Digital marketing channels and initiatives definitely have their (prominent) place in community banking. But, banks and credit unions have a unique opportunity to leverage existing resources, like branches and other customer touch-points, to get the word out about new products and services.
Customer ServiceStewards
Your employees are your best advocates. The largest determinant of successful public relations is first and foremost, fostering great employee relations. Educating your internal teams with the knowledge about new products, their benefits and steps to access can increase the adoption of these product and the relationship with your users.
- Staff Incentives
- Call-to-actions
- IVR
Imagineyour customer or member walking into your branch and asking a teller how to usea person-to-person transfer service advertised to them with a statement insert.If your teller doesn’t know about the new product, you are reducing the trustyour customer or member has in your institution. Further, if a customer ormember comes into your branch asking your teller to transfer funds to anotherperson, they can act as a marketing agent in letting your customer or memberknow about the new person-to-person service on your mobile app.
Yourcustomer service teams can also be advocates for your new product by adding thenew product to their script when talking to new customers. However, yourcustomer service agents need to be equipped with how-to’s and FAQs to bestassist your customers and members concerns in real-time.
Many institutionsfind success in incentivizing staff by offering rewards for reaching milestoneswith new products. For example, a bank that just launched a new mobile appmight incentivize employees to generate 500 downloads in a month. To empowerstaff, front-facing employees can be armed with information, script additionsand more.
Alongsidestaff incentives and scripts, front-facing employees can also be empowered withtable displays, buttons and more, all which provide calls-to-action for yourcustomers and members. For example, your teller can have a table-top flyer orwear a button that says “Get the all-new app! Ask me how.” This marketingmechanism serves to invite your customer and member to get help and moreinformation right from the teller or customer service representative.
Lastly,you can add the new product to your IVR as a call-out or waitingmessage, this will advertise your new service to a captive audience as theyawait assistance from your customer support teams.
Public Outreach
Traditionaloutreach is not dead; not by a long shot. Press releases, statement inserts andpromotional materials can go a long way to enhance the buzz around your newoffering and even drive more traffic to your institution.
- Press Release
- Statement Inserts & Mailers
- Promotional Items
Asimple google search can help you find press release templates, but whatmatters most is the content and placement. You know your communities best, makea list of publications you think would be a best fit and send in a polishedrelease for consideration. Tailor you release to each publication’s audience.
Besure to include pertinent quotes from your leadership team and digital partnerto tell the story of why the new product is important for your community toknow about.
Don’twrite off statement inserts or mailers to announce new products. You canget your message right into your customers’ and members’ hands, without additionalchannels. You can include messaging in regularly schedule mailings to keepextra expenses down. Be sure to include a URL or channel for more details so youcan empower your customers and members to take action.
Consideroffering promotional items, like a keychain or pen with the new serviceadvertised if budget allows, a small token can be a persistent reminder of yourservice. Who doesn’t like a freebee? In addition to creating a positive experiencefor your customers and members, swag is an effective attention grabber.
Marketing is an ever-changing endeavor because your community is always evolving. By utilizing multiple initiatives to meet your customers where they are at any time, you can ensure a successful product launch.
Youput in a ton of work to add new product to better your users’ experiences.Don’t let limited or poor marketing stand in your way of expanding yourinstitution.
Apitureoffers a marketing suite with new materials added monthly for your institutionto download, edit and use as you need, in addition to having custom materialsavailable for all clients. If you want to learn more about Apiture’s end-usermarketing support, fill out the form and one of our team members will reach outwith details.
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