Wolkos Advertising | Marketing Planning | North Shore Bank Case Study 1

North Shore Bank Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is

North Shore Bank Puts
Its Money Where Its Mouth Is

How does a mid-sized financial develop a long-range image program to differentiate itself from competitors who can outspend it in media dollars and in interest paid to consumers?

Since North Shore Bank could not match the media expenditures of larger rivals, they needed an “equalizer.” We did consumer research to determine what bank claims were the most meaningful to the customer. The great equalizer North Shore needed turned out to be superior personal service. Rather than just talk about our service, we put together a marketing strategy called the $5.00 Service Guarantee Program, in which the bank would in effect “put its money where its mouth is,” and more effectively differentiate itself from other banks.

Wolkos Advertising developed the $5.00 Service Guarantee, a simple promise of paying customers $5.00 cash on the spot in any instance when North Shore Bank did not give good service or call the customer by name. Before going forward with the new image program, a long-term staff training and measurement program was implemented.

The objectives were to increase the bank’s base, grow savings by 15% in two years, and build awareness. At the same time, it had to be fun for both customers and employees.

The Service Guarantee program ran in 7 markets – Milwaukee, Racine, Burlington, Two Rivers, Green Bay-Appleton, Door County, and Oconto County-Pulaski. Each required a separate marketing plan to coordinate the Service Pledge with the individual programs already running. The plans were implemented mostly through waves of print and radio advertising, along with some direct mail in certain markets.

The $5.00 Service Guarantee program met all objectives in sales and increased awareness for both the bank and its services. An extra bonus was that bank employees at all levels were challenged, learning to become more aware of the importance of customer service.

An annual state survey of customers of many financial institutions showed that North Shore’s service got better each year, with the final result ranking North Shore Bank’s service as one of the highest in the state.

North Shore Bank Puts
Its Money Where Its Mouth Is

Challenge:

How does a mid-sized financial develop a long-range image program to differentiate itself from competitors who can outspend it in media dollars and in interest paid to consumers?

Strategy and Execution:

Since North Shore Bank could not match the media expenditures of larger rivals, they needed an “equalizer.” We did consumer research to determine what bank claims were the most meaningful to the customer. The great equalizer North Shore needed turned out to be superior personal service. Rather than just talk about our service, we put together a marketing strategy called the $5.00 Service Guarantee Program, in which the bank would in effect “put its money where its mouth is,” and more effectively differentiate itself from other banks.

Wolkos Advertising developed the $5.00 Service Guarantee, a simple promise of paying customers $5.00 cash on the spot in any instance when North Shore Bank did not give good service or call the customer by name. Before going forward with the new image program, a long-term staff training and measurement program was implemented.

The objectives were to increase the bank’s base, grow savings by 15% in two years, and build awareness. At the same time, it had to be fun for both customers and employees.

Implementation:

The Service Guarantee program ran in 7 markets – Milwaukee, Racine, Burlington, Two Rivers, Green Bay-Appleton, Door County, and Oconto County-Pulaski. Each required a separate marketing plan to coordinate the Service Pledge with the individual programs already running. The plans were implemented mostly through waves of print and radio advertising, along with some direct mail in certain markets.

Results:

The $5.00 Service Guarantee program met all objectives in sales and increased awareness for both the bank and its services. An extra bonus was that bank employees at all levels were challenged, learning to become more aware of the importance of customer service.

An annual state survey of customers of many financial institutions showed that North Shore’s service got better each year, with the final result ranking North Shore Bank’s service as one of the highest in the state.