There are hundreds of ways your institution touches your customers or members, and it is important to be thoughtful about each touch point in and outside of the branch. EVERY message sent by any means is a reflection on your brand and a chance to win or lose accounts.

Communication types include:

• Email and voicemail
• Monthly statements
• Physical signage in all branches
• Digital signage of any type
• Direct mail
• Brochures and pamphlets
• Window displays
• Oral communications from your tellers, customer service representatives, loan officers, branch managers, and inside/outside sales staff
• Written correspondence of any type
• All methods of advertising, be it radio, TV, Internet, snail mail, in-branch, or any other type of branch media communications
• Sponsorships and Affiliations

Your branding and ancillary business communication activities all play a role in the success or failure of your marketing and communication strategy. Consistency is critical across all channels. Your message, regardless of the specific purpose, should reflect your mission, focus, concept, and image in the community. Your customer base will, consciously or subconsciously, respond to this consistency.

The ability of your branches to make a positive connection to the community and its members is a good measure of your retail communications success. Creating an environment that welcomes your visitors and helps them feel comfortable with the use of creative wall treatments, window displays and digital signage that is brand appropriate is a good way to connect with your guest. Along with architectural and interior design elements that boost your image, they can showcase your brand promises and emphasize the delivery of those commitments. In this environment, your customers typically have a pleasant experience and feel more connected to your institution and its products.

Effective customer service involves excellent experiences when your depositors and borrowers need assistance. Often the method and "flavor" of effective in-branch communication is just as important as the content. The key is to make the customer experience of the encounter a positive event regardless of the situation. Telephone and in-person conversations should reflect concern in their tone and contain meaningful, easy to understand content. All branch staff should be schooled in effective communication skills to maximize the positive effect of the customer experience. If you can implement a team communication approach, with response consistency, customer service operations will most certainly improve.

Retail communications is a critical component of your overall marketing communications program. You have a captive audience in your branch and it is important to take advantage of that. You want to present a clear, concise, effective, and often hard-hitting message. The constraints of regulations (clear statement of A.P.Y., A.P.R., and account or service fees) dictate that you use high-level creativity and careful scrutiny of the spoken or written word.

To help ensure positive results with your retail communication styles, consider and answer the following questions:

• Is your chosen mode of branch communication the best, most effective method available?
• Is your bank of communication items and procedures a help or a hindrance to your branch personnel?
• Are your branches designed to promote brand integrity and effective branch communications?
• Are you making a connection with your community and displaying solid multi-level marketing?
• Are all of your communications media reinforcing your brand, quality of service, and image?
• Are you using varied types of communication to ensure your message is being received by all members of your audience?

Effective marketing communications is both a necessity in the banking industry and also a challenge. Consumers are literally bombarded with sales and marketing messages during their every waking minute. Major companies spend huge amounts of time and money attempting to differentiate marketing campaigns and messages that stand out from the cacophony of sound and text assaulting consumers. The level of regulation of banks and credit unions requires both closer scrutiny of and more creativity in designing effective marketing communications.

Your goal should approximate a statement made by V. Glenn Campbell, a knowledgeable college professor, some years ago. Marketing communications should "... create awareness, stimulate interest, and ultimately produce participation by targeted audiences." These four components should be considered for each marketing component developed.

• Goals and objectives. What do you want to accomplish? Be clear about this issue.


• Target market. Using demographics, customer relationship data, and community personality, define your target audience as closely as possible.


• Primary sales/marketing message. What is the primary reason your prospective consumers will use your products or services? Define the primary "trigger" that spurs consumers to embrace your institution.


• Additional benefits. In addition to the primary lure of your marketing object, define other ancillary benefits that will accrue to your customer base if they use your institution.