Actionable Insights

Tommy Thompson, president of iNSPIRE!, has posted a great article this morning on Advertising Age's blog regarding the mistakes often made in marketing to the Hispanic community...its worth a read!

Young & Free targets Gen Y in Texas, but they're not alone

After reading so much about the successes of Young & Free Alberta in targeting Generation Y, we knew it was only a matter of time before a similar concept would be introduced in the United States. And this week it was; Young & Free Texas was launched by Texas Dow Employees Credit Union.

In reading the news and visiting the site, I initially thought the Texas initiative would generate the same kind of buzz and success, if not more, that it did for Commonwealth Credit Union in Alberta. This is especially true as we havn't seen other institutions going to equal lengths to target Gen Y.

But it looks like Texas-based Resource One Credit Union is launching an extremely similar initiative this week: my life, my money. Not only are these initiatives both targeting members of Generation Y in Texas - but also use social media in their marketing, are offering a similar checking/savings account, and are intending to hire a spokesperson - with nearly identical perks.

It will be interesting to see how both are received and talked about during their respective searches for spokespeople - and in the months that follow.

Update: there are a couple great discussions discussing both of these accounts/initiatives in depth, one on Everything CU and another on The Financial Brand.

Should You Really be on YouTube?

According to a feature in the latest ABA Bank Marketing Magazine you should be. The title of the article You Should be on YouTube raises huge concerns, as it implies that all readers should have a presence on the website. While I was a bit surprised to read such a definite statement, I was more alarmed by the statement that followed:

“If you are not, your competition might beat you to it.”

Who cares if your competition beats you to it? If a YouTube video doesn’t support your marketing efforts and overall strategy, you shouldn’t waste resources developing, posting and managing content – especially for the sake of having a video online before your competition does.

Overall, the article does make good points about blogs and podcasts, but sends the wrong message in being so definitive about being on YouTube. We can all think of institutions who have no business posting videos online; and there are plenty of wildly successful institutions who aren’t on YouTube and aren't worried that their competition is – for many institutions it just doesn’t make sense.

Another Thought on Relevance

The issue of relevance is on my mind again this week as the world prepares for the summer Olympic Games in Beijing. If you scan through the list of corporate sponsors of the Olympics you’ll see the venerable name of Kodak. What you may not know is that last October the company whose name was once synonymous with film and cameras announced that it was ending its role as a top corporate sponsor of the Olympics after this summer's games – an ongoing sponsor relationship that began over 100 years ago with the first modern games in 1896.

At the time of the announcement, Elizabeth Noonan, Kodak's director of brand management, stated "As we complete the transformation of Kodak, it makes sense for us to take a new direction." What she didn’t say was that Kodak hasn’t transformed its business model as fast as the changes in related technology or consumer expectation. They simply didn’t adjust to the transition from film photography to digital photography as it was happening. When was the last time you dropped off a roll of film for developing? Professional and amateur photographers alike have numerous options today including digital cameras, digital printing and online photo management applications like Flickr. As Kodak scrambles to compete, they have experienced massive net losses and its workforce has dropped to half what it was in 2003.

What can the financial services industry learn from this example? A great deal! Look at how new technology within this industry has already changed consumer behaviors across the demographic spectrum. By paying close attention to the shifts in your industry and your market, and proactively adapting to those changes, you have a greater likelihood of remaining relevant to your customer and avoiding the same fate as Kodak.

Site Selection: “The devil is in the details”

In a recent Retail Delivery Insights newsletter from BAI, Gary D. Stein stressed the importance of attention to details in selecting sites for new branch locations. Not a surprise, but important nonetheless.

“Stein recommended that banks conduct a thorough analysis of the specific site and surrounding trade area. He advised banks to consider market potential, population demographics, financial product usage and demand, population density and the competitive landscape.”

And while these elements certainly go above and beyond simply relying on intuition, I’d also add the importance of psychographic data and an in-person assessment of the proposed site location to the list. Drilling down to this level of detail is necessary in today’s increasingly competitive landscape – especially as institutions adopt more specific target markets and the average new branch is likely to require a multi-million dollar investment.

An article from July 5th’s Chicago Tribune discusses the approach that allowed Starbucks to identify successful locations: “In evaluating locations, Starbucks looked past commonly used community demographic information to analyze nitty-gritty specifics, like the education level in various neighborhoods. It also studied traffic flow on both sides of the street, to make sure drives could make an easy right turn for their java fix on their way to the office.”

The commonly used community demographic information is a good starting point, but doesn’t provide the specifics relative to consumer behaviors, access or local draw which could dramatically impact the success of a new branch location. Starbucks strayed from the more scientific and detail-focused approach in recent years - which resulted in its recently announced decision to close underperforming locations.

Stein echos a point we've heard before: "branch placement may accounting for as much as 65% of its success." With so much hinging on location, you'd think the same attention to detail would be a part of any institution’s expansion efforts.

Economic Challenge and Great Opportunity!

An Amazing Dichotomy

Recently we saw evidence of two starkly different approaches to business in our changing economy, how it creates opportunities for some businesses and can negatively affect other businesses. Almost at the same time, you saw images of people standing in line to withdraw their deposits at Indy Mac Bank, while also seeing long lines snaked around just about every Apple store in the country, in anticipation of the release of the latest and greatest iPhone.

There was, and still is a huge emotional component in both of these situations. I believe that emotional connection is the key ingredient in keeping customers happy and wanting to do business with you. Apple knows this. Of course, they are positioned as the provider of technology which is easy to use and fun. But, they have also created almost what I would call a “movement” where customers simply “must have” the latest and greatest version of their products. So while we could say that Apple targets only upscale techies, we would be wrong, because they appear to target people who respond to easy and fun, words which speak to emotion.

Indy Mac Bank, on the other hand, also has some emotional content occurring with its customers at the present time. People are concerned about their money, and, more importantly, the emotions that are tied to their deposit account. Emotions surrounding retirement security, resources to take that dream vacation or having the piece of mind of financial security. All of these are emotional situations and bankers have proven expertise in addressing them with customers. Now is not the time to be shy.

So what does all of this mean from my perspective? Bankers should be using this time of perceived uncertainty to make a deeper connection with their customers through education, discussion and outreach. For bankers, using their knowledge and expertise to help quell customer’s fears right now may be the very best thing they can do to create an even more loyal customer base. Fear is a powerful emotion, one that is running far too rampant right now, and bankers have the opportunity to use their expertise to help customers face these fears.

The time is now.

Are You Relevant?

Last Friday I had the pleasure of speaking at the 14^th Annual Senior Management Summit sponsored by the Texas Bankers Association in Austin and that is the very question I posed to my audience.

I spoke on what I believe to be the single most important topic facing the financial services industry: Relevance. I must say that I am truly jazzed up by this topic and at the same time a bit concerned that more bankers nationwide don’t see it as important, or even believe that it will affect them. That is just plain scary.

This is not just about the banking industry. Any business that serves the public, directly or indirectly, must see that change is the only constant; that we cannot rely on the traditional play book of the past for solutions in a changing world and that now is definitely not the time to be fearful.

Richard Tedlow, in his article published in this summer’s Harvard Business Review entitled “Leaders in Denial” states that you may be riding the express train to oblivion if you are not asking yourself if you are on the right path. I could not agree more!

At Market Insights we are all about helping clients to remain relevant and to grow their businesses. We are constantly seeking creative, innovative businesses and leaders, including financial institutions that are doing great things. I would like to hear your thoughts on Relevance, what you are doing at your business to move ahead, and any other feedback or ideas you care to share.

Love / Hate Revisited

Over the last year, we’ve talked a lot about love, hate and indifference relative to how consumers feel about the companies with which they do business – and specifically how consumers feel about their financial institutions, and how that impacts brand loyalty.

With so many institutions trying to be “all things to all people”, the industry has become commoditized; and in many cases, it’s become difficult for consumers to easily tell the differences between one institution and the next. As a result, many consumers are motivated by price or convenience factors, and lack the kind of strong emotional connection with their financial institutions that we see with other companies outside the industry like an Apple, Starbucks or Whole Foods for example.

As many financial institutions continue to take the safe approach marketing to the mass-middle-ground - or the indifferent, opportunities present themselves for others who are willing to take steps to truly differentiate their institution from the competition. But this requires a clearly defined target market and taking steps that will align your institution with their needs, values and preferences – you want to make it easy for your target to choose you over the competition, to feel that connection with your institution, and love doing business with your institution as a result. On the flip side of this, and the reason why many institutions don’t take these steps, is that you have to be willing to allow other consumers - those that aren't part of your target, to make the choice not to do business with you. In most cases, this means thinking differently about your pool of prospective customers - focusing your efforts on those that will love what you're doing while allowing others to hate what you're doing.

During the past week, I’ve seen two examples in television campaigns of companies embracing this love / hate concept: Crocs (the ugly slip-on plastic-looking shoes…as you can tell, I’m on the hate side of the spectrum) and Scion (the Toyota spin-off for those looking to express their individuality through their cars).

First, during the AVP Pro Volleyball Tournament sponsored by Crocs, I was introduced to the company’s “love ‘em or hate ‘em” campaign. Crocs shoes are very popular in my neighborhood, as I’m sure they are across the country; but the company’s marketing team understands that there are plenty of people like me who don’t like the shoes – and, it's embracing and promoting the love / hate feelings with a new crocslovehate.com website. The site is working to build buzz around the fact that people either love or hate the shoes, and draw people from the indifferent middle-ground to one side or the other.

Second, I was intrigued by commercial with a similar concept for Scion. Once again, Scion understands that some people love its cars and others hate them – and this is by design. The commercial includes the obvious message “love it or loathe it” to drive home the point.


Find more videos like this on AdGabber

What does the love / hate concept look like with banks and credit unions? Sure, we’ve seen our share of hate websites, blog posts and other commentary about bad experiences with financial institutions, but we don’t hear the kind of rants and raves from both sides of the spectrum like we do with these and other examples outside of the industry.

While we hear executives and marketers talk about their ideal customers and target market, we never hear them talk about the customers or members they don't want - or those that they're willing to lose in an effort to build a stronger connection with their target segments. So, if you know of an institution making strategic choices with “love us or hate us” attitude, I’d like to hear about it.

Perspective

On Thursday afternoon, just about the time when many of us were wrapping up business to break away for a well-deserved holiday weekend, Newsweek’s Howard Fineman was posting a web exclusive story from the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. In case you missed this article entitled “In Search of Optimism”, it recounted comments by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to PBS’s Charlie Rose:

"The economy is virtually unfathomable," he began. "I hope we have hit bottom, but I can't really say." On the upside, he said, we all need to maintain some historical perspective. In 1987, he reminded the crowd, the stock market had dropped 25 percent in one day. The current depressing run was months in the making. Nor is the situation like 1982, when we faced a recession driven by sky-high interest rates. By historical standards, unemployment is relatively low at 5.5 percent. But as a country we face rising economies elsewhere around the world—trading partners increasingly turned competitors—energy costs and above all a lack of political will to use government well.

These cautionary comments from a man who many call “America’s top banker”, should remind us about the importance of perspective in times of great uncertainty. While most community bankers and credit union executives don’t have the advantage of Mr. Dimon’s unique situation, they can certainly benefit from his point of view.

Too often, current events and market news prompt us to make hasty choices. But perspective and context can counteract fear and help guide choices that will shape the future of the financial services industry.

How will Starbucks closures impact shared-space bank branches?

It seemed like a no-brainer for some institutions’ expansion strategies: build branches near or adjacent to a Starbucks store; or better yet, take full advantage of the foot traffic generated by the coffee chain and share a retail space. Given the rapid growth and much-discussed success of Starbucks in recent years, it certainly seemed like a viable strategy.

But as news comes today of Starbucks’ plans to close more than 600 stores over the next year, how will financial institutions sharing space with Starbucks stores be impacted?

While most of the planned Starbucks closures will be those stores opened since 2005, it doesn't sound like the institutions referenced in this Wall Street Journal article from 2005 will be impacted. But what about those institutions that may have followed their lead and teamed up with Starbucks with a shared-space since then? Or, what about those that were influenced in some respect by a Starbucks location when selecting a site for a new branch during the past few years? We've talked to quite a few institutions, especially those with branches near college campuses, who have aggressively pursued such partnerships with Starbucks.

It's easy to see how the shifts in traffic patterns can certainly benefit many businesses, especially those that follow retail magnets like Starbucks or Wal-Mart, but what happens when they close their doors? I suppose we’ll find out which institutions, if any, will be impacted when Starbucks makes its announcement to its employees later this month about which locations will be closed.

Harris Bank Touts Stability in its Musical Chairs Campaign

I suppose it was only a matter of time before the musical greeting cards concept was adopted by marketers for a direct mail piece; we received one yesterday at the office from Harris Bank.

The mailer leads with the message: “business banking in Chicago has become a game of musical chairs”, and plays “pop goes the weasel” when opened. While the music was unexpected and grabbed my attention, I had to read the content a couple times before I fully understood the purpose of the mailer.

Inside, the piece talks about how “While the rest of the Chicago banking community plays musical chairs – old familiar names disappearing, bankers moving on- Harris remains rock solid. We have had the same name for more than 125 years. We’re here to stay.”

Granted, we did just see the major acquisition of LaSalle Bank in Chicago by Bank of America - which is certainly an example of an “old familiar name” disappearing, but is that enough to make customer think about switching institutions? Bank of America did an excellent job handling the transition for LaSalle Bank customers in the months leading up to the acquisition – sending personalized letters, providing answers to FAQ’s, setting expectations, and welcoming them as B of A customers. These efforts undoubtedly put many of LaSalle’s customers at ease about the acquisition – and it’s these kinds of efforts that we’re seeing the major national and regional players deploying during acquisitions in markets across the country.

And if having the same name for 125 years isn’t compelling enough to switch to Harris, the mailer also carries a $250 promotional offer for opening a new business account; but even then, I doubt it’s enough to move a significant number of accounts.

With a lot of uncertainties around the success rates of direct mail initiatives by financial institutions, I have to question how much Harris paid for each of these pieces – and what it expects as far as a return. And with the amount of money the campaign must have cost for production and postage, I’d like to think that the marketing team would have taken the time to ensure that the pieces were addressed to a specific person at our office - but the piece was simply addressed to “Market Insights”.

Over the last couple years, we’ve seen quite a few institutions promote stability and longevity in markets where acquisitions and mergers are happening – and in most cases, the expected customer run-off from the acquired institutions just doesn’t follow. I expect that the same will hold true in the Chicago market, especially with the well-managed transition of LaSalle Bank to Bank of America. The Harris piece just falls short.

And I thought ATMs were an expectation

So I went to the bank today and found that the ATMs had been upgraded - they now have check imaging capabilities. And while I’ve heard about the technology that allows checks to be deposited at an ATM without an envelope, I hadn’t yet used one until this afternoon. It’s a pretty slick process: tell the ATM that you want to make a deposit and insert the check directly into the machine. An image of the check appeared instantly on the screen; the computer displayed the deposit amount and asked me if it was correct – I was surprised that the computer read the hand-written amount on the check. After approval, you can select to have a receipt printed with or without the check image, or chose no receipt at all. All of this in a matter of a few quick prompts on the screen.

This was in sharp contrast to an experience we had last week with a community bank in a small town in North Carolina – where a teller told us that the bank was “old fashioned”. Old fashioned is an understatement. Here’s an institution with a large geographic footprint, promoting free checking at its branches, and it doesn’t offer an ATM or ATM card. And, after looking online after our visit, the bank doesn’t have a website either.

While I realize that today’s financial institutions don’t necessarily need to have the same products, services or delivery channels as their competitors, I had considered ATMs to be an expectation rather than an option – especially with institutions like mine upgrading machines that are already fully functional and feature more bells and whistles than most ATMs out there.

So, how long can an "old fashioned" bank continue to conduct business successfully (without ATMs, a website, or online banking) in an environment where consumer expectations are rapidly changing?

Is your institution committing a “deadly marketing sin”?

The latest issue of BAI’s Banking Strategies magazine features the article Six Deadly Marketing Sins – Financial marketers need to get out of their rut to break through the market’s clutter.

Many of today’s marketers definitely do need to get out of their rut; they need to break through the clutter. And while I agree with the six sins outlined in the article, it doesn’t discuss what I would consider to be an underlying factor of each: the overall lack of meaningful and strategic points of differentiation.

When you have clarity about what distinguishes your institution from the competition, and those points are both meaningful to your target and are leveragable against your competition, you should be able to avoid each of these six sins. As an example, sin #2 is “an avoidance of marketing messages with some personality and attitude.” True points of differentiation convey the unique personality and attitude of your institution. At the end of the day, your marketing messages should all link back directly to your points of differentiation. This linkage allows people to easily see the value added by your institution; and should make it easy for your target market to chose your institution over the competition.

The other sin from the article that I really like is #6: “The illogical view that one print ad, one e-mail or one piece of direct mail is capable of gaining quick attention. The fact is, you need repeated, high-impact communication to build awareness.” While we know that some ads are capable of capturing quick attention – a single print ad isn’t likely to generate the results that many institutions hope for; this is especially true when we’re talking about sustainable results. When we talk about “meaningful” points of differentiation, we’re talking about the kind of points that can be used to develop “high-impact” communications – the kind that build awareness and lets people know exactly what your institution stands for. Another point to be made about this sin is the fact that “repeated” communication shouldn’t translate into simply placing more ads or sending more emails and direct mailers. Rather, your points of differentiation should be reflected in everything from your marketing collateral to your customer experience; from your products & services to your community involvement - giving your customers and the community repeated exposure to your message through multiple venues.

Think about how your institution is different from the competition. Are those points meaningful to your target market? Could they be leveraged as an advantage over your competition?

Name Your Own Account

In an effort to give its customers a "fun and easy" way to save money, Americana Community Bank (Sleepy Eye, MN) announced the introduction of its Name Your Own Account this week. The account encourages customers to set a specific purchase goal - like a new TV, boat or vacation - and use the account to save specifically for that purchase.

After opening the account, the Bank also plans to send account holders email updates as their savings grow - and they get closer to having enough money to make their big purchase.

The account is the latest in efforts we've seen relative to institutions allowing customers to customize an account - or features of that account. And, while this will certainly allow ACB to engage its customers, I'd like to see how the value of the account will be communicated to both customers and non-customers.

I was disappointed in not being able to find any information about the account on the Bank's website - I read about the account in a press release, but found no additional information online. Nonetheless, I wonder what kind of long-term success the name your own account will have for ACB. Will customers begin saving again for something else (and re-name their account) after their initial purchase is made?

Unlike initiatives like ING's Your Number - where long-term retirement savings goals are the focus, Americana Community Bank's account focuses on relatively short-term goals. And while these short-term goals are certainly important for the customer, especially given the focus on saving the money before purchasing - rather than using credit, the account structure puts those deposits at risk once the savings goals are reached. What will the Bank's follow-up efforts look like with those customers to continue saving?

The account looks to be part of a series of changes at Americana Community Bank - as noted on the Bank's website, it looks like a new site, new products and new look are in the works.

What kind of financial guidance are you offering Gen Y?

Yesterday’s Marketing Daily featured the article “Gen Y is Going to Need Financial Guidance More Than Most.” Citing outstanding student loans, credit card debt and lack of savings, it’s easy to see why Generation Y may need some guidance to navigate these challenges.

So, what kind of financial guidance are you offering Gen Y?

The article makes a good point about life-stage goals – with Susan Menke, senior financial services analyst at Mintel giving the example that “Many Gen Y consumers have a picture of where they’d like to be financially by the time they’re 35. Often, that picture includes owning a house, having children and being free of student loan debt.” She goes on to say “They key is to build your model so that you’re targeting both short-term profit and log-term profit potential.”

Looking at Generation Y’s current life-stage (many are high school or college students, or recent graduates starting careers), and the challenges many are currently facing – like the student loans, credit card debt and lack of savings, as mentioned in the article – gives us some direction as to what kind of financial guidance Gen Y needs now, in the short-term. Gen Y needs a plan to pay off their debts; and many need a reason to start saving their money. This is where life-stage goals like buying a car or home, or saving for a vacation or retirement can become part of the financial guidance your institution offers.

And, depending on your market, offering financial guidance to Gen Y may also require that you think beyond the traditional in-branch meeting with a personal banker. As an example, how will your institution offer financial guidance to Gen Y through your website or other venues?

If you aren’t currently offering any overt financial guidance, education or planning tools for Generation Y, it may be time to start thinking about doing so. With Gen Y expected to become more lucrative in the coming years, the relationships established with them now – especially during important life-stage events, like buying a first home, should be looked at relative to both short-term and long-term opportunities.

The Impact of Mobile Banking on Your Brand

Jeff Stephens at Creative Brand Communications recently posted a question on Banktastic about the impact of mobile banking on branding for banks and credit unions. With projections of 100 million US consumers using mobile banking by 2012 (cited by Javelin Research in a Business Week article last month) it is no wonder that the industry is scrambling to take advantage of the latest technology. Today mobile banking is an emerging technology…tomorrow, can we say “me-too”?! What do you think? Will the offer of (or failure to offer) mobile banking impact your brand in the mind's of your customer?

Online Banking On Its Way Out?

In a conversation with a banker last week, I asked about his intentions to add online account opening capabilities for his customers. And, this sparked an interesting conversation about the limitations placed on his institution's online banking platform by its core processor (the company also hosts his online banking service).

You see, this banker had been considering adding this feature to his online banking for some time – and he really saw the value in making online account opening available to his customers. But he told us he couldn't add it because his core processing company had no plans to offer online account opening as part of its services to its bank customers. I understand that it takes time to develop these technologies, but it was the rationale behind this specific company’s choice not to offer online account opening capabilities to its bank clients that was pretty shocking.

They told the bank's management that online banking was on its way out. That’s right, they told them that the regulators would certainly kill online banking in the near future, and as a result, there was no reason to make the investment in developing the technology which would allow online account opening.

Online banking on its way out? Seriously? I don't think so.

Consumer behaviors are changing rapidly - especially relative to the Internet. And, today's successful institutions are those that embrace the changes and partner with outside companies who do so as well.

BarCampBank San Francisco

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the BarCampBank San Francisco conference. I had never attended a BarCampBank conference, so I was excited – and didn’t know what to expect. I must say, I was not disappointed. The conversations and group discussions were very intriguing, and the relaxed atmosphere of the whole event had everyone participating without hesitation. It was a lot of fun to join such a diverse group of people to talk trends that are taking place right now in the financial service industry.

Now when I say the group was diverse, here is what I mean. The list of attendees ran the gamut from credit union CEO’s, to college students (a total of around 60 people overall). There were people representing startup ventures, corporate marketing departments, consulting firms, and there were also some programmers in attendance. This is why there is a buzz around these BarCamp events, I think. People contribute to discussions and bring a very wide range of background and perspectives with them. I learned as much in one day (if not more) at this conference than in attending an entire weekend at a traditional conference.

If you don’t know the scoop on BarCamps, here it is right from the source:”BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants.”

The beauty is that anyone can organize a BarCamp, and as long as some interest is generated and there are people who want to attend. There are no rules and no pre-decided outline of content - the topics of discussion are decided upon by the attendees the day of the conference.

Anyway, enough about what they are. The BarCampBank San Francisco was very successful overall, and we should all definitely thank Matt Iverson for organizing the event (and all others that helped make it success). There is already talk about BarCampBankSF2 happening in another six months or so, and is generating discussion by attendees.

One of the biggest points made during the day was made during various discussions - if you are going to create a successful online service for customers in today’s Web 2.0 world, it must have three components: community, trust/transparency and stickiness. In today’s generation of internet users, these are the things they are looking for in any site or service they use online.

This is important for banks and credit unions because it translates into knowing what your customers are looking for in service offerings. An institution can’t just throw a website together for the sake of having a website; it must connect with, and be meaningful to the user. An example that came about during the conference centered on providing financial advice or financial planning tools online, and why there are so many that aren’t successful. The reasons included the fact that people don’t just want a tool to spit numbers at them, they want to feel connected and have a more meaningful overall experience. They want a community of users to interact with, they want real world advice about what the tool is telling them, and they want feedback from the community about whether that advice is good or not.

A lot of what was discussed at BarCampBank San Francisco dealt with technology and trends that are happening in the financial world right now. While not all of it was presented as having a direct relationship with banks and credit unions, it is certainly reshaping the industry in some way. If you want to learn more about all of the various topics discussed at this BarCampBankSF you can visit the wiki site and check out discussion notes from participants. Also, here are some photos from the event taken by participants and posted on the flickr.

If you haven’t had a chance to participate in a BarCampBank conference, think about doing it - it is a very engaging and rewarding experience.

Direct Marketing

According to a recent Direct Marketing Association report, American financial services institutions are increasing their use of direct marketing. The $13.4 billion that U.S. banks and credit institutions spent last year on direct marketing advertising generated $178.8 billion in sales. How's that for ROI? These sales are forecast to hit $286.2 billion in 2012, according to the report.

Have an idea for us?

After reading about the latest Starbucks training sessions where each of its stores were closed for a three hour training session a few weeks back, and hearing about some of the initiatives it will be launching to get back in touch with its customers, I've been looking for examples of these initiatives coming to life in my trips since to Starbucks stores.

The one idea I particularly like, called My Starbucks Idea (Netbanker has a great write-up of how this can tie into banking) is a website that allows customers to submit ideas and feedback about all things Starbucks. And while the initiative is web-based, I was interested to see an in-store display this morning on the table with the coffee creamers.

The display is a small (8.5X11) table top with a stack of tear-off, business-card sized pieces of paper attached to it. These pieces of paper simply read "Have an idea for us?" - and, I have to admit, it intrigued me. I tore it off, and turned it over, the back simply directs you to mystarbucksidea.com.

It's not a survey. There are no questions. It simply directs you to submit your ideas to the bank's microsite.

I can definitely see the opportunity for financial institutions to offer this kind of feedback loop to their customers - and could easily be placed at teller stations or on check-write tables. In Starbucks' case, because it's such a large company, having the comments directed to one central point is a great way to keep them organized.

It's such a simple way to keep the feedback loop open for customer dialogue.