had the opportunity to visit with James Robert Lay recently. He is the CEO at Digital Growth Institute. Below is our Q&A. This is Part Two of a two-part story. Part one can be found here.

What are the top three things financial institutions should know when it comes to digital marketing?

Number one, the consumer has changed. We are now in a 30-60-90 day buying cycle.

Secondly, financial institutions must change. We recognize this can be scary. However, we have two choices as an industry: we can accept to change, or we can do nothing. If we do nothing then in 5-10 years we will be irrelevant.

Finally, this stuff takes time. Digital marketing is not a campaign, and it’s not a project. It’s a cultural shift in how you think. You have to execute and optimize. The thought process is to take marketing from being a cost center to a profit center. We have to hold marketing to a higher level. We have to give marketers time to think and not run from campaign to campaign.

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