There is still much debate over the value and staying power of social media, but it isn't taking place in the marketing departments of big financial institutions.
Several years into the Facebook/Twitter revolution, bank marketers are firmly on board with the idea of monitoring, measuring and responding to social media. They've hired capable hands to work in the digital arena, they've established standards for participating in the medium, and in many instances they've converted their CEOs and business line counterparts into believers. Of course, when a customer complaint morphs into appreciation for responsive service-and a progression of wall posts or tweets allows the exact turning point to be identified-it's easy to argue the benefits of engaging in social media outreach.
There was a bit of closed-door commiserating among attendees of American Banker's 9th Annual Financial Services Marketing Symposium, mainly about the frustration of having to clear things with legal when the response times demanded by social media are growing ever shorter. And some conference-goers expressed a hope that the C-suite's enthusiasm for social media as a business endeavor would trickle out to the branches and down to more of the rank-and-file, where some skepticism remains. But marketers generally took the view that the industry is keeping pace with opportunities in social media, and they confidently described their institutions' approaches.
Where they sounded less certain was in how to take the wealth of information collected in social media channels and translate it into something that goes beyond the immediate needs and desires of customers-something that can help banks generate products and services that consumers are not even yet aware that they want.
Staying a step ahead of customers' needs is the aspiration of all great marketers, and the bank marketers who met in New York this December were looking at social media but also beyond it for strategies in this regard.
Keynote speaker Paul Kadin, executive vice president for North America consumer banking customer strategy at Citibank, said he hopes to eventually give Citi cardholders a "dynamic offer engine" that will deliver a person's Citi rewards balance, along with timely offers from area merchants, when the customer checks into a retail location. The customer could use a barcode scanner to check for other offers and to compare prices and point redemption options. At checkout, the customer could select a method of payment-perhaps a mix of debit, credit and gift cards-and make the purchase with a tap at the register.
Kadin also spoke of Citi's plans to provide content and free WiFi, so that the company might "be in customers' lives" as they travel through the media universe over the course of a given day. A mom, for example, might start her day scanning online news sites, check emails, search for idea on what to make for dinner or how to entertain the kids, check in with friends on Facebook and end the day watching a movie on her laptop. Citigroup has a partnership with the child-rearing experts at BabyCenter to provide articles that can be pushed out to such customers throughout the day. Other media relationships cover content about things like simplifying one's life, presumably a key concern for Citi's Simplicity cardholders. At its flagship branch in Union Square, Citi provides complimentary WiFi access; it's not a stretch to envision the bank offering WiFi in many others places where it knows its customers will be.
Kadin's remarks suggested that extras like these will be de rigueur for maintaining basic banking relationships. "We ask our customers to conform to us, to come to our channels, to work within our policies, to pay pricing that covers our cost," Kadin said. In that sense especially, he said, it is essential that banks prove their value to customers.
If banks can succeed in that regard, it would go a long way toward helping them confront the other major challenge that conference goers focused on: improving the industry's reputation.
While many banks remain reputational roadkill in the mind of consumers, some institutions have been distancing themselves, recovering some of the ground that the industry lost in the financial crisis. Senior marketing executives from two such banks, Justine Fedak with BMO Harris and David Clifton of Huntington Bank, shared some of the strategies their companies have employed.
The public panic set off by the crisis prompted BMO Harris to turn to its company archives, for clues as to how Harris handled client relationships after the crash of 1929. History, Fedak said, suggested that the bank would do well to address clients' anxieties by presenting itself as a source of trusted advice. The result was Harris Helpful Steps, a guide for helping customers to better track and manage their finances. Huntington, meanwhile, cemented goodwill with customers by offering a grace period on overdraft charges.
Programs like Helpful Steps and 24-Hour Grace are ready-made for catchy slogans, but managing reputation is not just a marketing problem. As if to hammer home the point, Fedak and Clifton each brought a business line counterpart to join them on the panel. Jim Baron, Huntington's executive vice president of sales and service director for retail branches, emphasized the importance of keeping front-line staff equipped to follow through on marketing's promise to customers. Christopher McComish, executive vice president of personal banking and co-head of North American specialized sales for BMO Harris, explained the philosophy that that helped Harris vault into the No. 1 spot (up from 10th place) on American Banker's most recent annual survey of bank reputation.
"It goes back to what the customer is telling us: 'This isn't your money. It's my money.' We need to think about it in that manner," McComish said.
Social media is one way to hear what customers are telling you, and Web entrepreneur Peter Shankman shared a personal example. After a long business trip, he tweeted that he would love to be met at the airport with a steak dinner from Morton's. A savvy marketing manager for the restaurant took note, and Shankman was greeted at the terminal by a tuxedoed server with a 24 oz. Porterhouse. Not all customer service efforts must be so ambitious, Shankman said. "The simple act of walking into TD Bank ...and I see TD Bank dog biscuits. That right there makes me happy."
