I have conversations every day with bankers and financial advisors. A question I often ask is how they market themselves to acquire new customers. My favorite answer from them is, “we’re referral-based – we don’t use marketing.” And, tongue in cheek, I reply, “and how is that going for you?” because I know from published [...]
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Posted in banking, consumer behavior, customer relationship management, donor engagement, financial services, marketing, marketing innovation, personalized marketing, social media, transformation on Jan 3rd, 2011
Gartner predicts U.S. tablet sales will exceed 20 million in 2011. By this time next year 10% of all Americans will have a tablet and half of us will have smartphones - a year later will see ⅓ of us with tablets. Gartner goes on to predict that by 2015 most [...]
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Posted in banking, branding, consumer behavior, consumer engagement, consumer perception, customer engagement, financial services, follower, imitation, individualized marketing, investment, leader, marketing, marketing budget, marketing innovation, personalized marketing, social marketing, social media, social network on Oct 18th, 2010
I talk to a lot of community bankers. They’re fascinating people. Just like anywhere else, no two are alike. Everyone has a unique story. The same is true of the banks they run. They’re all different with their own unique culture. Yet, they all seem to share a common problem with marketing differentiation. How can [...]
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Posted in branding, community, consumer behavior, consumer perception, kansas city, marketing, network, personalized marketing, social branding, social marketing, social media, social network, twitter, web on Aug 24th, 2010
The concept of promoting a personal brand has gained a lot of traction as social media have grown. In many respects it’s good for everyone involved. But it’s something I’ve never been comfortable with adopting. I’ve given it a lot of thought and now I think I understand my reluctance.
My friend Autom Tagsa wrote a [...]
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Posted in donor, donor engagement, fundraising, individualized marketing, network, non profit, nonprofit, personalized marketing, social branding, social marketing, social media, social network on Jul 28th, 2010
I get asked this question a lot. When I talk with a community benefit organization about their marketing for fundraising, probably 4 out of 10 times I’m asked whether everything they send out should include a fundraising ask. In my opinion, the answer is quite simple — no.
Your donors and prospects are valuable but different [...]
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Posted in banking, community, consumer engagement, consumer perception, customer engagement, customer interaction, donor engagement, financial services, follower, fundraising, individualized marketing, investment, lifecycle, marketing, network, non profit, personalized marketing, social marketing, social media, social network, twitter on Jul 27th, 2010
Frontline associates are often the most frequent point of human contact provided by an organization. I’m talking about folks like the teller at your bank and the undergrad working the alumni association telethon. They’re the tip of the spear, yet they are also among the least empowered in the organization. Their roles are viewed as [...]
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Posted in 1:1 Marketing, CRM, banking, branding, community, consumer behavior, consumer engagement, consumer generated content, consumer perception, customer engagement, customer interaction, customer relationship management, financial services, follower, insurance, investment, leader, marketing, marketing budget, marketing innovation, network, one to one marketing, personalized marketing, social branding, social marketing, social media, social network, twitter on Apr 8th, 2010
Social media is just making its way to the financial services sector. A recent research report by American Century Investments found only 14% of financial advisory firms reporting that social media is producing tangible value for their firms. That’s pretty damning evidence until you see that only 19% reported using social media daily or more [...]
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Posted in SPURspectives, branding, consumer behavior, consumer engagement, consumer perception, customer engagement, customer interaction, donor engagement, follower, individualized marketing, marketing, network, one to one marketing, personalized marketing, social marketing, social network, spur communications on Jan 26th, 2010
The Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, Canada from February 12th through 28th. I love the Olympics. I truly enjoy the range of sports and all of the amateur athletes gathered together to represent each country’s best. It’s invigorating, motivating and I believe has a lot to teach us about business and life. So, [...]
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Posted in 1:1 Marketing, CRM, SPURspectives, branding, community, consumer behavior, consumer engagement, consumer generated content, consumer perception, customer engagement, customer interaction, customer relationship management, donor engagement, follower, individualized marketing, leader, marketing, marketing budget, marketing innovation, network, one to one marketing, personalized marketing, seth godin, social branding, social marketing, social media, social network, spur communications, web on Jan 21st, 2010
Seth Godin’s recent blog post, “Too much data leads to not enough belief,” accurately asserts that we become skeptical when facing a lot of data that has been offered to prove a point. He goes on to say that the real mission of marketing is to make an emotional connection. I couldn’t agree more. However, [...]
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Posted in 1:1 Marketing, CRM, SPURspectives, banking, branding, community, consumer behavior, consumer engagement, consumer generated content, consumer perception, customer engagement, customer interaction, customer relationship management, financial services, follower, individualized marketing, insurance, investment, leader, marketing, marketing budget, marketing innovation, network, one to one marketing, personalized marketing, social branding, social marketing, social media, social network, spur communications, twitter, web on Jan 19th, 2010
You’ve seen the look — the patronizing nod when you suggest using social media in your marketing mix. You know what they are thinking. Where’s the tangible benefit? We use accepted financial measures; sales, margins, profit, and return on assets (ROA). Rather than turn with your tail between your legs, tell what you can deliver [...]
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