Banks and Credit Unions Can Use Courage to Guide Consumers Through this Brave New World
by James Robert Lay on July 30, 2020
The world that we knew no longer exists. The world that is coming, that we are living through right now, will be the new normal. You can move forward with confidence in this brave new world. How might you ask? What can we do to effectively break free from the confusion and chaos of th …
Does the Financial Industry Really Need Another Book?
by James Robert Lay on July 30, 2020
According to Google, the total number of books ever published is an impressive 130,000,000. That’s a lot of words to read and countless more letters to process but I digress. So, the question is: Does the world really need another book? Specifically, does it need another marketing boo …
What Does Digital Growth Really Mean?
by James Robert Lay on July 30, 2020
This is one of the most important, if not the most important question financial brands should be critically thinking about. The vast majority of bank and credit union leaders simply don't understand the concept of digital growth. That's OK. Digital growth builds on top of established …
The BANCER Strategy Circle for Financial Brands: Using the Consumer Journey to Optimize Sales
by James Robert Lay on July 28, 2020
Eighty-four percent of financial brands have not mapped out digital consumer journeys, according to our research at the Digital Growth Institute. Why is this such a problem? If you don’t have a digital consumer journey mapped out, just think what it means for the person on the other e …
Appetite for Disruption: The Hero’s Journey to Financial Services
by James Robert Lay on July 27, 2020
James Robert Lay is a branding and marketing expert and author who focuses on financial services and particularly digital financial services. James encourages his clients and the entire industry to change the story around their products and services to highlight common themes from sto …
CUES Podcast: Move Out Of The ‘Circle Of Chaos’ To Your Next Great Digital-First Marketing Opportunity
by James Robert Lay on July 21, 2020
In this episode, James Robert Lay tells the story of how the CEO of Tower Records once said that kids “would always” want to come into the stores and listen to music.
As a Financial Brand, Focus on Consumer Personas, Not Demographics
by James Robert Lay on July 20, 2020
Financial brands are all about the numbers. So it makes sense that when you want to define and segment your audience, you turn to the hard data of demographics. But demographics are missing something very important: empathy. Let me show you what I mean. I’m going to describe a target …
Story Marketing for Financial Institutions: Be the Helpful Guide, Not the Hero
by James Robert Lay on July 13, 2020
See if you can spot the difference between these two commercials. In the 1980s, there was a famous Duracell commercial featuring toy bunnies banging on cymbals. Gradually, all the bunnies ran out of batteries… except for one.
Digital Adaptation: How Financial Brands Can Overcome Their Fear of Change
by Audrey Cannata on July 9, 2020
“The longer we can't go out, the longer they say, ‘Any person you meet could be a carrier of the virus,’ the longer that goes on, the more this transformation becomes habitual.” -Jim Marous The world as we know it has turned upside down. Changes are happening at an exponential pace. J …
4 Gears of the Digital Growth Engine for Financial Brands
by James Robert Lay on July 7, 2020
Eighty-seven percent of bank shopping journeys start online, according to our research at the Digital Growth Institute. So when it comes to creating leads and driving sales for your financial brand, there is no greater opportunity than digital growth. But many financial brands are sti …
CUES: The Benefits Of A Niche Target Audience For Financial Brands
by James Robert Lay on July 6, 2020
Narrowing your focus doesn’t limit your future growth but opens new worlds of opportunity.
8 Ways for Financial Institutions to Achieve Digital Differentiation
by James Robert Lay on July 6, 2020
The average Net Promoter Score for financial brand website shopping experiences is four out of ten, according to an analysis of over 1,200 different digital secret shopping experiences. This isn’t just bad; it’s “bottom of the barrel” bad. A study from Financial Brand found banking we …
Tell Stories that Sell with this 7-Step StorySelling Method for Financial Brands
by James Robert Lay on July 1, 2020
When was the last time you saw a customer’s eyes light up over interest rates or amortization? I’m going to guess never. One of the challenges for financial brands is that consumers find our products and services incredibly boring. It makes our job as marketers very difficult, but sto …
Bridging the Bank-Consumer Trust Gap and Generating Profits with Purpose and Empathy
by James Robert Lay on July 1, 2020
Spend five minutes studying the financial industry and you’ll spot it right away: there is a lack of trust between consumers and financial brands. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find out why. You see, financial brand leaders are driven by the Three Ps: products, process, and profits. …
5 Ways Your Consumer Personas Are Failing Your Financial Brand
by James Robert Lay on July 1, 2020
Do you remember learning to type? Initially, you might have used just two fingers. Then, you switched to using all ten fingers. At first, you probably typed more slowly and made more mistakes than you did with just two fingers. Maybe you even had a moment where you wanted to quit and …