Bob McCarron
The annual ABA Marketing Conference took place last month in Minneapolis. Conference attendance was exceptionally high and the challenges facing bankers today provided for very good conversations.
The general topics of discussion included what you might expect when you get that many marketing professionals from the banking industry in the same location: customer acquisition, retention, cross-selling, profitability, new product offerings, etc.
In addition to these topics, there were some new challenges that the attendees seemed to be facing, such as:
- Rapid change in many industries, including banking, that are making traditional business practices obsolete.
- More pressure on producing ROI against all expenses, especially marketing.
- Media are shape shifting…disappearing in one channel and reappearing in others.
- The explosion of data is creating confusion across the enterprise.
- New channels and new technology requires acquiring new expertise
These were just some of the issues that kept coming up as I met with many of the attendees. Finding cost-effective ways to tackle these new business problems was at the top of these banker’s wish lists.
A solid multi-channel marketing strategy that is fueled by insightful marketing analytics is one way to address a number of these marketing challenges. We live and market in an “always-on” world that puts new requirements on marketers. Consumers are in charge, and they have much higher expectations for interacting with your organization. One of your objectives should be to deliver a consistent and relevant brand experience across the entire consumer relationship.
At the heart of an always-on relationship is an integrated multi-channel hub to enable deployment utilizing all channels (mail, mobile, digital, etc.), processes to capture data across touch points, insights that can drive strategies both across channels and throughout the customer relationship.
How do you justify this type of investment? According to Forrester Research estimates there, is measurable value in adopting an integrated “unified marketing” approach to multi-channel marketing. For example an increase in profitability of a customer that buys over multiple channels of 500%, integrating a web visit with outbound messaging 2x ROI, integrating print AND digital messaging 4x ROI, integrating mobile and email messaging 7.5x ROI.
These are the types of issues that our clients come to us with every day. Finding a partner that has the experience in this relatively new environment and who can help you build a road map will go a long way in driving your business to the place you need to be.
About the Author:
Bob McCarron serves as SIGMA Marketing Group’s Financial Services and Insurance Practice Leader. Connect with Bob on , or follow him on .
