Straight Talk: Messaging for the times

Ask any banker to tell you about his or her bank, and the initial answer usually comes back in terms of assets. "We have a $125 million community bank," is a typical answer. Or "We have a $238 million bank with four offices," might be another example. Answers that quantify dollars, bricks and mortar might be appropriate in industry circles but I encourage you to think about developing another answer for general public consumption..Consider an answer like this: "We help hundreds of farmers feed thousands of people." Or how about this: "We help more than 1,200 small business owners provide products and services to millions of people throughout the state." Or consider: "We help thousands of homeowners manage their mortgage and personnel credit needs.".People want to know who you are, not how much money you have. People can discern a lot about who you are when they know who you serve. Notice that my suggested answers still include numbers. Size is important, but more in terms of the number of people you help rather than in terms of the dollars you control. Potential customers want to know whether you help people like them. That's the answer you need to provide right away..I recently heard a story from a man who owned an advertising agency. When he would go to social events people would ask: "What do you do?" He would reply "I own an advertising agency." The fellow said the response was never satisfying. "People either changed the subject or excused themselves to duck out of the conversation," he explained..He later figured out a different way to answer the question: "We help business owners get more customers." He said people could relate to that answer. They asked follow-up questions. With his new answer, the ad agency owner said he gets into many long conversations about his work..Part of the difference in response reflects the fact that the original answer was about him, while the new answer is about the customer. Potential bank customers are probably a lot like those guests encountered by the ad agency owner: They don't want to know what you have; they want to know how you help others. So tell them as soon as you can..Service is the humanizing factor in any business. The commoditization of financial services has created a huge opportunity for bankers who provide high-touch service. Make sure the messaging about your bank reflects that personal service. Messages about people are generally more compelling than messages about money.