Sleepy Markets and Tired Brands

I have spent the last few days at the ABA National Conference for Community Bankers in Orlando (which is a welcome break from winter in Chicago).

During my conversations with some of the bankers here, I’ve heard quite a few refer to their markets as dead, stagnant, slow, or sleepy. The attendees at this conference are community bankers, and many serve small communities, so I’m not surprised that they’re using these words to describe their markets - they're all over the country.

But, it was interesting to hear one banker in particular banker talk not about his "sleepy market", but about his "tired brand". I found this interesting for a couple reasons.

First, tired implies exhaustion, like his brand has been allowed to go unchanged for too long (In our experience this is extremely common – the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality). It’s exhausted, outdated, dull, mediocre and in dire need of a refresh, a jump-start, a critical evaluation. As a result of being tired, his brand isn’t having the impact he would like; it’s not creating the right perceptions; and it’s not allowing his customers to have the experience he would like them to have. I'd bet that his tired brand is becoming irrelevant to his market.

Perhaps more interesting than describing his brand as “tired”, is the fact that this guy recognizes that his brand is not as strong as it could be, or should be. Keeping a pulse on your institution and your brand, or taking the time to critically evaluate each, is critical to your institution’s success – especially in today’s marketplace where changes are happening faster than ever.

Over the last year, we have all seen branding become a buzzword – and I’ve seen a lot of bankers simply dismiss the idea or write it off as an industry-fad. In fact, I have seen it here at this conference – with bankers saying things like “I know branding is what everybody is supposed to be doing this year.”

It’s is not a one-time deal. As long as you’re in business, you have a brand that needs constant attention and the occasional refresh to keep it awake and relevant to the markets you serve – regardless of if your market is sleepy or not.