How Banks Get Business

Because for many private banks getting new customers can be an arduous task, they employ various techniques to facilitate this process.

Ian Driscoll, How to hook prospective clients, FT.com, Nov. 20, 2007, provides examples of the marketing techniques employed:

Once a year, the Cleveland office of private bank The Glenmede Trust invites clients and prospective clients fly-fishing at an exclusive club in north-western Ohio. The all-day outing and lunch comes with the imprimatur of the bank’s Philadelphia headquarters, which encourages its satellite offices to sponsor locally flavoured events.***

He attributes the event’s effectiveness to the mix of current and potential clients. “If your existing clients are your best referral sources, it’s always good to have them mingling with prospective clients[.]”***

When it comes to wooing prospective clients and getting them to sign on the dotted line, most banks rely on three tools: intermediaries, entertaining and referrals. ***

When it comes to the ultra-high-net worth sector, Northern Trust’s Mr Regan believes that referrals are the gold standard.***

One way to build that consideration is through the constant “noise” of advertising. It’s especially important, say some bankers, when the sell cycle can be anything from three months to four years. And unlike smaller banks and wealth providers that may face budgetary pressures to produce content-heavy advertising, the big ones have the resources to run more subliminal campaigns.***

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.