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So the first order of business in attracting large-bank customers is to assure them that they
will give up nothing in terms of capabilities ...only high fees, impersonal service and dubious
management decision-making. Put positively, the message for this target market might run
something like: Everything your big bank can provide, but with...
> reasonable fees
> exceptional, “down-home” service, and
> prudent management / conservative policies Delivering the message.
Now you need to decide how you’re going to reach the large-bank customers in your area
with this message. Perhaps the most effective means is word-of-mouth; so you might want
to strategize ways to incent your current customers to refer new accounts. You’ll probably
allocate some effort and budget to the traditional vehicles of direct mail and print advertising
(including the surprisingly effective hybrid, ValPak). But our professional recommendation is that you put the lion’s share of effort and budget into
electronic or Web-based marketing (including email), for several reasons: - Your target prospect probably isn’t spending a great amount of time with pubs that
contain your ad, or sifting through direct mail; if she’s thinking about replacing her
current bank, she’s most likely to (1) ask a friend or trusted associate, or (2) search the
Web ...including appropriate social-networking sites, the electronic version of word-ofmouth. - Every other industry is seeing a dramatic shift from offline to online marketing,
because it is more accurately measurable and generally produces better return at a
lower cost.
USING THE WEB TO CAPTURE A TARGET SEGMENT: A BRIEF HOW-TO
Clearly, it all starts with your website ...and of course you already have one. The question is
whether it’s up to the job; if it is, it will have: - a design that’s consistent with your bank’s image and supports brand differentiation
- content appropriate for the target segment identified above (current customers of a
large bank), with clear navigation that helps such visitors find “their” content without
difficulty - a means of capturing contact information on the people and businesses that you’re
going to want to track and communicate with as prospects over time ...which generally
means having some content (white papers, .pdfs, podcasts, etc.) set up as offers
behind a very simple registration form
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