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Pick database marketing software that fits your bank
Most community bank presidents and CEOs are already aware of the benefits of marketing to existing customers to improve their bottom lines. They know it's far less expensive to sell additional products and services to established customers than to find and develop new ones.
The key to exploiting opportunities within your existing customer base is to know your customers: who they are, where they live, their buying patterns and their propensity for making additional purchases. In response, modern technology delivered the Marketing Customer Information File, a marketing software tool that scours your computer databases for answers to these fundamental questions about your current customers.
For community bankers such as yourself, the challenge database marketing presents today is not whether to buy an MCIF system. It's determining which system is best for your bank. Nearly as many different database marketing packages are available as there are financial software vendors. Many MCIF systems are extremely sophisticated-hence their gold-plated price tags and voluminous operating rules. Others are relatively simple to use but are limited in what they can do.
So, how do you find the right software system for your bank? David Raab, president of Raab Associates, a bank consulting firm in Rose Valley, Pa., has helped hundreds of banks evaluate marketing databases. In his book "Guide to Database Marketing," Raab observes that "marketing databases are often purchased without a full understanding of exactly how they will be used. The challenge is magnified by additional factors: the number of options to choose from, high interest among senior management in the outcome and pressure to act quickly."
Complexity is a common obstacle bankers encounter in buying MCIF software. The employees chosen to evaluate significant software purchases should carefully judge the real world usefulness of complicated advanced MCIF features. Think about how your bank will realistically use the software. "Learn to walk before you run" should be your mantra when contemplating a marketing database program. Start with the basics, and choose an MCIF system that will easily grow at your bank's pace.