Mobility. If you have the budget, a television advertisement can bring your audience to your website too. Even at a time when more people stream ad-free programming, television ad rates and schedules show that broadcast programming is still popular.
Digitally Print. A print piece that is delivered only through a digital channel is another way to marry digital and nondigital marketing efforts. Send a newsletter or brochure through an email campaign, and you can measure the popularity of each piece through the open and click-through rates. These marketing pieces can also be used to hand out in person, to leverage your marketing content and spread brand awareness.
Consistently Touch. Emails teed up in advance that go out on a schedule (drip emails) might incorporate a series of virtual magazine issues, instead of a single offering. Creating a series allows you to offer readers valuable information and get in front of your audience on a regular basis. To get even more lift, consider combining emails with cold calls or mailers.
Don't forget word of mouth. In this case, teach your branch employees to tell their in-person customers about your bank's online platform. It's yet another way to combine your virtual and traditional marketing efforts to expand the benefits of your bank.
