Five Bank Marketing Leadership Takeaways from the ABA School of Bank Marketing Management

Lance Kessler introduced a new subject to the ABA School of Bank Marketing Management (SBMM) this week... Marketing Leadership.

A few months ago, he asked me and two other marketing experts to be on a panel for the class. I rejected the moniker "marketing expert". I may be an expert on a couple of topics, but marketing is not one of them. But I applaud Lance and the school for putting a finance and strategy wonk on the panel to get some outside perspectives on how the marketing function can be a significant contributor to the evolution of our respective banks from what we were to what we can be.

The class was a combination of lecture, questionnaire, and panel. So there was not a list of key takeaways displayed in a slick PowerPoint presentation. But I was taking notes on key items identified as critical takeaways for marketing leadership. Unfortunately, I left my notes back in Atlanta. So you, my readers, are stuck with my memory.

Key takeaways for marketing leadership:

1. Speak the language of the C-Suite. As much as marketers read and discuss the increased number of "impressions" they get from a witty Facebook post, your CFO could care less. If you talk social media impressions, you better know how that translates to greater unaided brand awareness, and ultimately more at-bats for your sales force that leads to greater balances than you would have otherwise achieved without the increased impressions. Tell the CEO/CFO how you will drive volume, increase margin, or drive down costs, and their ears will spike like a German Shepard that heard a rabbit shuffling in a thicket. Otherwise, check the marketing-speak at the door.

2. Take your CFO to lunch. But first take heed of (1) above. Building internal relationships will be critical to improving the marketer's influence on the future direction of your bank. Having stronger relationships with bank executives will give you the opportunity to demonstrate you do more than run the ad budget and branch merchandising. 

3.  Be analytical. Many if not most marketers got into the profession to leverage their creative nature. But the marketing function is evolving to be more analytical. Correlating organizational actions to outcomes based on statistical analysis gives the marketer far greater internal credibility than a discussion on how different primary colors impact the senses. You're going to have to trust me on this one.

4. Don't wait to be asked for help. It grates me when marketers focus on retail account acquisition when the bank's strategy is to grow commercial customers. I have not yet concluded that this is because it is within the marketer's comfort zone or that commercial bankers simply don't think they need marketing's help. Maybe a combination of both. If marketers' want to be an integral part of executing bank strategy, then go to the senior commercial banker and show them how marketing will be helping them achieve their objectives.

 5. Grow revenue. Position marketing expenditures as the fuel that grows organizational revenue. Having a well thought out campaign that shows multiple financial outcomes should result in funding. Delivering on the results improves your internal credibility and will make it easier to fund your next project, reducing the need to "whine for dollars" (i.e. can I puhleeezzzz have $50,000 for a direct mail campaign?).

Five is all that my memory will allow. There was a lot of great discussion, and marketers had excellent questions for panelists. 

What else is critical to marketing leadership?

~ Jeff

Strategy drives structure... in theory only?

Strategy drives structure, so says Peter Drucker. Do you believe him? Does your strategy drive your structure?

I taught Organizational Structure this week at the North Carolina School of Banking. I was the one in the room with the accent, by the way. But I digress.

I created a case study of a bank called Blue Collar Bank, a New Jersey thrift whose vision was to be the #1 financial institution for working families in its markets. The assignment was to develop an organizational structure conducive to executing its strategy.

 

For the sake of time, I could not call each student to present their results, so I asked for volunteers. One student bravely came to the front of the class and presented an organizational structure that looked like the below chart.

 

I have never seen such a structure. When the student first described it, I imagined that this could be an Apple or HP structure... a company that was strong in product management. Imagine having Marketing and IT reporting to the executive in charge of Product Management and Distribution?

 

Upon reflection, this structure has merit. I have heard from multiple heads of IT that they lack clear direction in managing projects... which ones to undertake, and in what order. IT steering committee projects are driven by anecdotes and compliance. What if the project list is driven by the bank's strategy and managed by an executive responsible for delivering the right products over the right channels to target customers as described in its strategic plan? That would be revolutionary to our industry!

 

IT and other traditionally operational areas in FIs often report to other operational executives that are focused on making sure the back office runs efficiently. Now that most of our customer interactions are occurring through electronic channels, doesn't it make sense to re-think this structure?

 

Hats off to this creative student. Is it no surprise that he works for a marketing company that supports FIs, and is not a banker?

 

What are your thoughts on FI organizational structures?

 

~ Jeff

 

 

Note: Below is a picture of the books at the UNC Chapel Hill bookstore. In case you were wondering about the seriousness of that rivalry.