Most banks and credit unions don’t have a marketing problem. They have a decision-making problem.
Every sponsorship, product launch, hiring decision and community investment either strengthens your market position or dilutes it. Yet too many institutions continue making the same decisions everyone else makes. They don’t realize that’s why their brand feels interchangeable.
Stop making the same marketing decisions everyone else makes
While these efforts may build awareness of your bank or credit union’s brand name, they don’t set you apart from the many other choices people have for their financial needs. So people (and employees) don’t know what’s different and unique about you.
If your institution looks, sounds and behaves like every other financial institution in town, you’ve become a commodity. And commodities compete on price.
Differentiation begins with disciplined decisions
A Do Something brand is built through hundreds of intentional decisions. Leaders choose who they serve best, what promises they’ll make, and just as importantly: what they won’t be.
It doesn’t mean they can’t—or won’t—do business with anyone else. It does mean they invest in building toward a unique position in the marketplace. One that’s not easily copied or confused with anyone else.
And that’s where longterm loyalty and revenue build.
Every decision either reinforces your brand or weakens it
Once you’ve identified your market position, every decision becomes easier. The question shifts from “Should we do this?” to “Does this strengthen who we are?”
Every choice is a bank branding decision:
- what sponsorships you commit to
- what social posts look and sound like
- what advertising messaging, visual styles and music you use
- where you volunteer
- how candidates are recruited and treated during the hiring process
- how employees are onboarded
- your culture
- how your lobby looks and functions
- customer/member onboarding
- customer/member experience standards
- you advisory board makeup
- the product mix you offer, including non traditional offerings not typically found at an FI
What a Do Something financial institution looks like
Esquire Bank serves contingency law firms. They know their attorney clients may need working capital for extended periods because of the long timelines these cases take. Their clients may also need settlement accounts for class-action suits and special financing for their clients.
Esquire has attorneys on staff who understand the clients’ journey. And the bank also says it can help with ethics opinions and other services to their unique clientele that a bank typically doesn’t offer.
Those specifically-tailored product offerings set this bank apart and offer unmatched value to the audiences it serves. That’s powerful brand differentiation.
Note what Esquire Bank doesn’t do. They don’t try to become everything to everyone. They invest where their ideal clients are, build products around their specific needs and deliver expertise competitors can’t easily copy.
They probably don’t support the Little League. But they do support the American Association for Justice and they volunteer at organizations their clientele supports.
Your financial brand can’t afford to be wallpaper
Just say no to the same marketing spending every other community bank and credit union is doing. Instead of jumping on the same bandwagon as everyone else, scrutinize your purpose, priorities and customer/member needs. Then make conscious selections to support your competitive position in the market. Eliminate the rest.
You can’t be all things to all people.
The strongest brands aren’t built by saying yes to every sponsorship, new marketing trend or flashy opportunity that comes along. They’re built by making disciplined decisions that consistently reinforce who they are, who they serve and why they matter.
The courage to stop blending in and start making choices that competitors won’t is the key to standing out from the rest of the pack. That’s how to build an unforgettable brand.
Document what how your brand acts, shows up and leads. For brand standards best practices, read our article: 4 Crucial elements your brand standards are probably missing.
We’re a branding and marketing agency for banks and credit unions. If you’re ready to build a brand that can’t be copied, book a meeting with Martha Bartlett Piland. Let’s have an introductory conversation about your FI’s more profitable, value-driven future.
Megaphone image credit: Aakash Dhage on Unsplash
