“Walk a mile in their shoes.”
It’s an expression near universally known and understood. If you want to deeply connect with someone, you need to place yourself in their experiences. You must empathize with them. And let’s be honest: bank and credit union marketing isn’t always good at empathy.
Head Knowledge vs. Heart Knowledge
Ulterior motives get in the way…even with the right head knowledge. You know what you should do – talk about benefits over features, address pain points and so on. But your true goal (bringing in loans, growing deposits, etc.) frustrates your efforts.
You slip into the “me, me, me” mindset and your bank and credit union marketing collateral doesn’t resonate with people because it doesn’t empathize with them.
You need the right heart knowledge to win and thrive with your marketing. You need to put yourself in the consumers’ shoes and have walk-a-mile marketing that empathizes with your audience. Here’s how.
Stop Putting Words in Consumers’ Mouths
You’re speaking to consumers…but are you using the words they want? Or just the ones you like?
People don’t care about your inside-baseball terms. They might not understand what a CD is or what APY means (especially among some younger groups). Explain these terms or find a different way to get your message across.
Of course, the language issue goes beyond marketing to English audiences. A recent Financial Brand article points out the humungous growth of diverse populations across the country. In many markets, those are individuals seeking Spanish marketing content. But you may have a larger population from India or Eastern Europe or another location.
Regardless of where people come from, here’s the key: know your market and speak their language. Imagine what it’s like to read your content as someone who doesn’t understand the terms you use or the English language. The word alienation comes to mind…and that’s not a word you want anywhere near your organization.
Use your audience’s words at every level if you want empathetic bank and credit union marketing.
Bring on the Pain
Yep…you need to feel the pain! (The consumers’ pain, specifically.)
Beyond speaking someone’s language, that’s how you connect with your audience right away. As Donald Miller says: “Every story is about somebody who is trying to solve a problem, so when we identify our customers’ problems, they recognize us as a brand that understands them.”
But dive below the surface. Only looking at the problem from a bird’s-eye view is too narrow. Is a depositor’s pain point simply needing a place to store money? Maybe so, but depositors can find that anywhere (making you a stale commodity if this is all you say). Look at internal and philosophical pain as well.
Let’s continue with the depositor example:
- External Problem: Don’t have a place to store cash.
- Internal Problem: Doesn’t feel financially secure now or in long term.
- Philosophical Problem: Deserves to accomplish dreams, support family and comfortably retire.
The pain points change depending on the group you target or product you promote. But the levels of pain don’t change. Feel your audience’s pain at every level if you want empathetic bank and credit union marketing.
And of course, relieve some of your own pain too! You deserve to spend more time on marketing strategy while someone else handles creative execution. Book a free consultation to discuss a marketing partnership with On The Mark Strategies and make that dream a reality.
