A little while back I was standing in line at my bank and I noticed something that made me grimace. Behind the tellers were large LCD monitors showing the day’s business news. It was being broadcast from some generic source like CNN, so the bank didn’t have control over the content. During the summarization of that day’s stock market activities, a newsflash came up in gigantic letters stating that my bank’s stock prices had dropped significantly. To say the least, that’s probably not what the bank wants to broadcast in its own branches.
What this little blunder said to me was that the bank marketing team didn’t fully think through their purchase of these LCD monitors. They snapped up the new technology before they knew what to do with it, or how it was going to enhance their brand. Contrast this incident to Jyske Bank, whose branches feature LCD monitors that promote products and display other brand-related messaging. All of the content is custom-made for the bank, and does a lot more than CNN to enhance the bank’s brand.
This behavior is not just limited to in-branch technology. For example, many banks and credit unions are trying to get into social media without following any sort of strategy. What I frequently see occur is that Bank A will create a Facebook profile, consisting of a logo and contact information, and then sit back and do nothing. This is another case where lack of planning can lead to the ineffective use of a potential marketing tool.
New technology can both help and hinder your brand. Facebook pages and LCD monitors are just additional touch points – interactions between the world and your company. A bank that doesn’t have all the newest technology but manages the rest of its touch points well is still going to be more successful than the bank that has all the newest technology but doesn’t know what to do with it.
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Indeed, the central issue here is not the stock price event. The main message of my post was that many banks adopt new technology but don’t use it to enhance their brand experience. For example, there are many things my bank could have played on their LCD monitors that would have been more brand-centric than CNN or BBC. I felt like they were missing a key opportunity to improve the customer experience in their branch (especially considering how much money they had invested in those screens).
I definitely see the same type of thing happen with all sorts of “bandwagon” issues for banks and credit unions. Like coin counters, for instance. It seems like because one bank got some notoriety for having coin counters, now all bank and credit union marketers seem to think that’s the silver bullet, so they jump on the bandwagon. I see the LCD screen thing the same way.
First off, thanks for stopping by on twitter and commenting. My headline “How not to listen to marketing advice” was strong now that I look at it, and perhaps glossed over my main point.
There are lots of conversations going on about our companies, and to embrace them is the right thing to so. My concern in the post above (maybe I misunderstood) was the thought that a valid conversation about something bad could be glossed over with brand messaging. I admire the concept of live stuff in the branch, and to engage the staff in that as a conversation could be powerful.
Anyhow, thanks again
Colin
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