Financial institutions need to reach out and touch someone ... NOWAndrea Obstonbanks, credit unions, Lehman Brothers, marketing, economic crisis
I recently checked out the home pages of a number of local banks
and credit unions and was amazed to find no obvious mention of the
current financial crisis. Here's my question: If youre in the
financial services business and you haven't contacted your clients
directly about the current financial crisis what are you waiting
for?
Now is the time when financial institutions should be
aggressively reaching out to each and every one of their
stakeholders, trumpeting their own stability in the face of the
current situation--or describing the steps they have or will take
to respond to it.
Those who wait or presume they have the confidence of their
customers will be woefully sorry. And, if you're thinking that
longevity and past stability will guarantee consumer trust, you've
been in a coma since July. Now, more than ever, consumers are
reminded of the old prospectus caveat: "Past performance is no
guarantee of future results." After all, Lehman Brothers had a 158
year history; Washington Mutual survived countless downturns,
including the Great Depression and AIG most recently described
itself as "a $1 trillion company and a global industry leader with
more than 85 years of experience."
So, if history and bulk no longer equal stability and trust in
the mind of the public, what can a financial institution do to
demonstrate their worthiness? Reach out. Reach out now. Reach out
today and use every form of communication you can to deliver the
message that youre aware of the fear and that you are in this for
the long haul. Here are a few ways to cultivate and stabilize
customers confidence in your institution:
Contact every one of your customers
personally
Every one of these people is a stakeholder in your future. Make
sure they know about your commitment to their future. Let them know
you know they are scared. Tell them you value their trust and
outline specifics that will insure the safety of their investment
in your institution. Don't overwhelm them with numbers. Focus your
message on stability, rock solid performance and your approach to
risk. And give them a person's name and contact information so they
can vent their feelings and ask questions.
Open up the lines of communications
Set up a dedicated phone number and email address for these
concerns. Make a commitment to respond to all phone calls or emails
within a few hours. If you're worried about a flood of calls or
e-mails, set up an automatic responder that, at minimum tells them
youve received their message and will get back to them within a
specific time. Then deliver on that promise. Be aware that in a
time of crisis, every communication touchpoint carries more weight
than ever.
Talk to everyone in a form that ensures delivery of your
message
Do include your website in your communications vehicles, but don't
simply rely on email for customer communications. Older depositors
and investors consider letters more personal. In addition, phishing
scams have made many consumers, old and young, suspicious of emails
from financial institutions.
Create talking points
Develop a limited number of key messages that summarize your
institution's stability and approach to risk. Theses should be
simple, easy to remember and responsive to the level of emotional
uncertainty consumers are feeling. Craft them carefully with the
involvement of your communications staff (and of course the
blessings of legal counsel). And this is very important: make sure
your own employees are comfortable with and believe in the truth of
these messages. You will be asking them to carry the torch into the
public and they need to be fully onboard in order to do that with
integrity. Get the messages to all customer-facing staff, including
tellers, officers, those who answer the phone and top executives.
Mobilize your intranet, internal memos and regular training
sessions to emphasize message consistency. We often suggest to
clients publish these talking points on a laminated card that fits
into a pocket. Like Starbuck's legendary Green Apron Book (so named
because this tiny principle-based tome fits into the pocket of a
barista's green apron) it should be accessible to anyone who deals
with customers.
Train, train, train
Everyone who is in a customer-facing function must be trained to
use the talking points, to recognize a customer who needs more
support and to know where to send them next. They need to be
prepared to deliver the right messages at work, in the supermarket
and during a night on the town. If they work for a financial
institution, they can expect to be seen as the face of the crisis.
Involve and prepare them and youll be able to mobilize them as
community ambassadors.
Reach out through your Web site
Use the interactive nature of your site to establish a two-way
conversation with your customers. Use it to position your
institution as a place to turn for real information. Add a new
section to your homepage that links to information sources, both
inside and outside your institution. Link it to a page with FAQs
about the stability, risk tolerance and the philosophy of your
institution. Establish a way for visitors to your site to ask
questions about the developing crisis. Make sure answers are
simple, straight-forward and not excessively technical. Add an RSS
feed for those who want to be updated with any new materials you
add to the site. Allow those with ongoing interest to subscribe to
an on-line newsletter from your institution.
Establish a member of top management, as a
thought-leader
Customers are looking for open, informed and confident leaders who
are responding openly in the face of this crisis. If you have an
outgoing president, economist or top manager who is comfortable in
the spotlight, positions him or her as a supplier of clear answers.
Offer this individual as a source for columns, opinion pieces,
comments on breaking financial news and even speaking engagements
that simplify the economic situation as it progresses.
Monitor the feedback coming in
Set up a system for regularly monitoring and analyzing customer
comments on these issues, whether they come by phone, e-mail,
through the site or by letters. Listen and learn what's on the mind
of your customers and design responses that address their
concerns.
Take advantage of your in-house marketing
staff
Mobilize people with a marketing "head" to help develop and deliver
messages. Background on your institution's stability,
capitalization and prudent growth should obviously come from your
financial staff. But, the delivery of these messages is best left
to those with an understanding of how your stakeholders need to
hear those messages. Work with them to develop advertising and
public relations responses that are technically sound,
understandable to your customers and reflective of your brand.
What this all boils down to is this: No financial institution
will be untouched by this crisis of confidence in our economic
system. Consumers need assurance that their money is safe. Those
throughout the financial services industry must reach out and
answer those fears before their customers express them. Those who
do will earn the respect, confidence and loyalty of their
customers--three rare and precious commodities in today's financial
market place.
Andrea Obston of Andrea Obston Marketing Communications LLC
may be reached by phone at (860) 243-1447 or e-mail
[email protected].
