Finding new banking customers or members is difficult; there are only two choices: people who don’t currently bank with you, and people switching from another institution. The “switching group” can be further segmented into people switching because of a life event (approx. 3o%) and people switching because of a disruption at their current institution (approx. 70%).
The best way to target the 70% is to utilize a Disruptor Program. Disruptors can come in many forms, but some common examples include:
- Bank mergers (when a competitor is absorbed into a larger institution)
- Branch closings (which force customers to begin using an alternate, less-convenient location)
- Changes in a competitor’s product lineup or pricing strategy (such as the elimination of free checking)
Each of these events has the potential to motivate customers to look elsewhere for alternatives—rather than “staying put” and accepting the new, less-than-favorable reality, such as an inconvenient branch locations, increased balance requirement, and/or higher fees.
Timing is everything.
With disruptor marketing, there are generally three windows of opportunity: 1) at the time of the announcement; 2) at the time the change takes place; and 3) 30-60 days after the change.
For branch closings, WordCom has a proprietary tool that can alert you to pending closings (in addition to actual closings) and help target the households in the “overlap” market between your branches and the closing competitor. An example of the overlap is shown in pink on the map.