If an Acquisition Opportunity Falls in Your Lap, Are You Ready?
Of course, it’s commonly known that 50% to 80% of mergers fail to meet expectations—in fact, they’re economically a disaster.
Most banks underuse one of the most powerful credibility assets they will ever receive.
A Banky Award™ is not a plaque for the lobby. It is not a one-day social media post. It is third-party proof that your bank is different, trusted, and worth choosing in a market where most financial institutions sound painfully alike.
In this week’s video, Roxanne Emmerich explains why credible recognition should become part of your year-round growth strategy—not a short-lived celebration.
You’ll discover:
The real power of a Banky Award is not simply winning it. It is using it until your market starts saying, “That’s that special bank.”
Banky applications are closing soon. Now is the time to claim the recognition your team has earned—and prepare to use it as a growth weapon all year long.
Watch now.
Many of you know, it’s about to happen. The Banky applications will be closing soon. They’ll be going off to an elite group of judges from within the industry who are very knowledgeable and filled with wisdom, who work very, very hard to go and determine who are the best banks in this country based upon all kinds of measurements, from the culture scores to the customer service experience, all of which is done in addition to their interpretation from the application information that is sent in. The reason this award is powerful is because it’s credible.
It’s not some vendor just throwing something together to some customers because they paid them a lot of money. This is about having a way that really stands out that says you are special. Now, I want to talk to you a little bit about how you can use your Banky Award, because I’m assuming many of you will be getting it this year, and many of you will be able to say that you’ve received it many years in a row, and that is a wonderful unique selling proposition because people always look. I know when I go to restaurants, do they win the Travel Advisor Award every year? I don’t want to see any years that are missed.
That tells me something. So, you want to have that consistency.
Maybe you win a category. Well, that’s a unique selling proposition. So perhaps you have the best customer for your asset size. Whoop-de-do, that’s a big deal. Let’s make a big deal about that, and let’s get that out there on your website, on your business cards, in your sales process, everywhere.
So, even if you don’t win a Banky or a category or the big overall award, when you have some of the smaller awards as well, those, too, are extreme differentiators that can be used. Now, if you get several of those, talk about all of those, and certainly from the most prestigious on down of those awards because when you make it real for your customers, they will always refer to you as, “Oh, that’s that bank that won that Banky.”
You don’t need more words than that. It’s kind of like saying, “Well, that’s that band that won that Grammy.” “Oh, they must be good,” is what comes right behind that. But they can’t say that if you do a one and done after you receive your award. It’s important to keep that out in front of your customer all year long and have it be a part of the talk and have it be a part of the sales system as well.
Because you want the narrative to be created such that they’re all talking about, “That’s that special bank. We’re lucky to have them in our market.” You don’t ever want to look like the rest of them. You should be the only bank with whom they want to do business.
That’s the game you want to be in.
Of course, it’s commonly known that 50% to 80% of mergers fail to meet expectations—in fact, they’re economically a disaster.
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Slightly less fun is the feeling I get when I see banks in the real world and the present day throwing money away on traditional advertising like it’s 1965.
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Most banks are experiencing acceptable spreads, so they are holding onto their horses while financial services companies are moving on to four-wheel drive, turbo-charged tractors.
Branding is a hot trend…but almost everyone has it wrong. A truckload of dough is wasted every year by missing out on what brand really means.
Time for a fresh start. And you already know that your destiny has more to do with mindsets, strategies, and skill sets than the outside economy. (Yes, that’s a lesson we keep forgetting, but we also keep getting more opportunities to relearn it.)
Here are 5 things to never forget this year to create a great year of seized opportunities: