E-commerce Link : Give Them Value

Make content marketing increase your company’s ‘share of wallet’

Many marketers want to help customers make better decisions by becoming the source of trusted information. But few are actually turning this practice into leads and increased referrals.

However, some marketers are bucking the trend, realizing the mercenary fact that customers are reactive and expect free, value-added services to help them make complex decisions.

These smart businesses are taking action. They're producing content that moves customers closer to doing what they want to do—actualize an answer through purchasing a product.

The Opportunity
Like most Americans, bank customers are confused, and they make decisions reactively. They don't plan finances, and they don't know where to find help with important financial matters. Suddenly, bank customers are looking for guidance from someone they trust. And they'll do business with the one who provides it.

Banks, probably like your company, are looking for ways to generate more revenue. And they know how to do it. Increase "share of wallet." And they have products and people in place to cross-sell value-added products and services. But they're not getting the results they want from marketing.

"The barrier is that many customers do not see their banks as the places to go beyond deposits and loans," says Stewart Rose, CEO of Truebridge Financial Marketing. "Banks also aren't doing a good enough job in generating referrals in the branches."

I recently sat down with Rose, who revealed a rather simple—but overlooked—solution to the problem of customers entering banks in "transaction mode" and leaving in "transaction mode." The solution: Customers arrive in transaction mode and leave seeing their bank as a financial services resource.

Wisconsin-based Anchor Bank figured out a way to overcome this quandary with the use of educational content, providing customers with helpful answers on hundreds of financial topics.

"But the biggest success factor is focusing on delivery of content and realizing that the strategy is a first step in a comprehensive lead-nurturing process," says Rose, who advises banks on creating more success with useful content.

However, Anchor isn't educating customers solely using digital content. It's listening and acting in ways that prompt customers to do what they already want to do: get involved in the process of buying a product or service.

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