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Every Day Must Be Consumer Appreciation Day
I recently made a weekday lunch-hour stop at my local Target. I was initially confused because parking lot was jam-packed on what shouldn’t be a busy day. Walking inside, I was greeted by smiling red-shirted Target employee who offered a shopping cart and...
Money is Emotional, Not Transactional
Connecting Emotionally Elevates Your Marketing & Branding According to the Federal Reserve, over 14 TRILLION financial transactions are conducted every single day. Making a deposit. Applying for a loan. Withdrawing money. Writing a check (wait, does anyone...
Want to Offer an Outstanding Consumer Experience? Invest in Your Employees.
If you’ve ever been to Starbucks at 6 a.m. and encountered one or more bubbly baristas, you have experienced firsthand how investing in employees improves the consumer experience. Starbucks is a huge proponent of employee learning. It puts its employees through all...
How To Make Your Marketing Agency Work For You
So you’ve hired a creative marketing agency for your credit union or bank. Congratulations! But now what? It’s not uncommon for financial institutions to see pretty marketing from their competitors, get a little green with envy and think, “We need that too!” So they...
There’s a Difference Between Strategy and Execution
What's the difference between a successful planning session and an unsuccessful planning session for your credit union or bank? Execution. Execution makes all the difference. As strategic planning season gears up for financial institutions around the country, remember...
Name That Brand Tune
If your brand were a song, what song would it be? There’s no right or wrong way to answer the question, but there are two distinct ways that music helps build your credit union or bank’s brand. How you approach these two strategic issues will determine if your...
Four Strategic Planning Myths
In a previous post we talked about Four Branding Myths. While we referenced Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster and Elvis, we also “myth busted” a few common assumptions when it comes to branding. The same holds true for strategic planning. There are many myths,...
Strategic Planning Traps
Many credit union and bank executives dread strategic planning. It's the same routine year after year, and decisions made at the strategic planning session are rarely addressed again until the next session...a year later. But it doesn't have to be this way. These...
Logos, Tattoos and Brand Loyalty
When partnering with credit unions on brand and member experience programs, one of the examples we use regarding brand loyalty is Harley-Davidson fans who get some version of the company logo tattooed on their bodies. A quick Google search will show thousands of such...
Let’s Taco-bout Burger King
Burger King (BK) announced it is adding tacos to its menu. The second largest fast food chain in the world, with a menu that consists primarily of burgers and chicken sandwiches, is going rogue and adding something completely outside of its wheelhouse to its menu....
Seven Lessons for Millennials in Leadership
Millennials get a bad rep just about everywhere. If you’re a Millennial on your credit union or bank’s leadership team, then you’re well aware of the uphill battle you fought to get there, and the even greater battles ahead. But let me remind you: Steve Jobs...
Brand Gaps from the Grand Canyon
A brand gap is any difference between what your credit or bank says it does and what it actually does. There are three types of brand gaps. Mark walks you through each of these brand gaps, and how to close them, live from the Grand Canyon.