Creating Synergies. The Bank of Upson has a lot in common with. Community banks adopt integrated marketing to connect with customers

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1 Creating Synergies Community banks adopt integrated marketing to connect with customers By Bridget McCrea The Bank of Upson has a lot in common with community banks that were founded decades ago. Over the years, they relied on tried and true and often fragmented marketing strategies. But roughly 18 months ago the Thomaston, Ga.-based bank proved it was different in its willingness to break the mold and join the ranks of retail financial institutions that have adopted an integrated marketing approach. 38 ICBA IndependentBanker

2 Illustration by Doug Ross xx 2008 ICBA IndependentBanker 39 2

3 By definition, integrated marketing is the combination of two or more forms of marketing used to sell a product or service, such as a direct mail campaign combined with a series of television commercials. The American Marketing Association says integrated marketing is a planning process designed to ensure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product or service are relevant to that person and consistent over time. Encompassing both online and offline marketing, integrated marketing includes everything from traditional print ads and billboards to Webinars and blogs, and everything in between. With $303 million in assets, the Bank of Upson was founded in 1959 with no thought of becoming anything other than a community bank, says Mary Hightower, marketing representative for the institution. Over the years, we ve grown and purchased branches in other counties. The different names of the banks, themes and marketing materials Corporate Question: To what degree have your marketing results improved after adopting integrated efforts? Source: Aité Group survey of financial service firms 40 ICBA IndependentBanker

4 By definition, integrated marketing is the combination of two or more forms of marketing used to sell a product or service. quickly became unwieldy and difficult to manage, she explains. In search of a more unified approach that would help consumers identify the three different bank names as a single entity, Hightower decided to create an integrated marketing strategy. That strategy included the creation of a unified logo, theme, colors and graphic standard that would help customers recognize that the banks albeit with different names were operating under the same corporate umbrella. So she turned to the Micro Merchant Marketing Platform from Dynamic Marketing Systems of Norcross, Ga., which is used by financial institutions to develop, customize and print marketing materials using a centralized Web portal. With a unified logo already under development, the marketing firm helped Hightower create an integrated branding campaign with coordinated banners, posters and marketing materials for all of the bank s locations. While the banks have different names, they do share the same colors, graphics and other elements that help connect the various locations under a single brand. With that consistent look in place, the bank began creating messages and campaigns that would apply across all branches and marketing strategies, including posters and ads in publications or billboards. Years ago, one of the banks would market car loans while another ICBA IndependentBanker 41

5 would seek CDs, says Hightower. Now the three banks get together and plan months in advance to create more unified campaigns. Recently, the institution launched a red tag auto loan sale at an attractive, but not bargain basement, Banks are leading the way nationally in their move toward integrated marketing. Ron Shevlin, marketing expert rate, Hightower says. All banners and signage were created online in about an hour at a cost of about $500 in materials. In two months, the bank made $1.6 million in loans. That was pretty phenomenal for our bank, says Hightower, who sees big advantages for community banks that can market themselves in a professional, cohesive fashion. In fact, it was the first time we ever had a wow response from branch managers to a marketing campaign, she recalls. Getting Cohesive Community banks across the country are jumping into the integrated marketing fray, believing that consumers respond best when they re exposed to a consistent, branded, positive message on a regular basis. Recently, for example, the Boston-based research firm Aité Group LLC, found that more large banks have taken this tack by creating marketing plans that tie their various logos, ads, graphics and Web messages together. Banks are leading the way nationally in their move toward integrated marketing, says Ron Shevlin, senior analyst with Aité. The research firm analyzed the results of a survey of 175 firms, (continued on page 44) 42 ICBA IndependentBanker

6 Survey Says Aité Group LLC s June 2008 Hallmarks of High-Performance Integrated Marketers in Retail Financial Services report reveals that: More than eight of 10 financial services firms have made a strategic decision to integrate marketing campaigns. Almost one-quarter of financial services firms strongly agree that they are properly structured to coordinate and execute cross-channel marketing campaigns. Approximately half of financial institutions have seen a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in results from their integrated marketing efforts. Fourteen percent of financial services firms don t measure the lift of their cross-channel marketing efforts. About half of high-performing integrated marketers use modeling and analytic techniques to allocate their marketing investment across different channels. More than half of all financial services firms consider how much the average customer spends, customers likelihood to generate a referral, and customer satisfaction as major indicators of a marketing campaign s success. Roughly one-third of nonfinancial services firms consider these measures major indicators. Ninety percent of financial services firms believe that they have sufficient customer data to customize marketing communications, but only 59 percent said that customer data is accessible for cross-channel marketing efforts. High-performing integrated financial services marketers are 50 percent more likely than other firms to deploy Web analytics technology and implement a rewards solution. High-performing integrated financial services marketers invested 38 percent of their total marketing budget on online campaigns, while other firms only allocated 22 percent to the online channel ICBA IndependentBanker 43

7 (continued from page 42) including 29 financial services firms, conducted by Epsilon in the third quarter of Outside of the financial services industry, just more than one-third of firms from other industries have decided to become integrated marketers, and just over one-quarter are putting integrated marketing techniques into practice. Financial services firms, however, have adopted integrated marketing, says Shevlin, with more than half strongly agreeing that they ve made a strategic decision to integrate marketing campaigns, and more than four in 10 saying that they re practicing it. Quantum National Bank of Suwannee, Ga., is one of them. According to Stephanie Rudd, vice president and director of marketing for the $325 million-asset community bank, her ultimate goal is to create a marketing approach that consumers will identify with the institution, even if the bank s name is not immediately visible. Up until three years ago, the bank did things on the fly, Rudd says. There was no central person handling the marketing or creating the ads, and every once in a while we d contract an outside agency to help us. Ready for a change, Rudd searched the Internet for a solution that would better integrate the bank s marketing strategy. She found what she was looking for in a marketing services offering from Goldleaf Financial Solutions Inc. The company takes a comprehensive view when creating marketing programs that have a similar look and feel throughout the entire campaign to ensure consistent messaging, and Rudd began using it to create, execute and track the bank s marketing activities. 44 ICBA IndependentBanker

8 Quantum National recently celebrated Cinco de Mayo via a seven-month CD campaign that featured a 5 percent interest rate. Produced in both color and black and white, and in English and Spanish, the ad was placed in a county newspaper, generating interest from the press, consumers and even other banks. The bank also uses direct mail combined with a tracking mechanism that allows it to record responses and tweak its campaigns accordingly. Moving Forward Not all community banks have the resources to create full-blown integrated marketing campaigns, as the task requires a set of analytical capabilities that many smaller institutions lack. But any institution can create such campaigns effectively through third-party software vendors, Shevlin says. He sees local providers as the best choice for community banks, because a vendor who has to fly from Connecticut to Texas can run up the bucks pretty quickly. Expect to pay $300 to $500 an hour for the services of a good marketing consultant, he adds, and be wary of any generalist marketing firm that claims to understand the process of integration. Look to your technology providers for help, Shevlin says. He singles out Harland Financial Solutions and Jack Henry & Associates as two good candidates, because both companies are developing a good set of capabilities in these areas. Look to your core systems and CRM providers for help, he adds ICBA IndependentBanker 45

9 At Dynamic Marketing Systems, CEO Gordy Cain stresses the importance of tracking return on investment (ROI) for banks looking to maximize their integrated marketing strategies. Specifically, look at how much is spent on the Expect more banks to employ integrated marketing approaches in the future, says Shevlin, who sees consumers as the top driver for the movement. Consumers interact with a proliferation of touch points, all of which should be Whether a bank is big or small, the concept of integrated marketing is a trend that s not about to go away anytime soon. Ron Shevlin, marketing expert promotion, and then track the results on the back end, he says, preferably through an automated system such as those Bank of Upson and Quantum National Bank are using. Measuring ROI requires a commitment to understanding your own company s baseline, then using the new results to execute the marketing campaign or the promotion, says Shevlin. tied together in order to achieve the best results and most effective tracking, he says. Whether a bank is big or small, the concept of integrated marketing is a trend that s not about to go away anytime soon. ib Bridget McCrea is a free-lance writer in Dunedin, Fla. 46 ICBA IndependentBanker