Program Selling to the Financial Services Industry

From direct mail outreach to in-branch brochures, and from outdoor and indoor signage to handouts at trade shows and events, banks and credit unions continue to need copious amounts of printed materials. Print communications remain powerful marketing tools for the financial services industry, yet streamlining ordering and maintaining brand cohesiveness between branches prove to be hurdles many have yet to master.

All the feels

Because print advertising connects more on an emotional level with readers than digital, it continues to be the go-to medium of financial services companies. It offers readers a chance to linger over product and service messaging in a way that other channels don’t. Print advertising provides prospects a tangible way to engage with the brand message.

• Print lasts longer (digital ads disappear in seconds)
• Print is viewed as more trustworthy
• Print is cost-effective

However, there is without question a significant focus on online banking, and digital access to banks has increased greatly. Accordingly, mixed marketing such as a postcard with a QR code or Bitly link to online banking will help provide direct access to products and services.

Time to think like a financial services company
What do you suppose keeps their marketing decision-makers up at night? For larger institutions, they may be considering the demand for consistency across multiple branches, indicating the need for a program solution that ensures uniformity in messaging, seamless installation and access to additional products. For medium and small institutions, they may be contemplating local business investments, signifying the need for a collaborator like you to partner with them. They may also be looking to the local chamber of commerce to bring in more opportunities and to demonstrate the value of such investments to the community. For maximum trajectory, think mailing campaigns, vibrant signage, and community canvassing, as well as developing investment guides and infographics depicting top areas of growth.

Here are more ways to get into the minds of your financial services clients:

Trust is numero uno.
Every one of your financial services company clients will tell you that ensuring their customers or members feel trust in their financial institution is priority number one. This includes trusting that both their personal AND financial well-being are being looked after. Refining branch-to-branch and branch-to-member information flows while quickly distributing new collateral based on changing interest rates and economic conditions is paramount to a financial services company’s success. They also lock in that trust by maintaining a positive perception and core position in the community while upholding compliance and regulatory mandates across print.

Renewal and revitalization matter.
More than ever communities are thinking local (shopping, supporting, frequenting) and banks often support “Shop Small” sponsorships or local events to further promote their role in the community. Events require communication efforts, signage, giveaways, apparel and residual marketing products. Special financing, payment forgiveness and small business loans are a few examples of advertising offers that banks and credit unions will consider as an important part of recovery efforts.

Branch distribution is a big deal.
When they roll out a program, financial services companies want their vendors to help coordinate the distribution of their products and may require kitting and project management. Both standardization and compliance are very important across branches, but often your bank and credit union clients don’t have the internal staffing to ensure proper installation and execution. This works to your advantage … with our help, you can really deliver the goods here.

Going online is inevitable.
While digital marketing tactics aren’t as touchy-feely as print and can quite honestly leave bank customers and credit union members cold, online banking is certainly the preferred choice for most, and we don’t see this changing. At the same time, having a local presence is important to a financial services company’s growth. Therefore, maintaining a consistent brand image across all mediums (print, online, signage, promo, apparel, business identity, folders, etc.) is crucial for connecting the digital world to their local community.

A holistic approach

This is where multi-product selling (or program selling) makes its grand entrance. Whether starting small with individual product sales and then building on the offering over time, or introducing a whole suite of cohesively branded products to their financial industry customers, our distributors can really bank on our technology platform designed for program selling. Let’s walk through some case studies that really illustrate the benefit of our solutions:

1. A large financial institution wanted to deepen relationships between their lending officers and customers by personalizing essential documents. With custom printed Post-it^® Note business cards and notecards, the company achieved its marketing objectives without a costly overhaul of existing print collateral. The custom adhesive notes included the lending officer’s contact information and photo, and could be applied to all communications with the customer. As a result, lenders used fewer of their higher-cost business cards, reducing overall print spend. Personalizing generic financial documents with custom branded adhesive cards allowed lending teams to engage with their clients and community.
2. A distributor just getting started in selling print placed their initial orders manually because they were not very confident with the medium, let alone Navitor.com. Eventually they progressed to placing a couple of orders on Navitor.com and quickly realized just how easy it was to simplify and streamline the ordering process – especially around improving timeliness. As they kept working with their client, they discovered five more locations that were going to need similar branded products, and decided that time/order management could potentially become a bottleneck. We set up a white label ordering platform that their client can order from directly. This program started with a few orders for five-dollar name badges and will likely mature to a five-digit sales growth within a year. The program includes business cards, badges, envelopes, letterhead, presentation folders, decals, labels and more.
3. Brand control on a large assortment of products was a challenge for one company that faced a surge in requests from their clients looking for ways to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The need for communication and marketing materials increased exponentially. With the rapid increase, the company realized they needed to lock down brand standards. Working with Navitor on product fulfillment and utilizing our online ordering platform customized to meet the specifics of their organization saved the day. Locations can log on and order their pre-branded business stationery, their new customer kits and the rest of their marketing materials.
4. Technology integration and brand control were sticking points for one distributor’s large client with 2,000 locations. They were having difficulty maintaining brand standards and controlling expenses since each location was ordering their print ad hoc from various vendors. After the client established their own brand portal to centralize sourcing, it was vital to find a print provider that could integrate quickly with their existing e-store ordering platform. By partnering with Navitor, the distributor was able to spin-up an ordering platform that incorporates brand compliance and efficient ordering while controlling the quality and brand conformity of the end product. In addition, the client has sourced several additional print items Navitor produces, resulting in BIG business for our distributor.

Content you can count on

Our newly updated flyer for the financial services industry is available here, and our industry dollop has up-to-date information regarding selling to financials, designed to help you position yourself as a thought leader and problem solver in this market. For social posts you can copy, paste and post from your social media accounts in order to prompt conversations, click here.

We are keeping our fingers on the pulse of the financial services industry and are working on your behalf to provide useful content and relevant solutions to keep you selling. Staying on top of market trends and industry conditions gives us the means to help you deliver the best customer experiences. To make sure you’re giving your customers what they need and addressing topics important to them, rely on us as your go-to resource for thought leadership and innovation.