Jeff Stephens

I’m building my Tribed team. Are you in?

// November 18th, 2011 // No Comments » // Banking business models, Being an entrepreneur, Careers, Jeff Stephens, New banking ideas, Startups, Tribed, Wag: The Bank for Dog Fanatics

I’m in the process of assembling my startup team to help me build Tribed. I’m looking for a small number of great people to join my crusade and bring engaging financial services experiences to niche communities (like Wag). The most important thing is that my team members:

• Share my passion for Tribed’s vision
• Are inspired by the chance to to make their mark on our industry-altering business concept
• Have startup experience

The two main areas of expertise/roles I am looking for team members for are: Operations and Technology, and Partnership Development. I’ve put a brief description of each on Tribed’s site athttp://www.niche-banking.com/collaborate/.

And please note: you don’t have to have banking industry experience to be part of our team.

If either of these profiles are a fit for you, drop me a line at j@niche-banking.com.

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Introducing Tribed, and Wag: The Bank for Dog Fanatics

// October 17th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Banking, Banking business models, Banking business strategy, Decommoditization, Engagement banking, Enthrallment banking, Entrepreneurial Lessons, Jeff Stephens, Tribed, Wag: The Bank for Dog Fanatics

Friends: I am very excited to share a new entrepreneurial venture with you that I’ve been working on for quite a while, albeit anonymously: Tribed, and Wag: The Bank for Dog Fanatics. Please take a moment to watch this video to learn more.

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Is Engagement Banking enough?

// February 4th, 2011 // 4 Comments » // Banking, Banking business strategy, Decommoditization, Engagement banking, Enthrallment banking, Jeff Stephens

First, let me be clear: I’m a big fan of the concept of “Engagement Banking.” I really like the Engagement Banking site from Sapient Nitro, and love what the guys at Geezeo are doing. The only thing I don’t like about the Twitter hashtag #engagementbanking is that I didn’t think of it. And if you’ve paid even a shred of attention to what CBC is all about, it’s got brand engagement written all over it.

But lately, I’ve got to wondering something: Is “engagement banking” enough? To have an engaged customer/member base is certainly an improvement from where most banks and credit unions are today…but does engagement banking go as far as we really need to take it in this industry? Will engagement alone help us break free from being commodity financial providers?

Or do we need a heavier dose than just mere engagement?

I’d like to suggest that what banks and credit union brands really need is “enthrallment banking.” As in, “I’m captivated with this brand because it resonates so strongly with me.” For instance, Apple loyalists aren’t engaged with Apple, they’re captivated by it.

You may be thinking, “one step at a time, Jeff–we have to walk before we can run.” And maybe that’s true. But it doesn’t hurt to ask ourselves today, “what is our real end goal: engagement or enthrallment?”

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Credit unions: how different is a member from a customer?

// October 29th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Banking, Credit Union, Credit Unions, Credit union business strategy, Entrepreneurial Lessons, Jeff Stephens

I write this post from the CU Watercooler Symposium.  As I sit here listening to the speakers, I am reminded of a recent tweet from Geezeo’s Bryan Clagett, in which he said:  ”If you do not know the difference between a “member” and a “customer”, then you should not be selling to credit unions.”

I agree with Bryan. But his comment also got me wondering: how many MEMBERS really understand the difference between being a member and a customer?

As you know, I’m all about helping bank and credit union folks think like entrepreneurs. And I believe great entrepreneurs are experts at exploiting marketing opportunity.  There is a a huge, exploitable marketing opportunity in the following:

Making the difference between a customer and a member strikingly, painfully, ridiculously, unmistakably clear.

Note: As you may have heard me argue before, the question is not “how is a being a member BETTER than being a customer?” It’s simply “how is it different?”

Today, I don’t believe this difference is clear at all, nor is the experience of being a member noticeably different from the experience of being a customer. So here are three quick ideas of ways credit unions could make members really feel like members, not customers:

1)  Difference: Members own a part of the CU; customers do not.

Making it Clearer:  Make them act like an owner and be accountable to that responsibility. Don’t give members the option to vote; require them to vote.

2)  Difference: Members are co-owners with other members

Making it Clearer: Connect members with each other. Introduce 5 members to 5 other members tomorrow. Facilitate them getting to know each other. Bond them together.

3)  Difference: A member must qualify to join

Making it Clearer: Emphasize exclusivity:  put more focus on who can NOT join.  Make it clear who is not lucky enough to even qualify, and you will make the value of membership seem higher.

Now it’s your turn: what other differences can we make clearer?

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ABA Banking Journal Publishes My Book Review of “Rework”

// October 13th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Banking, Books I'm reading, Jeff Stephens, New banking ideas, Non-technical innovation

As you may already know about me, there are a couple things I believe strongly:

1. Bankers need to think more like entrepreneurs and less like bankers
2. I love to help bankers identify business lessons learned from other non-banking industries, and apply them to banking

To help achieve these two things, I’ve long been planning to create a book club and/or reading group for entrepreneurial bankers. That’s why I’m excited to announce that the American Bankers Association’s ABA Banking Journal online has published a review I wrote of the business book, Rework, by Jason Fried and David Hansson of 37Signals.

Read my review of Rework for bankers here.

To whet your appetite for the review…

Rework is probably not a book that will be read proactively by many bankers…although I’m hoping to change that. Most bankers will say “this book is written for startups and new economy companies–this will never work in the banking world.” And they, of course, would be wrong. There is a lot of great content in Rework that bankers can apply to their businesses.  With its concisely written chapters and simple-yet-profound and seemingly contrarian messages, the book reads very quickly in about three hours.

In the review, I explore three main concepts that emerge from the book:

1. Prioritize your work
2. Say no
3. Be real, and be yourself

Read the review of Rework now. And please email me to let me know if you’d be interested in being a member of my to-be-developed business book club for bankers.

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Differentiation is not a tool of persuasion

// September 20th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Banking, Banking business strategy, Credit Unions, Decommoditization, Jeff Stephens, Non-technical innovation

Nearly every marketer and CEO talks of differentiation. They ask, “how can we set ourselves apart from the competition [so that we can be more successful]?” It’s an important question. But it’s also a misunderstood question, and one that needs to be understood if we are ever to decommoditize our banks and credit unions.

Differentiation isn’t actually something you do to help your own bank or credit union. Instead, it’s something you do for your customers/members. It’s a gift you give them, that helps them sort through all the options available to them. That means one very important thing:

Differentiation is not a tool of persuasion. It is a tool of clarification.

We tend to think of differentiation as a way of talking people into banking with us. But that’s not the real purpose at all. Instead, the real purpose is to help people understand their options and make an intelligent choice for them.  You see, your bank or credit union’s potential customers/members have tons of alternatives and options in front of them. They’re awash in a confusing sea of choices, almost all of which look extremely similar. It’s daunting for them to sort through all these options, because they have such a hard time telling them apart. They’re trying to make a smart choice for themselves, but it’s tough because they can’t see the differences between their options.

Differentiation is the gift you give them to make this process easier. It’s for them, not for you. But in the end, it comes back around to serve your bank or credit union very, very well. Why? Because it means you get BETTER customers/members–ones who chose you because they felt you were the best fit from them, rather than just having chosen you practically at random from a list of 10-20 options.

This principle, of course, exists in many forms outside the world of banking.  I’m reminded of a keynote presentation I saw at the Oregon Bankers Association conference this summer, from speaker and former NBA player Walter Bond.  Walter talked about how when he was being recruited by college coaches, he had a really hard time deciding where to go, because every coach showed up and it all looked the same.  They said the same things, made the same promises, and had the same approach.  In other words, Walter had no differentiators to help him sort through his options.

The same thing is happening to your customers/members as you are recruiting them. So what can you do to help them sort through those options?

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Growth: Improving the quality of your customer base, not the size of it

// September 3rd, 2010 // 13 Comments » // Banking, Banking business strategy, Decommoditization, Innovation, Jeff Stephens

There’s one thing I’ve been trying to be more clear and upfront about with my clients who I consult with: my number one goal is not so much to grow the size your customer (or member) base, it’s to improve the quality of it. In my mind, when you improve the quality of it, you are growing:  growing stronger as a company and as a brand.

So how do you define “quality” of your customer base?  I’d like to propose two criteria, both of which are given equal weight:

1) Profitability–your ability to make money from the people you do business with

2) Engagement–the amount that people give a damn about your bank or credit union (and thus, the more they are likely to be loyal, advocate for you, generate WOM, etc.)

In my experience, community banks and credit unions have a great deal of progress to make on both of these criteria. We find ourselves with lots of unprofitable customers because we don’t have the guts, market positioning and focus to say no. We don’t communicate our profitability expectations to customers, and don’t really even enforce the unspoken expectations.

We also find ourselves with very very few–if any at all–engaged customers. We may have a few not-disengaged customers, but have very few people who are truly excited about who we are, what we do, and how we are aligned with them. We have very few customers who have chosen to bank with us because they feel we are the one and only true fit for them. Instead, they have chosen us because we were most convenient, best priced, or passively recommended by a friend.

Do you have what it takes to improve your customer base–or just make it bigger?

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Warren Buffett on…Banking?

// August 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Banking, Banking business strategy, Decommoditization, Entrepreneurial Lessons, Jeff Stephens, Non-technical innovation

Well, I don’t think Mr. Buffett was speaking specifically about banking when he made this comment, but boy oh boy does it ever apply.  Here’s my favorite new quote:

“Don’t try to be smarter than your competitors, because any competent competitor will be working just as hard to be smarter than you.  The trick is to have no competitors”

Warren Buffett

CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

Bankers tend to ask themselves “how can we make our bank better than the competition.” Entrepreneurs, rather, ask “how can we make our bank so different than it has no competition?” That’s a decommoditized company.

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Customer Expectations in Banking

// August 14th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Banking, Banking business strategy, Banks, Credit Unions, Decommoditization, Jeff Stephens

Every bank and credit union’s customers/members have expectations–expectations for service, quality and other criteria you must meet.

The question is: who set the customer’s expectations for YOUR bank or credit union?

Did you set those expectations? Or did the industry do it for you?

The industry did. Tradition helped out. And convention sealed the deal. You had nothing to do with it.  Welcome to yet another massive downside of being a commodity financial services provider.

See, when you’re a commodity, you’re selling the same stuff as everyone else, and doing it in just about the same way. So, your customers/members have a point of reference; they have something to compare you to, because there are so many other banks or credit unions doing the same thing, and years of conditioning and experience with your competitors have created those expectations for them.

When you break out of being a commodity, you have no competition–nobody else does what you do. As a result, it’s much harder for customers/members to have expectations, because they’ve never experienced anything like you before: what you provide, or how you do it. They have no point of reference, nothing to compare you to.

When you’re no longer a commodity, you get to set the customer expectations yourself. Wouldn’t that be nice?

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Free Webinar on Experiential Branding for Banks and Credit Unions

// June 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // Banks, Brands and Branding, Creative Brand Communications, Credit Union, Jeff Stephens, New banking ideas, Presentations

If you didn’t see it over at CBC’s bank marketing blog, I’m going to be hosting a webinar on July 27 at 11 am PST for one hour, covering one of my most popular topics: Experiential Branding for Banks and Credit Unions.  This webinar will be based on the presentations I deliver as a speaker at bank and credit union conferences around the country.  Here’s a brief synopsis:

“Powerful financial brands can be more than seen with the eyes–they are experienced by customers, employees and the community with all five senses. Jeff Stephens will provide an introduction to how banks and credit unions can use experiential brand development philosophies to create engagement and break from the bonds of a commoditized banking industry.”

Here are the details–I hope you will join us:

Tuesday, July 27, 11am PST / 2pm EST
50 minutes; 10 minutes Q&A
Price: Free
Max Attendees: 15

To register, email webinars@creative-brand.com

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