Tag Archives: national small business week

7 Small Business Marketing Tips for Banks

There are more than 31 million small businesses (6.0 million employer and 25.7 million nonemployer firms) in the U.S. and the vast majority of banks provide a range of banking services to this segment.  However, many banks do not have a dedicated small business marketing programs.  This is in part due to the small business segment often falling between two key segments: consumer and commercial. 

For banks to effectively grow their small business banking franchise, they need to identify the unique characteristics and financial needs of this segment, and then build an integrated series of marketing initiatives to drive small business awareness, interest and engagement.

The following are 7 areas where banks should focus attention in developing small business marketing initiatives:

  • Incorporate small business into bank advertising campaigns. It’s expensive to develop dedicated small business advertising campaigns; only small business finance specialists (such as Kabbage) or the very largest banks do so. However, banks can highlight their commitment to the small business market by featuring small business owners and services in bank-wide brand campaigns.
  • Build marketing initiatives and offers around National Small Business Week. National Small Business Week is organized by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and takes place each year in May. Many banks now celebrate the week with special offers, events and other initiatives targeted toward small business needs.
  • Participate in/host dedicated small business events. Many banks speak at, exhibit at or sponsor small business events in their footprints, which helps to position them as a provider of advice and services to small businesses, while also allowing banks to engage directly with small business owners. Banks that have invested significantly in small business events include Chase (which hosts regular Chase for Business Conferences in various cities, most recently in Pasadena and Columbus) and Wells Fargo (which participates in Small Business Expos throughout the country).
  • Leverage the branch network. A Mercator survey found that 79% of U.S. small businesses visit a bank or credit union branch at least once a week. Owners also want to create and maintain networks within their local markets. Banks can leverage business owner branch affinity and networking needs by hosting events in their branches. In addition, banks should deploy dedicated small business bankers in larger branches, as well as incorporate small business signage and collateral into all branches.
  • Carry out small business surveys. A wide range of banks now carry out regular surveys that both provide a gauge of small business health (optimism, key challenges, opportunities) and reveal small business attitudes toward hot topics (e.g., tax reform, regulations, technology usage). Banks are increasingly publishing findings in more creative formats, such as infographics. It is also worth noting that banks conduct these recurring surveys at different intervals:
  • Create dedicated small business portals. Most banks have built and branded online small business portals that act as a one-stop shop for small business information and advice.  To encourage repeat visits to these portals, banks need to provide a range of content (articles, case studies, podcasts, webinars, videos, infographics) organized around key small business needs or life stages (e.g., starting a business, selling a business), and designed to create an excellent user experience.  Prominent small business banking portals include:
  • Develop a dedicated small business social media presence. Banks can emphasize their commitment to the small business market, as well as promote various small business events, offers and other initiatives, by creating a dedicated small business presence on social media, particularly on Twitter. Banks with dedicated small business Twitter handles include:
    • Chase for Business (@ChaseforBiz, 191,851 followers)
    • Wells Fargo (@WellsFargoWorks, 57,715 followers)
    • Capital One Spark Business (@CapitalOneSpark, 42,318 followers)

With the wide range of marketing options at their disposal, it is vital that banks do not use a scattergun approach to their small business marketing initiatives. Instead, banks should look to create an integrated small business marketing plan that includes goals and objectives, reflects overall bank positioning, has consistent messaging and creative execution, and works in tandem with the bank’s small business sales and service channels.

Banks Seek to Leverage Surveys to Build Small Businesses Engagement

In recent weeks, a range of leading national and regional banks have carried out small business surveys, many of which were timed to coincide with 2017 National Small Business Week (April 30-May 6). These include new surveys from Citizens Bank (Small Business Pulse) and Fifth Third Bank.

These surveys are designed to:

  • Generate brand awareness among small business owners
  • Underline the bank’s commitment to this market
  • Position the bank as a thought leader in the small business space
  • Promote the bank’s small business solutions

The following are six approaches that banks are using to leverage small business surveys to drive engagement with their small business clients and prospects:

  1. Establish a branded index.  Many banks measure small business optimism via an index. This enables them to both track this metric over time, as well as generate general business press attention. Citizens recently-published survey includes the Citizens Business Pulse Index, which is its measure of the small business climate. Other indexes include the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index and the Capital One Small Business Growth Index.
  2. Create a recurring survey. Many of the leading banks now conduct surveys on a quarterly, biannual or annual basis, which enables them to track small business metrics over time. Capital One has been tracking a Small Business Confidence Score consistently since 2008.
  3. Survey topics of interest. Most surveys focus on small business optimism and outlook. However, surveys also look to differentiate by covering other issues that should be of interest to small businesses. The U.S. Bank Small Business Annual Survey studies small business owners’ personal satisfaction as well as the desired attributes they want from their business bank.
  4. Use infographics to summarize survey findings. Presenting key findings from the survey (which will typically include a series of statistics) in a visually-appealing format allows readers to quick grasp important points the bank wants to make. Wells Fargo published a lengthy survey report, but it also created a one-page infographic that summarizes key takeaways.
  5. Version the survey for target markets. Bank of America creates versions of its Business Advantage Small Business Owner Report for 10 target markets (Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; Houston; Los Angeles; New York; Miami; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C.). Similarly, PNC publishes its Spring Economic Outlook Survey findings for 10 regional markets.
  6. Position the bank (subtly) as a small business solutions provider.  Fifth Third’s recent small business survey included findings on funding growth, while also positioning the bank as “committed to the development of small businesses throughout the Bank’s footprint.“

More banks launch initiatives for National Small Business Week

Earlier this month, we posted a blog on small business initiatives from Citi, TD Bank and Wells Fargo, which were introduced in advance of National Small Business Week. As National Small Business Week is taking place this week, other leading banks have also introduced new small business initiatives.

  • Chase introduced a number of initiatives, including incentives of up to $1,000 for new small business checking customers, as well as Instant Storefront from Chase, a solution that enables small businesses sell products online.
  • Bank of America launched a suite of small business charge cards (see our blog on this launch).  In addition, the bank has partnered with SCORE to develop a five-part series of three-hour workshops for small businesses, entitled “Simple Steps for Starting Your Business.”
  • Capital One partnered with Better Business Bureau to introduce Managing Credit – Made Simpler, a set of resources to help small businesses to manage credit.
  • American Express OPEN introduced AdManager, a tool to help small businesses manage online advertising campaigns

It is notable that the number of small business campaigns is much larger this year than it was for National Small Business Week in 2010, reflecting the improved economy over the past year, as well as banks’ renewed interest in the small business market.