Happy new year to you all – there is certainly a positive feeling about 2010 that means we’ll all be busy throughout the year.
The industry seems both well placed and at the same time under threat – slow moving large organisations must learn to be nimble, and quick to respond in the face of drastic change from non-banks, direct offerings, heck anyone with an idea, a PC and an internet connection.
My personal goals include a leap forward for innovation and direct interactions for my bank, and hopefully you’ll see some exciting things to come from NAB and our peers and friends in other banks. Australian banks have weathered the storm well, and the fight is on now to create a compelling suite of direct and other channel offerings. Let me know when you and your bank have something ready to launch and we can share it on The Bank Channel.
But back to my post.
It’s perhaps a strange coincidence that 2010 is in Chinese Horoscopes the year of the Tiger, and more particularly the year of the element metal. The Tigers rapid growth continues through the application of Metal sees our Australian economy (and the wallets of Andrew Forrest and others at BHP, Rio) continue to stabilise and steady due to export of iron ore and other materials.
But this year will also see major challenges to banks and other traditional organisations as new communication and business models embed themselves in our lives, and have exited their embryonic status from their time on the 2000′s.
Personally, I see an exciting time ahead for those banks who have the following attributes:
- Genuine leadership support for innovation – and I dont mean innovation in the current, fluffy vague sense – I mean innovation that produces new ways of creating revenue, customer relationships and cost reduction
- Genuine intent from projects to create integrated and seamless outcomes
- Genuine messages and brand articulation – make your advertising and communication mean something
Will your bank be a hunter, and aggressively embrace this new way of communicating and doing business, or will it be hunted, and sit back waiting to be consumed?
It is nice to see that the Year of the Tiger could mean an increase in metal in company pockets.
I agree that Banks should embrace new communications strategies to talk with customers. Using something like social media will change the way a customers sees there bank. Plus the idea of having a person from the bank like "Greg from My Bank" talk to you rather than "My Bank Coporate" Tweeting with you creates a more lasting relationship.
You can do some reseach for your bank by attending the White Horse webinar called, "Top 10 for 2010 Digital Marketing for Financial Services." They go through how social media can create the brand loyalist and increase your ROI.
Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/343197896
Feel free to email me if you have any questions. [email protected]