As financial institutions, we deal with people’s money … aside from your family, what could possibly be more emotional than that?!?!
As financial institutions, we deal with people’s money … aside from your family, what could possibly be more emotional than that?!?!
Yet, when you look at most bank and credit union messaging, very little focuses on real human emotion.
In a world where you need to squeeze every ounce of opportunity out of every single dollar, you need to focus on emotion because there is a direct link between emotion and memory.
Mnemonic Memory
The same part of your brain that controls emotions is also responsible for forming memories.
Mnemonic systems are special techniques and strategies used to improve memory. Since emotions play in the same neighborhood of your brain as your memories, emotions are a powerful mnemonic.
To prove it, think of your life’s movie in your head. Your strongest memories – those you see in the most clarity and detail – are likely tied to periods of your life that generated strong emotions: Love, Fear, Excitement, Devastation…
When you evoke emotion, not only do memories stick, but studies show that they also linger. Over time, memories for neutral, boring stimuli decrease while memories for arousing stimuli, or emotion, stay the same or even improve.
What does this mean to your marketing?
Get your audience to feel! Let them know that you understand and care.
Think about it. 95% of the time, we are a chore – a check off of someone’s honey-do list somewhere between going to the grocery store and picking the kids up form school. We’re a simple commodity. “Get me in and out quickly and don’t screw up my balance.” Right?
But it’s that magic 5% that really matters to US. We have to be on our “A” game. On stage, in character. Ready to rock-n-roll. Because it’s that 5% of the time that people REALLY need us!!! They need that new car to get to work. They want that new house when their family grows. They need to stretch their paycheck and extra week to keep the lights on. Those are emotional times. Those are the relationship building opportunities that create loyal customers and generate the real income.
We don’t want the non-emotional, transaction business – that’s simply a necessity to service our guests. We WANT the relationship building, emotional opportunities – so why not market for them.
If you focus your marketing messages on generating emotion, you’ll differentiate yourself from the transaction-focused competition, you’ll stick in your target’s heads and they will remember you longer — in essence, maximizing and stretching your marketing dollars.
