May 2023

Is there anything more pleasant to one’s ear than to hear their own name? That’s why for years marketers have worked hard to integrate technology into their communication to make the consumer conversation more relevant.

At the most basic level, we want to feel like we are talking directly to the person. And they are listening to us. A true one-to-one dialogue.

How Much Personalization is Too Much?

With the growth of so much data warehousing and a seemingly endless source of “personal” information, the possibilities to customize messaging are many. But just because we can, should we?

According to Psychology Today (5/5/2021), surveys show that many consumers have reservations about targeted advertising that actually cause them to avoid such ads and resist their influence. Their review is published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

The research shows that personalized marketing may be effective, but can also backfire if not done correctly.

According to the study, the following issues were identified as causing consumer concerns.

1. Invasion of privacy. The most obvious way things backfire is when consumers believe marketers acquired or are using personal data they thought was or should be private.

2. Attempt at manipulation. It can backfire if consumers believe marketers are attempting to control or manipulate them in some way.

3. Unfair or stereotypic judgment. Rejection occurs when consumers view an ad as targeting them based on an unfair or stereotypic judgment about them, such as about their gender identity, age, race, or weight. Invasiveness, manipulation, and stereotyping should be avoided for obvious ethical reasons.

4. Already known content. This can make consumers tune out the message by signaling that they already know what marketers want to tell them (e.g., targeting superfans of a musician with well-publicized information about the musician’s upcoming album).

5. Weak arguments. Sometimes we believe that the consumer is interested in a product or topic and that is enough for them to engage. It backfires when the ad or message makes an unconvincing case to an interested user. This can probably be blamed on poor creative.

The key is to stay in your lane with respect to your product and its benefits. Respect the recipient and their desire for relevant, appropriate and helpful messaging. Use data that you are confident about.

Avoid politics, religion, and social topics as they can create a wedge between you and your customer.

Personalization Can Be Fun Too!

Don’t be afraid to have some fun and be playful too. Sometimes just knowing someone’s name is enough to solicit a smile.

Below are some examples of a campaign we are launching in conjunction with our trade show presence in Nashville at the MAC Conference this week. With our access to the attendee list, we were able to pre-print some great personalized concert poster souvenirs for each attendee.

And for those whose names we didn’t have, we created some “tongue in cheek” names to pick from.

Maybe one of these will end up in a real Nashville act!

Last week we discussed how to avoid launching a marketing project that is destined to fail. Although we never have a perfect view into the future, some key steps to assuring success are:
• Plan Effectively – use a planning tool to careful estimate costs and benefits
• Assess your Return on Marketing Investment – Look at hard and soft costs
• Understand the long-term implications on your market
Even the best laid plans can go wrong.

Campaign Failure

Campaigns falter for many reasons. Some can be recovered and repaired. Others should be “taken behind the barn and shot,” to quote Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank.

However, the important thing is to understand why the results aren’t in line with your expectations, so you avoid them in the future, or you correct what isn’t working and move forward.

Often there are a few typical reasons that cause a promotion to fail:

Good Intentions. Bad idea
This is one of those promotions that might have come from the boss himself and nobody told him otherwise. In a healthy environment, an idea like this wouldn’t stand up to a fair internal discussion. I remember a client that had a friend with an ice cream store and thought they would offer a free ice cream cone with a new checking account. Most people wouldn’t go through the trouble of opening a new account for a $3.00 incentive. Would you? Enough said.

This is usually the result of poor marketing research. Make sure the idea is relevant to the target market and has appropriate value for the product in question.

The Bud Light Campaign likely falls into this category.

Bad Timing
The promotion might not run long enough. It might not be at the right time of year. Or it might conflict with another event that draws attention away from the program. This can often be just coincidence. Still, it’s always important to evaluate all the other competing activities in conjunction with your planned schedule.

Competitive Response
The competition changed their price. This one you can’t always see coming but you can do your best to be prepared. Nobody wins in a downward price war. You’ve seen the cartoons with a sign of two competing retailers with lower and lower prices crossed out. Sure, you want to beat the competition, but you also want to do it profitably!

Price is often the easiest and most used form of competitive response. Frankly, it’s the most expensive. It doesn’t take much creativity to respond with price matching. Always explore alternatives to price where possible such as terms, additional benefits, bundled items, service, locations, availability, etc. It helps to differentiate on things other than price if you can.

Not Enough Resources Allocated
Great marketing ideas need fuel to launch and perform properly. If you are not receiving the support you need for advertising or staff, chances are good that your project will not reach its highest potential.

The marketing landscape is littered with great ideas that never reached their full potential. Make sure that you adequately plan for the support you need to ensure success.

Poor Communication
This is an easy one that tends to be overlooked in organizations. Marketing comes up with a great idea but never tells anyone on the front line. A consumer responds to the campaign and the first person they speak with from the company has no idea of what they are talking about!

This is generally the fault of an internal culture that has “silo” thinking. Information is kept inside and not shared out beyond the walls of the department. This is easily fixed with some form of bulletin system that updates everyone on the current promotional campaigns and where to go for additional information.

Looking Back to Look Ahead
Learning from these mistakes is part of the journey. It’s important to reflect on campaigns after completion to see where things might have been better. Post campaign assessments help you to objectively review the results to find out where changes can be made for next time.

A lot has been in the news as of late covering what has become a terribly historic marketing fail for Budweiser and their Bud Light product. This promotion will likely go down in the history books alongside New Coke, Lawn Darts, McDonald’s Monopoly Promotion and other major marketing miscues.

My focus is not to unpack this specific campaign but rather talk more generally about avoiding mistakes.

Nobody Intends to Fail

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

You can never take the risk out of every decision. But hopefully you can weigh the cost/benefit of these decisions before you decide. Clearly, if the benefits don’t exceed the cost, the decision is easy.

Return on Marketing Investment

Years ago when I joined a large S&L as part of a marketing team, our boss introduced a planning tool that was mandatory for every single promotional campaign we ran. We called it the ROMI — Return On Marketing Investment.

In the ROMI we had to provide a three-page summary of the campaign. Why we were running it, expected results, revenue, costs, and a detailed return on investment calculation. We had to make sure we made at least $1.50 for every dollar we spent.

Every projected product sale had an associated profit margin attached to it. That way, we had some accountability established. We were spending real dollars to generate deposit or loan dollars (not a one-for-one relationship).

At the end of the promotion we would roll up all the numbers and determine how well we did.

You can actually download a copy of this form at our website. It’s now a part of our marketing planner: Marketing-Calendar.pdf

Does a Free Digital Post/Media Translate to a Great ROI?

The ROMI form is easy enough to use when you are rolling up costs from a variety of media. But what about the “free” media implications?

With the number of social media/digital posts ranging from 1 -2 per day to 1 – 2 per week, the opportunity for a miscue is higher than ever before. The more you post, the higher the likelihood of a miscue.

A vetting process is necessary now more than ever. Key questions to consider before distributing your post:

• What is the upside of this activity?

• What is the downside of this activity?

• Are we willing to take the risks for the reward?

• Does this post support my brand?

• Will this benefit the organization/product if the post showed up in the national media (TV/Newspaper)?

• Do I want to share this and why?

What do I expect my audience to do with this post/information?

Nobody on the Bud Light team saw this coming, that’s for sure. And certainly there is a high likelihood that many in senior management approved the campaign.

Nevertheless, in today’s world, a single action can spin a company out of control. The lesson here is to make certain that you look at your digital messaging from all angles and give yourself time to vet and reflect before hitting the “send” button.

Your action may not even be responsible for the pushback. It might come from a secondary or tertiary source.

And finally, most importantly realize that “cost” doesn’t mean the time you spend creating a post, but rather, means the true costs to the business coming from the negative implications from a poorly thought out campaign.

The changing economic landscape has put many consumers on edge. The forward march of the Fed to continue increasing the interest rate has pushed up the cost of living for everybody.

Debt Continues to Rise
Recent data shows the average household debt growing with a very large change in the credit card environment. The credit card debt is like the canary in the coal mine. It is easy money to access.

Credit card interest rates are now hovering close to 20% and many households are maxing out on their balances. This forces people to take a hard look at what they own and what they buy.

Some experts, like Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate recommend the following to get a handle on the increased household debt load.

“Take on a side hustle, sell stuff you don’t need, cut your expenses,” he said. “A dollar saved is a dollar earned, and every dollar of credit card debt that you pay down has an average guaranteed tax-free return of about 20%.”

Consumers are looking for answers right now and financial institutions can help.

The Skip-a-Pay Returns
Skip-a-pay loans have been popular for years. It’s a simple concept with big benefits. And it’s one that consumers appreciate. Especially right now as things are tightening.

The concept is simple, and you can use with many types of accounts.

For instance, if you have an auto loan that you want to promote for your skip, simply allow the consumer to skip the next payment, and add that payment to the end of the loan. Some institutions add a small charge for the convenience which helps to offset the loss in the loan revenue.

An example might be a $600 car loan payment that you allow to skip for a $75 convenience fee. That $600 gets added at the back end of the loan so you haven’t lost it.

In most circumstances, this is a win for both you and your account holders as the small price they pay to skip a loan is a big benefit over the next payment they may have to make. That extra breathing room might be enough to help them avoid missing a payment and incurring late charges or start a downhill slide.

Here are some examples of skip-a-pay promotions that we have completed for our customers. Let us know if we can help you with yours.