Friday, March 27, 2009
This morning ABC News did a segment called "Are Banks Lending Again?" on popular morning show Good Morning America (GMA).
Click here to watch this short video segment.
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Friday, March 27, 2009
This morning ABC News did a segment called "Are Banks Lending Again?" on popular morning show Good Morning America (GMA).
Click here to watch this short video segment.
Posted by Jeff Simpkins on March 27, 2009 at 09:27 AM in Banks in the Media | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: ABC, ABC News, Banks, GMA, Good Morning America, Lending
The following post is by guest author Kirk Hoffman. Kirk is a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach and lives in Maryland where he operates Absolute Arrow Coaching. Click here to see his biography -or- click here to read his other posts.
“The wise man does no wrong in changing his habits with the times” (Dionysius Cato, 3rd or 4th A.D.)
"The wise man is a wise man when his principles remain consistent through turbulent times." (Kirk Hoffman, now)
Our economy has definitely shifted over the last few years. Our boom market went bust. Wall Street was hit by an earthquake. Businesses and banks are scrambling to stay open.
The other day I read that the new market demands new client service tactics. Is that true? I think it is. And isn’t.
Business Foundations
It appears that many businesses have lost their way. Enron, Halliburton and WorldCom are just a few that have weakened the foundations of relationships between businesses and customers. Somehow a massive disconnect has formed between corporations and the people they serve, causing them to act destructively and criminally in the unbridled pursuit of their own self-interest.
The problem here is that they’ve missed or forgotten one small but extremely important step. You must know the reason you get out of bed in the morning and what you stand for in the world. Without that solid foundational element it’s easy to fall into thinking it’s about getting all the money you can, instead of living out the purpose of your life.
Trust and Credibility
How many times have you felt like you were being rushed into a sale, that it had to happen at the insistence of the salesperson in front of you? You tried to communicate concern or lack of readiness but your salesperson put their agenda first. It left you frustrated, unheard and unlikely to return.
Instead, we can build a sales cycle that becomes a process to engage people however they are comfortable and at their pace. It allows time to get to know who we are and how we can really help them, to give them trust-building evidence over time. We can build relationships in which people can decide they want what we have to offer and choose when it is right for them. We can also develop a variety of offers that provide people with different levels of personal and financial commitment as well.
Self-Promotion
I can’t remember the number of times I was approached with an offer and, when I wanted more time or more information, never hearing from the salesperson again. The message here is clear: their prospects are only of interest as long as they are going to buy, and buy now.
Let’s create a way of maintaining our relationships with people without it always being a sales call or pitch. Build a referral network of other professionals, in other industries, that will enrich people’s lives. Recommend good books or seminars in areas of interest. Deliver valuable, usable information in blogs, articles or speeches. Become someone who adds value and generally improves people’s lives without always having to be paid.
Now, this is where I have to say, after all the evidence, that new client service tactics are not needed…because the remedies have been around for ages!
Knowing the way you positively impact your customers’ lives and treating your customers as human beings, both in allowing them to set the pace that is best for them and by consistently reaching out to them helpfully over time, is not a novel idea.
Just a forgotten one.
The new market demands we remember ageless client service tactics.
Thankfully, only those who remember tend to survive during times like these. I’m looking forward to spending more time with people like that.
Posted by Kirk Hoffman on March 26, 2009 at 01:23 PM in Customer Service, Marketing | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: Credibility, economy, referral network, relationships, sales cycle, Self-Promotion, Trust, trust-building
On March 15, 2009, Federal Reserve Board of Governors chairman Ben Bernanke changed history by being the first Fed Chairman ever to grant an interview while in office. Bernanke appeared on the CBS News Magazine 60 Minutes.
60 Minutes leads in with “Aside from the president he’s the most powerful man working to save the economy…” “Ben Bernanke may be the most important Fed chairman in history. The question is can he help lead America out of this deep recession and when?”
The interview begins with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley asking “Mr. Chairman, I’m going to start with a question that everyone wants me to ask: when does this end?” To which Bernanke replies “It depends a lot on the financial system. The lesson of history is that you do not get a sustained economic recovery as long as the financial system is in crisis. We've seen some progress in the financial markets, absolutely. But until we get that stabilized and working normally, we're not gonna see recovery. But we do have a plan. We're working on it. And I do think that we will get it stabilized, and we'll see the recession coming to an end probably this year. We'll see recovery beginning next year. And it will pick up steam over time."
What does this mean to you? The fact that Mr. Bernanke granted an interview to 60 minutes is a strong indicator that he recognizes the need for a level of transparency that was not necessary in the past.
I think a clear indicator of the demand for more transparency in business is the tremendous growth recently of social networking sites on the internet such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. As I was writing this post I attempted to log into Twitter to check some facts and got the message “Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets! Please wait a moment and try again.” What a great illustration of the rapid growth of social networking sites.
MarketingCharts.com indicates in a blog post dated March 24, 2009, that “Twitter experienced 1,382% year-over-year growth in February 2009, with the number of total unique visitors increasing from 475,000 in February 2008 to seven million last month, according to Nielsen Online.” They went on to say “This increase makes Twitter the fastest growing member community site for the month.”
“Zimbio and Facebook , which were the second and third-fastest growing communities, posted triple-digit growth, with the number of visitors to those sites increasing 240% and 228%, respectively” MarketingCharts.com continues.
Click here to access the MarketingCharts.com blog post.
The growth and popularity of these social networking sites is a great example of the internet transitioning from what is now referred to as Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. Think of Web 1.0 as being like a printed brochure. Web 1.0, like a printed brochure, only gives information. It does not engage the reader in a two way conversation.
Web 2.0 is conversational. Web 2.0 gives readers an opportunity to respond. A great example of how Web 2.0 is conversational is this blog; you have the opportunity to post comments. On Twitter, you have the opportunity to engage in conversation by retweeting (sending the post of someone else to your followers), replying, or direct messaging (sending a response privately to the original sender). On Facebook you have the opportunity to post a comment related to almost any information on the site, again, a two way conversation.
For those of you that are having trouble grasping this Web 1.0, Web 2.0 thing, consider this fair warning, there is now a Web 3.0. Web 3.0 is built around a more collaborative environment.
So what are the lessons we can learn from Mr. Bernanke?
First, I think his bold move of breaking a 96 year tradition of the Fed chairman not granting interviews is a reminder that a good leader is open to change when change is appropriate. A recent study indicates that the workforce of 2012 will be made up of 70 million Gen Y's (born 1977 to 1992) and 38 million Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964). The current recession will most likely cause more Baby Boomers to remain in the workforce longer than projected when this study was conducted, however, the shift in demographics that will occur in the workforce in the next five to ten years is still noteworthy. Gen Y is the group that discovered social media through outlets like MySpace. They grew up communicating very openly online about their lives. Gen Y expects more transparent communications from their leaders. Gen Y does not respect a leader because of their title, the leader must earn their respect through their actions.
Second, be genuine and open. If you have not had the opportunity to watch the video of the interview with Mr. Bernanke, it is well worth your time to do so. You will see a man that is genuinely unhappy with the fact that the Fed had to put money in AIG. You will also see his explanation of why it was the appropriate thing to do.
As I work with senior managers at community banks, many express concerns about using tools such as a blog, video interviews (Vlog), podcasts, and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. I understand the basis of these concerns, banks are highly regulated; all communication must meet compliance requirements. This concern is legitimate, however it is not a reason to ignore these communication tools.
Here are a few action items:
I would love to get your comments!
Jeff Simpkins, Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach
Community Bank Consulting, Inc.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffsimpkins
Free Webinar Wednesdays: http://www.freewebinarwednesdays.com/
"Helping community banks successfully integrate People, Process, and Technology"
Posted by Jeff Simpkins on March 25, 2009 at 12:32 PM in Blogging, Gen Y, Marketing, Micro-blogging, Social Media, Twitter | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: Baby Boomer, Ben Bernanke, Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach, Community Bank Consulting, compliance, Facebook, Fed Chairman, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Gen Y, Jeff Simpkins, Laura Roeder, LinkedIn, social media, social networking, Twitter, Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0
On March 4, 2009, Bea Fields of Bea Fields Companies, Inc (www.BeaFields.com) presented a webinar for Community Bank Consulting, Inc. (www.CommunityBankConsulting.com) and WSI Internet Consulting (www.PoweredByWSI.com) entitled “Connecting with Generation Y as Customers and Employees.” You can access a recording of the one hour webinar at www.CommunityBankConsulting.com.
In this webinar Bea described Gen Y as tech savvy, multi-task oriented, open communicators, quick learners, diverse and accepting, optimistic, and confident. Like their Baby Boomer parents, Gen Y has a voice and they want it heard. Their parents, born from about 1946 to about 1964, were known for their activism and willingness to protest in order to be sure their voices were heard.
Gen Y uses technology as the way to have their voices heard through blogs, wiki’s, and forums. Gen Y was raised “internet ready” and tech savvy. With the power of the internet this group collaborates with others around the world using social media and tools such as Google Docs and CollectiveX.
This short video entitled “A Vision of Students Today” is an example Gen Y’s ability to use collaboration and technology to make their voices heard loud and clear!
Posted by Jeff Simpkins on March 06, 2009 at 12:48 PM in Gen Y | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: A Vision of Students Today, activism, Baby Boomer, Bea Fields, Bea Fields Companies Inc, blogs, CollectiveX, Community Bank Consulting, Community Bank Consulting Inc, forums, Generation Y, Google Docs, social media, wiki, WSI Internet Consulting
Twitter. Odd word. Is it a word at all? Is it something you should care about as a community banker? Let me handle these one at a time.
First, Twitter. It definitely is a word. More
specifically it is a website that Wikipedia defines
as "a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to
send and read other users' updates (known as tweets), which are
text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length." Twitter was launched
in July 2006. The word Twitter is a backronym
created by Comedian Josh Marino; Typing What I'm Thinking To Everyone
Reading.
Second, is it something you should care about as a community
banker? It depends. If you target market is 100% Traditionalist or
Baby Boomer (see Gen Y and the Community Bank), no. However if your
target market includes Gen Y (born after 1977), and in some cases Gen X (born
1965 to 1977), you should take a serious look at Twitter and other social media
tools. For most community banks, a decision to ignore Gen Y will
eventually represent a decision to slowly see business wither away. Gen Y
will soon represent the largest segment of the US population; they will soon
outnumber Baby Boomers.
A great place to start learning more about Gen Y
is in the book Millennial Leaders: Success Stories From Today's Most Brilliant Generation Y Leaders . Doing business with Gen Y is very
different than doing business with their predecessors. Click here
to learn more about a free webinar on doing business with Gen Y on March 4,
2009.
Back to Twitter.
What is Twitter? To quote their
homepage, "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers
to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent
answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" In
my experience, it is much more than this! It is a great way to reach
a very large group of potential prospects in a very low cost (free),
non-intrusive and non-offensive way if you follow the proper etiquette of
Twitter. To put it "old school", it's a form of networking.
In
doing my research for this post I did a search on Twitter to learn who is
already there from the banking community and how they are using
Twitter.
I was most impressed with Wachovia (http://twitter.com/Wachovia), which
became part of Wells Fargo (http://twitter.com/WellsFargo) at the beginning of this year. Wachovia indicates "We're here primarily to listen, to learn, to engage with the Twitter
community and, occasionally, to share information about our company and
services." in their Bio. There are currently 1,736 users following the
posts Wachovia makes on Twitter.
Okay community bankers, here is
the most valuable piece of information in this post! When I
looked up Wells Fargo, their Bio says "We're holding our name
for now, but hope to participate soon." There are 438 people following
them already. The moral of the story? Register your
bank name on Twitter immediately after reading two blog posts on
choosing a name! Sarah Evans discusses choosing a Twitter ID and
much more in a post entitled HOW
TO: Build Community on Twitter on Mashable.com. Rick Butts
offers some useful tips on the importance of the correct Twitter ID and how to
change it if you picked the wrong one in a blog post entitled How to Change Your Twitter Username ID on
RickButts.com.
Here are a few other examples of banks currently using
Twitter well, and banks that show good potential.
Using
Twitter well:
North Shore Bank, Wisconsin and Illinois - http://twitter.com/NorthShoreBank
1st
Mariner Bank, Baltimore MD - http://twitter.com/1stMarinerBank
First
Arkansas Bank, Arkansas - http://twitter.com/fabandt
Showing
good Twitter potential:
Northeast Bank, Maine & New
Hampshire - http://twitter.com/Northeast_Bank
Nicolet
Bank, Northeast Wisconsin, Green Bay - http://twitter.com/nicoletbank
Chesapeake
Bank, Virginia - http://twitter.com/chesbank
Fidelity
Bank, Greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre PA - http://twitter.com/Fidelity_Bank
Are you wondering where to
start? Here's what I suggest:
Community
bankers start your engines! You're ready to begin.
There is an eight
minute video of Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter, on Ted.com that
is absolutely worth watching! Check out Evan Williams: How Twitter's spectacular growth is being
driven by unexpected uses. Follow Evan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ev. He's a pretty
popular guy with 190,497 followers on Twitter as I write this post.
Oh
yes, and be sure to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffsimpkins
Happy
Tweeting!
Posted by Jeff Simpkins on March 01, 2009 at 05:30 PM in Blogging, Gen Y, Marketing, Micro-blogging, Social Media, Twitter | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)