Marketing & $ales: The Balancing Act
 Joel Carter, Iowa Falls State Bank, Iowa Falls
The marketing concept for banks is how to make a profit by serving the long term financial needs of their clients. How then does the sale process, a short term revenue generation goal, fit into this long-term strategy?
The prelude to any successful or unsuccessful banking relationship is the promise banks make to their clients or perspective clients through their marketing efforts- advertisements, branding, direct mail etc. Though this may often be impersonal, these awareness measures set the stage for the sale process. It is during the sale process, the interpersonal stage, when customers’ needs are discovered and match to the banks’ products and services.
The marketing vision is set by senior management and starts with the recognition of customers’ needs and works backward to devise and deliver those products and services to satisfy those needs. At this initial start, input from the sales team should be solicited as this will help provide the context for planning and executing the bank’s objectives.
A partnership between the marketing and sales teams must be created to ensure that the long-term needs of the clients are met, during the sales process, in furtherance of the marketing concept. Emphasis must be placed on relationship building rather than sales goals. However, marketing activities must be aligned with sales goals. A classic example is the client asking to open a checking account based on a promotional letter received. Whatever the incentive is to the client for doing this, the sales team must understand the importance of cross-selling other products and services the bank offers i.e. savings accounts, online banking, loans, retirement accounts, etc.. This than begins the building of a long-term relationship, as it cost substantially more to win a new customer than to keep a current one- from 5 to 10 times as much.
The marketing and sales teams must be closely related and balance their goals which will create client retention. The sales team in most cases represents the customers’ main link to the bank. They serve as the conduit through which detailed information regarding product and services are pass from the marketing team to customers and feedback from customers to the marketing team. Banks should continue to focus on building long-term relationships in which the initial sale is viewed as a beginning step rather than an end goal. It is through these combine balanced efforts that customers are satisfied thereby ensuring banks’ profitability.
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The deadline to order the 2008 IBA Calendar is October 15. No orders will be accepted after that date. An order form can be found online at www.iowabankers.com. For more information contact the IBA’s Cheryl Miller at 800.532.1423 or email cmiller@iowabankers.com.
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