When it comes to picking a bank or credit union, local financial institutions undoubtedly have an edge over big banks.
According to a study from The Harris Poll, 58% of consumers prefer holding an account with a local or regional financial institution, which may be good news if one of your competitors is acquired by a bigger bank with weaker community ties.
It’s a great opportunity to get the attention of your competitor’s accountholders, who are likely trying to decide if they want to make a switch. Win them over with this strategy!
Create a Compelling Message
According to poll mentioned above, consumers expect local financial institutions to have more convenient branch locations, better customer service and a more personalized banking experience. So, work those three points into your messaging to persuade prospective accountholders to join your institution.
Digital banking capabilities are also hugely important to people when choosing their bank or credit union. Unfortunately, according to the study consumers expect bigger banks to have a better digital banking experience. With that in mind, it’s important to play up your digital banking features to potential accountholders. Think Zelle®, online account and loan applications, a user-friendly mobile app and more.
Lastly, low-fee and interest-earning accounts play an important factor in whether someone decides to switch institutions. If you have standout account offerings, mention them!
To summarize, focus your messaging on convenient locations, excellent customer service, a modern digital banking experience and enticing account options.
Make It Easy to Switch
Convenience is king. The idea of moving my money from one financial institution to another sounds like a pain – not to mention that I’ll need to update all my automatic payment information and familiarize myself with a new online banking platform.
Providing a switch kit or offering to have a staff member help new accountholders with the process may eliminate that hurdle and make the idea of joining your institution less cumbersome. Don’t have a switch kit? We offer switch kits that are essentially ready to go – all they need is your branding.
Reach the Right Audience
Strategy is so important for a campaign like this, and there are a few avenues you can take.
IP targeting with direct mail and a custom landing page: We can deploy an IP targeting campaign aimed at the people who are mostly likely to be customers of the competitor that’s being acquired. The targeted digital ads will appear in the website advertising those consumers see, and we’ll reinforce those ads with direct mail postcards. Pairing print and digital has a statistically higher success rate, because people often need to see your marketing several times before they take action. A landing page is a seamless way for your potential accountholders to request information, and it also allows us to track the success of this strategy.
Newspaper ads, billboards and social media advertising: Plaster your name all over the community where your competitor is located. Ideally, you could utilize multiple billboards to share your different messages – all of which could be summed up in a newspaper or magazine ad that compels people to open an account at your institution. Incorporating social media ads helps ensure your target audience is seeing your advertisements multiple times. We can customize the audience demographics of the social media ad and include a link that takes your audience directly to your website.
Search engine advertising (SEA): Customers who are unhappy about the acquisition will likely be searching for a new financial institution in their community. Ranking high organically on search engines can be challenging, but search engine advertising ensures your website appears at the top of results. Plus, if someone uses a keyword associated with your SEA campaign, display ads will also appear on their website advertising.
Welcome kits and brochures: Once you’ve got them in the door, providing a welcome kit that outlines your products and services will educate your audience about your offerings and how you can help them thrive financially.
In an ideal world, we’d recommend a strategy that includes a mix of channels. Depending on your timeline and budget, we’ll make suggestions for the most effective marketing approach for you.
Let’s Get Started
You’ve got a lot on your plate! Lean on image.works to create a campaign that will encourage your competitors’ accountholders to come to you. Our team can take on the entire campaign – copywriting, designing, printing/shipping – or we can just handle pieces of it.
Get in touch today! Tell us about your needs, and we’ll provide a custom quote: info@imageworksdirect.com
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