Independent Banker - March 2021 - 37

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with digital advertising, " We help
community bankers reach that target
audience so they can tell their story
and start a relationship. "
Opportunities abound
Citizens Independent Bank in
St. Louis Park, Minn., finds that
advertising on a local news station's
weather app is an extremely effective
data-driven marketing tool.
" In Minnesota, weather is a
big deal, " says Tammy Andrews,
marketing and public relations
director at the $315 million-asset
community bank.
As part of an ad buy, the station ran
digital ads for Citizens Independent
Bank on its weather app crawl. " I'm
absolutely in awe at the number of
click-throughs we get, " Andrews
says. Those who click on the ad reach
a dedicated landing page on the
community bank's website, allowing
Andrews to track the source of clicks
and the effectiveness of various
marketing techniques while building
brand recognition.
An emphasis on targeting efforts
is what distinguishes today's datadriven
marketing campaigns, says
Dan Cahill, senior vice president and
director at WebbMason Marketing in
Hunt Valley, Md.
" The 'spray and pray' tactics of
outbound marketing that were
prevalent in the '90s and early 2000s
are being put aside in many vertical
QUICK STAT
57%
of marketers say they've
increased their company's use of
first-party or contextual data for
targeting in the past 18 months
Source: Winterberry Group, July 2020 survey
" The 'spray and pray' tactics of outbound
marketing that were prevalent in the '90s
and early 2000s are being put aside in many
vertical markets because of data. People are
mailing less and targeting more. "
-DAN CAHILL, WEBBMASON MARKETING
markets because of data, " he says.
" People are mailing less and targeting
more. They're using data to determine
the recipients of whatever outbound
they do. "
Where to start
Useful data can originate anywhere
from external data packages or public
databases to a community bank's own
customer relationship management
(CRM) system.
According to Ben Pankonin, CEO
and cofounder of Social Assurance in
Lincoln, Neb., PPP loans themselves
will be a rich source of information for
community banks as this information
continues to go public. " Soon, " he
adds, " we'll be able to understand
the payrolls for every small business
in our community in a searchable
database. "
For banks new to data-driven
marketing, Andrews suggests mining
the data within your core system. " You
might identify your customers who
don't have a checking account and
offer them one, " she says. " Targeting
your current customers-the ones
who already like you-is the cheapest,
fastest way to develop business. "
Visitors to a bank's website who
leave before completing a sign-up
form are another source of data, says
Andrews. If a user has entered an
email address, Citizens Independent
Bank sends a reminder to complete
the form. Without an email address,
the bank can " drop a cookie " -
attach a text file with small pieces of
data to the IP address of the user's
computer-and target that user with
advertising again.
Tailored user experiences
Early adopters within community
banking have also begun to explore
digital experience platforms, or DXPs,
says Michael Spinosa, president and
cofounder of Unleashed Technologies
in Columbia, Md.
DXPs change what appears on a
bank's website based on preferences
a user displays while navigating
the site. " If you click four times on
different kinds of checking accounts,
when you come back, I'm showing the
advantages of checking accounts and
comparing them all for you, " Spinosa
says. " If you sign up for a checking
account on the website, then I can
take that content away. Why would I
keep showing you that? "
Whether using existing customers'
data for more effective advertising
or dabbling in DXPs, it's critical to
measure your efforts.
" Nothing is worth anything unless
you can say what success looks like, "
Birgfeld says. 
Elizabeth Judd is a writer in Maryland.
independentbanker.org Q 37
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - March 2021

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