State of Bank and Credit Union Marketing 2012

Today's bank and credit union marketers are facing a period of big data, increasing devices and more communication channels than ever before. In addition, consumers are challenging the pricing and service levels they receive from their financial institution, and are willing to speak their mind using lightning fast social media channels.


To better understand what bank and credit union marketers are thinking and doing during this period of unprecedented change and opportunity, I partnered with Jeffry Pilcher from The Financial Brand to develop the 2012 Bank and Credit Union Financial Marketing Survey. More than 300 bankers responded from banks and credit unions of all sizes thanks in no small measure to our many friends on Twitter who helped distribute the links to the survey and to ACTON Marketing, who recruited many of their clients and friends.


The results of the survey underscore the primary challenges facing financial institution marketers today:

• The need for better measurement of marketing results during a time of constrained budgets and limited human resources.
• The importance of expanding share of wallet through cross-selling, especially with credit products
• Changing the media mix used for integrated customer communication - with a greater emphasis on less familiar online and social media channels

    View Entire Survey Results   

10 Resolutions Bank Marketers Can't Ignore in 2012

2011 was year that many bankers, and especially bank marketers would love to forget. Not only was focus diverted by the need to respond to new regulations for the second consecutive year (this time it was the Durbin Amendment), but the image of our entire industry was challenged as foreclosures and bank failures continued to be in the news. 

The biggest impact of all of this noise was that attention was diverted from what should have been accomplished in 2011. As I reviewed my post from last year, Ten Bank Marketer Resolutions for 2011, it is clear that most bank marketers lacked the time/focus to make much progress on any of last year's goals. 

So, in writing this year's Bank Marketer Resolution post, I could have simply posted the same resolutions from last year (similar to what I do with some of my personal resolutions). Instead, I reached out to bank industry leaders from across the globe for their ideas. There was surprising uniformity in their suggestions, and a sense of urgency around the need to achieve much more than last year.

So here are the resolutions bank marketers should not ignore in 2012 according to industry leaders:

1. Validate The Value of Marketing Through Measurement: As highlighted in my recent post 100 Years Later, Marketers Still Have Difficulty Measuring Up, there is still a tremendous gap between what bank marketers implement and what is measured. Not only are there almost 20% of marketers who don't find measurement of results imperative according to recent research by Ifbyphone, but less that 50% of any channel is measured. Dan Marks from First Tennessee says, "Bank marketers should resolve to measure and optimize true marketing ROI – having the courage to seek out the unproductive part of the marketing mix and replace it with other activities that generate real shareholder returns." Serge Milman, CEO of Optirate states, "In 2012, bank marketers should resolve to have a more diligent focus placed on business drivers that can help manage and grow the bank," while Bradley Leimer, vice president of online/mobile strategy at Mechanics Bank said that,  "The number one resolution for bank marketers in 2012 must be to 'put data first,' since the proof of any program resides in the measurement of results." 

Jeffry Pilcher from The Financial Brand added a common sense resolution that is not always followed . . . "stop doing things that don't work." It is clear that if only one resolution can be accomplished in 2012, the measurement of attribution and program results is the most important.

100 Years Later, Marketers Still Have Difficulty Measuring Up

At the turn of the last century, store merchant John Wanamaker stated, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."

Based on just released research from Ifbyphone, those may have been the 'good old days'. The report, 2011 State of Marketing Measurement Report found that, while 82% of CMOs expected every campaign to be measured (what's up with the other 18%), only 29% of the marketers believed they could effectively measure ROI of each channel.

Potentially more troubling was the finding that more than a quarter of marketing assistants did not find the measurement of results important. "It's concerning to hear that many marketers don't understand the importance of measuring the success of their campaigns," stated Irv Shapiro, CEO of Ifbyphone. "We need to determine the root cause of this sentiment, and whether it's a lack of education in best practices, or rather a gap in leadership and mentoring. Businesses can only get better at marketing if they are held accountable for improving upon what didn't work in the past."

Bank Marketers Face Challenging Times With Great Opportunity

After two years of responding to government intervention into the revenue structure of financial organizations, bank marketers are now faced with heightened levels of competition, a more demanding customer base, an unfavorable rate environment and, in many cases, a shrinking budget. But potentially most challenging to financial institution CMOs I meet in my travels is the ability to respond to the shift in the ways we interact with customers and prospects.

The flood of data, channels, devices and changing consumption patterns have marketing departments in financial organizations of all sizes trying to determine if they are prepared. They are reviewing the skills sets that will be required to take advantage of the opportunities these challenges present, and realizing that gearing up may require a heightened level of personal engagement from all members of their team.

These challenges are reinforced by a set of studies that I recently reviewed that surveyed marketers from all industries. IBM's 2011 Global Chief Marketing Officer Study entitled, From Stretched to Strengthened found that the majority of CMOs feel unprepared when it comes to the explosion of data available (71%), the impact of social media (68%) the growth of channels and devices (64.5%) and the movement from mass markets to micro markets (64.5%).

As Channel Proliferation Increases, Consumers Still Prefer and Trust Direct Mail for Financial Services Communication

According to a just released consumer channel preference study from marketing services firm Epsilon entitled, The Formula for Success: Preference and Trust, 36% of consumers prefer to receive financial services communication through the mail (compared to only 8% preferring email), while 50% state that they pay more attention to direct mail than email. Interestingly, U.S. consumers actually receive an emotional boost from receiving mail, with 60% agreeing that they "enjoy checking the mailbox."

The 2011 study is the latest in a series of studies conducted by Epsilon around communication channel preferences. In the latest study, it was found that the preference for direct mail extended to the 18-34 year old demographic, highlighting the risk in making assumptions around age and channel preferences. Part of this preference bias compared to email and other channels could be caused by the level of trust associated with the channels reviewed, since 26% of U.S. consumers found direct mail to be more trustworthy than email. The least trustworthy channel continued to be social media, with the channel only being viewed as trustworthy by 6% of consumers. Consumers also found direct mail to be more 'private' than email or online channels (important for 37% of consumers).