Bigfoot is real. The Loch Ness Monster exists. Elvis is alive. Just ask any conspiracy theorist. While many people acknowledge those myths are pure folklore…they still exist today. You might even see some people running around as Bigfoot or Elvis this Halloween night.
Marketing myths also exist today. Everyone thinks they’re a marketing expert, and that results in many falsehoods about that key area. There are many myths, half-truths and false assumptions when it comes to the important role bank and credit union marketing plays in the growth of your financial institution. It’s critical that you don’t fall for these folk tales.
Here are four bank and credit union marketing myths:
1. Marketing is advertising — When you say the word “marketing,” most people immediately think of their favorite commercials, radio spots or billboards. The reality, however, is that those are just advertising mediums. Marketing is way more than just advertising. As Alex Goldfayn says in The Revenue Growth Habit, marketing is “systematically communicating your value to people who can buy from you.” So, marketing goes beyond what you say in your ads.
2. Marketing is a department — Who’s in bank and credit union marketing? The answer to that question: everyone. Every single person at your credit union or bank is in marketing. Yes…even your collectors and accounting personnel. Your staff are not just employees; they are brand ambassadors. Marketing touches everything and everyone – not just one department.
3. Marketing is an expense — Ask any CFO about marketing and the vast majority will say it’s an expense. As John Wanamaker once famously said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” Marketing should provide a return on investment for those marketing dollars. If you cut marketing to save your budget dollars this year, what are the long-term impacts down the road? Marketing is an investment (and a necessary one if you want to grow).
4. Marketing is just about creativity and having fun — In an old “Dilbert” cartoon, Dilbert’s boss says: “You will now be working in the marketing department until further notice.” The next frame depicts the doorway to marketing, which says, “Marketing Department: Two Drink Minimum.” Unfortunately, that is the perception many have of bank and credit union marketing departments - it is just about creating pretty pieces and having a good time. But marketing is more and more about data and analytics. To succeed in reaching consumers today, you must mine all the data you have. Marketing is just as much a science as it is an art.
There are obviously key aspects to marketing that involve advertising, marketing personnel, money and creativity. However, believing those things are the only keys to marketing is like believing the costumed candy-lovers outside are real ghosts and goblins. You’d be buying into a myth.
Become a mythbuster instead! Dig into your bank and credit union marketing to uncover the good, bad and downright ghoulish hiding in your messaging to consumers using a marketing assessment. Book a free consultation today and stop losing money with your bank and credit union marketing.
