46 MARCH / APRIL 2019 A recent survey revealed that 57 percent of banks indicate that internal silos are their biggest obstacles to big data success. Sharing customer data across departments and even across marketing channels can be challenging, but the benefits are worth it. Your bank may not be leveraging retail customer data to its full potential, but the good news is that it is a big opportunity, and it can be easy to implement. Customer segmentation analysis transforms a basic customer and address list into an insightful and powerful targeting tool. Data has the power to drive customer acquisition, improve customer relationships, unlock new opportunities and increase profitability. Analytics provides the knowledge to empower your institution to drive retail customer growth. How can data drive your growth strategies? There are typically three basic questions marketers ask themselves: • Where are my customers coming from? • Who are my customers? • How can I find my best potential customers? The best way to unveil your most profitable targets is by gaining a detailed understanding of your existing retail customers. Think about your branches. How is each one unique? How are the customers you serve at each branch different? How do the market areas for each branch vary? How can you understand those differences to drive growth at each branch strategically? Every location has unique differences. Understanding your various customers and the trade area differences that exist allow you to market to those differences to accelerate growth. Identifying key characteristics of your customers at each branch improves your ability to invest and trim marketing dollars in order to improve Leveraging Customer Data For growth advertising efficiency and drive return on investment. If customer data is so powerful, why don’t most community banks leverage it? One pervasive myth is: “As a community bank executive, I know my customers like the back of my hand. I don’t need analytics.” However, when two community bank executives from the same institution were asked who their customer was, they gave completely different answers, based on their dayto-day interactions. Analyzing their data showed that their customer base is made up of different types of consumers with varying demographics, spending behaviors and financial propensities. And those customer types look different across their branches. Analytics helps you move from thinking you know who your customer is to knowing who your customer is. A targeted approach gets results. Understanding your customer’s DNA can serve as a blueprint for locating the best potential customers for each branch and how best to reach them based on their media preferences and likelihood to utilize your products. Knowledge can arm an institution with the intelligence needed to execute relevant marketing strategies to the right audience at the right time. Banks and other businesses need to know more about their customers and prospects – where they live, what motivates them, and how to reach them – in order to grow. With so much customer data at your fingertips, intuition alone is not an acceptable growth strategy. According to one global consulting company, banks that apply analytics to customer data have a 4 percentage point lead in market share over banks that do not. Using customer data-driven profiles and actionable strategies will improve your marketing efficiencies across your media channels and improve response rates, resulting in better ROI. HB Samantha Vance Vice President of Marketing Main Street Inc. SVance@mainstreetinc.com Main Street Inc. is an associate member of the Indiana Bankers Association. FEATURE
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