Banking on Digital Growth

As we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more financial institutions are going to be working with slimmer budgets. We can no longer count on doing things like they’ve always been done, and adaptability is the name of the game. But what does that mean for smaller banking institutions, who may not have the marketing budgets of the big banks? How can you leverage your resources and compete with the big banks when you’re operating on a limited marketing budget? On this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I sit down with a conversation with Jim Ruse, founder and CEO of the Digital Growth Institute, for a discussion around: The four types of content to think about as a financial brand The biggest barrier to success when it comes to content marketing Why understanding the hero’s journey is crucial to getting content marketing nailed How content marketing can empower both community financial brands, as well as regional banks, to compete with the big banks. You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Are you stuck in the cave of complacency? It may feel safe and secure. But it's a deadly place to hide especially given the exponential factors we're dealing with in this new, post-COVID world. No matter what happens in the world, you have to keep making progress along your digital growth journey. In this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I talk with Mina Worthington, President/CEO at Solarity Credit Union, about building a bigger, better, and brighter future in banking. Mina and I discuss: How vision sets the tone for any financial brand on a digital journey Mastering the lead conversion ecosystem The way to get results without spending a fortune on digital marketing strategies You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The pandemic has created an opportunity. Financial brands, which had been moving toward a digital-first approach at a snail's pace, have suddenly hit the fast-forward button. Now we have to work on making products and services easier with digitalization. What will leadership look like in this new digital and post-pandemic world? In this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I talk with Rich Jones, president and principal at Leading2Leadership, about leadership in a post-COVID, digital-first world. Rich and I discuss: Why leadership does not belong to a chosen few The role of culture in digital growth The one thing a financial brand must commit to do in the next 12-18 months You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

You've thought about your financial brand's purpose and your culture because as the ancient wisdom says, without purpose — without vision — you have no future. You need a future because we're not going back to the way things were pre-pandemic. But how can you create purpose and culture for the digital world we're entering? In this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I talk with James Carbary, founder of Sweet Fish Media, about education, empowerment, and elevation as we build digital teams for the future. James and I discuss: How to value relationships over transactions when you're working digitally The core definition of digital growth Why the best sales and marketing pros will transform into micro-media teams You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

During the pandemic, we should ask our customers three questions: How can we make sure you feel comfortable? How can we help your neighbor? How can we help your business partner? Our goal is to bring those resources to everybody through our online content. In this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I talk with Lynne Jarman-Johnson, chief marketing officer at Consumers Credit Union, about how to create servant-oriented content. Lynne and I discuss: How to offer empathy through digital content Why our best solutions are our simplest What needs to happen right now for financial brands to make progress along their digital growth journeys You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The first two questions we ask a prospective customer are: Do you feel like you can trust this institution? How does what you're looking at on the website make you feel? Financial brands that use stock photography almost inevitably raise a red flag. Yet about 9 in 10 financial brand websites show at least one stock photo. In this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I talk with Andy Janning, president and CEO at NO NET Solutions, about the role of images in financial brand storytelling. Andy and I discuss: Why it's important to have a conversation around imagery How images, pictures, and videos communicate empathy The critical value of taking action on imagery in financial brand storytelling You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Marketing sees the value of digital, but sales culture can be heavily entrenched around the branches. How can we begin to bridge the gap between marketing and sales teams? In this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I answer this question from Tyler, a marketing director for a bank in the Midwest. I talk about: Why financial brand CEOs don't trust marketers and marketing teams How chief marketing officers are transforming their role into chief growth officers Why marketing teams need to hold themselves to higher standards You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Purpose can power your financial brand. But your purpose is fragile if it's not backed up by process and by proof. On this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I continued our earlier conversation about the idea of banking on purpose. This time, we talked about the internal power of purpose. I discussed: Why purpose-driven thinking is key for internal stakeholders The four elements of a purpose statement The story of Aspiration, a purpose-driven financial brand that began in 2015 and has raised $100 million in capital You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that people want two things in their personal financial journey: They want help and hope. And more often than not, hope has to come before help. But if your digital marketing consists of only saying you can offer a loan at X%. What hope are you offering? That’s something my guest today, Mia Perez, Chief Administrative Officer at Louisiana Federal Credit Union, learned on her digital growth journey. And unlike others, she had the courage to act on the information. On today’s show, Mia goes over: Why you should have the courage to change what you know isn’t working The importance of taking risks to try new things Why we should admit when we don’t know everything about something newYou can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

One in three Americans loses sleep over financial problems, but they're too embarrassed to talk about it. Yet when financial brands want to know what their customers think, what do they do? Ask them to talk about it. This approach cannot work. In this episode of Banking on Digital Growth, I address three pitfalls of digital focus groups and then provide a clear path to getting insights that create value for your financial brand and the people you serve. I talked about: Why people make the decisions they do when buying financial products How people make those decisions Why focus groups hone in on the wrong things How to uncover the greatest insights for your financial brand You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Banking on Digital Growth on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.