For community banks and credit unions, commercial marketing can and should look very different from retail marketing.
That’s because these two customer types have different banking needs, priorities, and preferences. If you’re looking to grow your corporate customer base, you need to have a clear understanding of all of these factors so you can effectively reach your targets.
Follow these three tips as you create and execute your corporate marketing strategy.
1. Define Your Audience
First and foremost, you need to know who your specific audience is. This means clearly outlining the industries and company sizes you want to pursue.
Do you want to add more small businesses to your mix, or are you focused more on those in the mid-sized category? What industries are most prominent in your region? Are there others you want to add for a more diverse mix?
It’s important to know which individuals associated with your corporate targets are most likely to be interested in your services. For example, ABA Bank Marketing points out that if your business owner targets rely heavily on third parties like accountants, lawyers, and other business owners, then your content marketing should be aimed at these third parties, as well.
Make sure your team is educated on the type of media these targets consume, the conferences they attend, and the resources they use. That way you’ll be able to meet them where they are.
2. Know What Businesses Want
According to a Raddon study, 68% of small businesses have selected a megabank as their primary financial institution (PFI), meaning community banks and credit unions have high hurdles to jump in order to win over these customers.
Through the study, Raddon found that all small businesses prioritize price, service quality, and convenient branches when looking for a PFI. But, those that were open to working with a credit union placed a greater emphasis on free checking and downplayed online banking technology.
Stay in the know about what matters most to corporate customers, and develop marketing campaigns around these pain points. Focus on the low fees and interest rates you offer, but don’t forget to tout your service quality. If small businesses know they can get high-quality service at a low price, they’ll want to hear from you. Make sure you have the data to back up your claims, and don’t be afraid to use it in your marketing messages.
3. Incorporate Digital and Human-Based Approaches
In order to appeal to corporate customers, you’ll want to offer both digital and human-based services. The combination of services will depend on the size of the business, as Bain & Company recommends either a mostly virtual model that allows customers to conduct a majority of business activities via digital self-service channels, or a bionic model that mixes human and digital service interaction.
Either way, digitization is key as Bain & Company found that this has the potential to increase revenue by 15-25%, decrease costs by 5-15%, and improve return on regulatory capital by 5-10%. But, you can’t forget about human interaction. Even with a virtual model, human interactions are not eliminated, just limited.
Get to know your customers and prospects’ preferences, and determine the level of human interaction they will need from your bank. If you remain flexible in what you offer, you’l be able to more easily meet their needs and gain their business.
The Right Tools for Growth
In order to take actions for growing the corporate side of your bank’s business, you need the right tools and technology in place. That’s where 360 View can help. Our growth platform includes CRM, marketing automation, goals and incentives, profitability and analytics modules that work together to support robust marketing initiatives.
We’d love to show you how you can use the platform to reach more corporate customers. Schedule a demo with our team today, and we’ll cover everything you need to know.
