Get back to bank marketing basics with a ‘KISS List’
Keely Harken
Marketing Officer, Grundy National Bank, Grundy Center
How does your message get noticed in today’s crowded marketplace? Our customers and prospects are bombarded with marketing each day, so there is constant competition for their attention. The Internet is the most obvious – where a simple check of a weather forecast can result in ads for loans, savings accounts and other financial products popping up in front of your customer.
One suggestion is to make sure you’re using all of the channels you control. Not long ago, I heard a fellow bank marketer remark that she forgets the bank lobby when she implements a campaign—the direct mail piece is sent, and follow-up calls made, but there’s no reinforcing message on bank premises. I think this is fairly typical as we rush from one project to the next!
At GNB, we’ve found our KISS checklist (keep it simple, stupid!) to be a helpful tool. It’s a quick way to make sure we’re utilizing all the channels that are available to us, no matter how simple or routine.
When we’re preparing to launch a new campaign or marketing initiative, the checklist is reviewed and assignments made for who is following through with each channel. The touchpoints are divided into interior signage, exterior signage, print materials, point-of-sale, electronic and miscellaneous.
On our KISS list:
- Lobby displays & teller counter signage
- Banners for drive-up lanes
- Messages for time/temperature outdoor display
- Script for telephone ‘on-hold’ message
- Script for telebank message
- Bank Web site banner
- Intranet (internal employee Web site) posting
- ATM signage
- Statement message or statement stuffer
- Article/ad in quarterly bank newsletter
- News release
Traditional touchpoints such as newspaper, radio, TV and billboards are included on the list, as well. It’s so simple it’s obvious, right? Following our KISS list for every campaign helps ensure that we’re making maximum use of the ‘touches’ our customers have with us, and delivering a consistent message that supports our campaign goals.
Keely Harken is Marketing Officer at Grundy National Bank in Grundy Center. She is currently serving in her first term on the IBA Marketing Committee. She received the 2002 Best of Iowa People’s Choice award for GNB’s Bean Counter introduction and was also a Best of Iowa award winner in 2006 and 2007.
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