arlier this year, a small bank made national news, but not for the reasons you might assume. This bank didn’t receive any federal bailout money, it wasn’t shuttering its doors, and it did not get robbed by masked criminals. The Long Island, NY, bank received national news coverage for simply conversing with its customers.
In an era marked by rapid momentum toward high-tech tactics, this bank’s business model is based on a premise of looking backward, to simpler times and more relationship-based business practices. “We wanted to go back to the old days. We wanted to go back to face-to-face banking,” said Robert Long, executive vice president of Hanover Community Bank, during an interview with CNN last spring. And that plan of attack seems to be working. During the bank’s first few months in business, Hanover hoped to raise $20 million in cash by selling certificates of deposit, but ended up raising more than twice that.
Similarly, Valley Green Bank in Philadelphia has seen an increase in deposits since its opening three years ago, just as bigger banks continue to flounder. Why? According to one patron, florist Herb Rothe, “They gave us the attention that I probably wouldn’t expect from any other big bank.”
It seems that as Americans lose trust in big banking establishments, they’re searching for something more personal, something they perceive as trustworthy. And a big part of
that trust-building process, at least anecdotally, is face-to-face familiarity.
Perhaps that desire, to do business with people you trust, is what’s driving a surprising uptick in companies’ support of face-to-face marketing efforts. This summer, we asked exhibit managers to rate upper management’s support of their exhibit- and event-marketing programs. More than 80 percent indicated that upper management gives “average” or “strong” support to their companies’ event programs, and nearly 84 percent indicated similar support
for their exhibit-marketing efforts.
That means, compared to 2008, companies are more supportive of face-to-face marketing, despite the economic downturn, despite the rise of virtual events and social media, despite business-travel budget cuts, and despite the negative publicity our industry has endured since the fall of 2008. The increase in corporate support is small — slightly more than 2 percent — but at a time when many anticipated faith in face to face would free fall, any increase is both remarkable and reason to celebrate.
Dozens of respondents hinted at a possible impetus behind the uptick, indicating that face-to-face marketing is growing in importance due, in part, to what one exhibit manager called “an increasing desensitization to impersonal marketing methods.”
In fact, many survey participants expressed a belief that the value of in-person events will continue to increase. In the words of one respondent, “As e-mail and online symposia become more and more prevalent, face-to-face marketing will become more valued. One cannot underestimate the power of a personal relationship when it comes to building trust with clients and prospects.”
If those respondents are correct, the virtual forums and online tools that were once expected to doom the exhibits and events industry just might end up fueling a resurgence of sorts. After all, according to business consultant Robert Moment, “In today’s highly competitive economy, it is difficult to maintain a significant market advantage based on your professional skills alone. Developing professional relationships with your customers is key to your success.” So until clients can foster a friendship with your keyboard, or shake hands with that damn Twitter bird, face to face just might prove safe and sound.e
arlier this year, a small bank made national news, but not for the reasons you might assume. This bank didn’t receive any federal bailout money, it wasn’t shuttering its doors, and it did not get robbed by masked criminals. The Long Island, NY, bank received national news coverage for simply conversing with its customers.
