Mabus Agency was a “general services” marketing firm before switching to focus only on banks several years back. This means that we worked with clients from many backgrounds.
While we enjoyed the variety, we chose focus.
We did maintain a couple of relationships outside of banking, though. One of those was with a group of locally-owned, original restaurant concepts.
In the early days of COVID-19, one of this group’s founders called me to compare notes on how we were approaching the pandemic. His opening question was as funny as it was poignant: “I’ll bet you’re glad you picked banking over restaurants right now.”
But things aren’t rosy in banking either.
Coronavirus, CARES Act, and the Payroll Protection Plan are just the latest stressors we’ve faced. I’m extremely proud of the effort our industry put behind supporting small businesses and protecting their employees well-being.
All of this piled on top of a difficult market caused by rate compression on the fight for low-cost deposits.
We also have the historical woes of ever-changing and complex compliance, ties to tech vendors with anemic products and egregious contracts, and non-banks intruding into our territory (many times without having to face the other issues).
Again, as an industry, we’ve reacted admirably. Bankers have rolled with the punches with a stalwart resolve.
The industry maintained. The industry overcame.
As we look beyond this COVID crisis, I urge you and your bank to look beyond reaction and be proactive.
Hopefully, your community bank saw the great benefits of a proactive approach to PPP. All over the country, smaller banks beat big banks to the punch—serving clients like only we can—and in the process won new clients.
Three questions:
1. What are you doing to welcome and onboard those clients?
2. To introduce them to other products and services that would endear them to your bank?
3. What will you do to attract the next round of new clients?
If your bank hasn’t been serious about a mature, organized approach to marketing; it’s time to take a serious look at this area of operation.
Your bank provides unique benefits to clients who might not even know you exist. Who else will share the motivation to move but you?
We’ve rolled with the punches, but what happens when we turn that strength and resolve from reactive to proactive?
Well, our clients have seen incredible results.
