inspiration from banking

Over the past 7 years I’ve had the opportunity to work with many banks and credit unions around the United States.  One of my trusted resources for insights into financial services marketing comes from Jeffry Pilcher and his website TheFinancialBrand.com. 

This morning he ran a great article featuring the best of bank marketing on YouTube.  There are several examples worth noting, but this one from Norwegian bank DNB stands out!  As Jeffry describes it:

DNB recruited Norway’s most famous choir, the Norwegian Broadcasting Boys Choir, to sing all of the messages for its automated, touch-tone telebank. For the entire Christmas season, every word on DNB’s phone banking system was sung by angelic voices. The concept is brilliant, the execution is beautiful.

I hope the video inspires you to think a little differently about marketing.  You may view it here.

 

shop and switch

J.D. Power & Associates 2011 US Retail Bank New Account Study reveals that retail banking consumers are shopping for- and switching banks at an increasing rate.

The study, which examines the bank shopping and selection process, as well as customer satisfaction with the account initiation and on-boarding processes, finds that 8.7% of customers in 2011 indicate they switched their primary banking institution during the past year to a new provider, whereas just 7.7% said the same in 2010. On average, customers in 2011 say they considered 1.9 banks while shopping — up from an average of 1.6 banks in 2010.

Apparently banks that perform well in acquiring new customers — Chase, PNC and SunTrust, for example — tend to be aggressive in their advertising and promotions.

One Big Take Away

The study offers several important insights.  One such take away was that customers who choose to stay with their current primary bank for additional products are most driven by positive past experience and perceptions that their bank is more focused on customers than on profits,” said Rockwell Clancy, VP/financial services at J.D. Power & Associates. “Clearly, banks that are not providing a noticeably better experience are more likely to lose the business of indifferent customers who are more easily lured by the next attractive promotional offer to come along.”

Read more about the 2011 US Retail Bank New Account Study.