We like to write to a variety of different audiences on our blog. Today, our topic is written mainly for bank and credit union senior executives. The question is — did you hire a marketing expert that you are currently ignoring? And, if so, why?
Modern marketing is a great deal different from the practice it was even five years ago. The advent of the Internet and digital/mobile technology has created an entirely new universe of marketing rules and best practices. Successful modern marketers are typically combination of both “book-smarts” (their experiences in college and the degrees they have earned) and “street-smarts” (their experiences working in the real world either as in terms or as full-time professionals).
The take-away here is: banks and credit unions looking to fulfill the marketing role at their institutions are best served by looking for people trained and educated in the art of marketing. Unfortunately, many senior executives missed the boat on this. They may either not hire a marketing expert at all, opting to leave that role spread around one or several people that work in other departments, or, perhaps more wastefully, they hire a marketing person and then just don’t use them.
What are some of the reasons for this? Here are a few ideas.
- They hired a marketing person because all the competition has one. They just never intend to use that person’s skills and expertise to better their bank or credit union.
Solution: If this is the case you may as well have never even hired a marketer. You hired that person. You pay that person. You should use that person. If your competition has a marketer, you can be fairly certain they are using him or her. You are at a distinct disadvantage if you treat your marketer like the hood ornament on a car — pretty, but with little real function.
