DOGS, BONES AND SMALL BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

A funny thing happens when you toss a dog a bone. They will bury the bone because they are instinctively trying to hide their food from other predators. When it comes to business accounts, banks instinctively believe their best accounts are buried enough so that competitors will not sniff them out. We argue that the competitive nose is quite powerful and these top customers are some of the most at risk. While we aren't saying it makes sense for banks to try and attract business customers with dog bones, something has to be done to consistently reinforce the bank's brand and value proposition. When one considers that business accounts are up to 6x more valuable than retail accounts, it isn't any wonder that competition is running high. As banks offer such things as online bill pay, discounts on computers and office supplies, specialized rewards programs, email alerts of premium services and even tickets to sporting events, differentiation from the customer's point of view becomes more difficult. While quality service, local decision-making and the convenience of nearby branches help, from the customer's point of view most banks do that as well. Consider a recent survey of independent bank executives by Grant Thornton. In it, the survey found that community bank executives say their top 3 competitors are other community banks (74%), credit unions (69%) and regional or mega-banks (58%). While most independent banks feel they know the handful of competitors whose signs they see around their geographic footprint, consider the change remote capture is having on things. This product alone allows outside-market banks to expand geographically without any branches or any signs. Banks must keep their brand in front of their customers on a monthly basis if they want to remain in the customer's thoughts. To help address this, we rolled up our sleeves and worked with professionals to design multiple turn-key marketing packages banks could use to attract new customers and communicate consistently with existing ones. This collateral was designed with a primary consideration of helping banks increase loan origination, attract deposits and raise brand awareness in a crowded and highly competitive marketplace. To simplify the process and ensure delivery consistency, all of the editorial, design, printing, mail fulfillment and postage are outsourced. The bank provides its color scheme, contact personnel and branch locations and the rest is completely turn-key. Then, for just $3,300, banks can deliver 1,000 copies of an 8-page custom quarterly newsletter directly to the offices of existing and target customers. Or, for those banks seeking something a little smaller and a little less expensive, a 4-page monthly or quarterly newsletter is also available (for only $2,200 for 1,000 copies). Finally, for those banks that have collected client email addresses or are seeking to add consistent content to their web site, an electronic magazine (Ezine) option is also available. In this case, banks can ship out a monthly Ezine for only $1,000. This includes royalty-free unlimited distribution to clients and prospective customers, along with design (as well as up to 30 embedded links back to the bank's own web site). Finally, for banks still struggling to populate client email addresses, we have a solution there that can help as well. Let's face it, having customer contact information is only valuable if it is regularly leveraged to contact both current and target customers. The ability to write well, deliver consistent content and have customers consider the information they receive as high quality (and not marketing) is a key differentiator, however. Contact us about our Net Worth Journal, Net Worth Chronicle and other customer acquisition/contact products and we will happily send you samples banks are already using to increase their loan and deposit business. When dogs are given a bone they will consistently chew on it. Business owners given high quality publications are no different.