Change Your Mindset # 16 - Advertising should do more than push products and rates.

Advertising and marketing are not one in the same. This seems obvious, but when we ask about the marketing efforts at small financial institutions, we invariably hear about newspaper advertising, billboards, and radio commercials. And why not? A good deal of time, money and effort goes into those ads, and advertising is often the most visible activity of a marketing department. There is nothing wrong with advertising; when done well, ads can be a valuable way to communicate with large numbers of consumers.

Beyond advertising, however, many financial institutions are handcuffing their marketing departments with relatively small budgets. This puts enormous pressure on marketing professionals to achieve a high, short term ROI from these ads, or risk having their budgets cut further. Since the quickest way to get money in the door seems to be with unsustainable rates, marketers tend to become product pushers, and their budgets become dominated by advertising costs. Herein lays the problem.

The most effective advertising does not solely push products. It is well grounded in an institution’s branding strategy. It communicates product offerings and promotional activities as part of a broader message. Most importantly, it is part of, and informed by, a comprehensive marketing strategy.

One of the better examples of a financial institution that seems to understand this is Bank of America. The “Bank of Opportunity” campaign presents B of A as a gateway to a realm of possibility for anyone willing to give the Bank a try. This commercial is a prime example of how B of A is able to present its message, and its value proposition, without ever mentioning rates. Granted, Bank of America’s $1.3 bil. marketing budget is out of the question for all but a select group of institutions. The Bank’s level of commitment and approach to marketing are not, however.

The truth is that, for better or worse, advertisements help to shape the consumer’s perception of your institution. If all your advertising does is push products, then all you should ever expect to attract are product shoppers, which usually equates to volatile money. If that doesn’t work for you, and my guess is that it doesn’t, try changing your mindset. Take the emphasis off of products, and focus on selling your institution’s story to groups of people who will want to buy it.

Invite the consumer to explore your institution a bit, and use ads to communicate the value that you can provide. Part of that value will inevitably be products, but the customer can find products anywhere. The job of your advertising is to communicate why consumers should get products from you.