June 2008

Relationship: It’s a word with a broad spectrum of meanings. The word is a noun and defined as a connection, association or involvement between persons often extending to an emotional bond.

It’s true. In the business world, a relationship is, indeed, a bond based on a mutually beneficial arrangement.  The word is overused in the world of marketing today. This is especially true in the financial sector. Actually, it’s becoming as mundane of a claim as “great customer service”.  After all, what bank promotes that they offer lousy service. Since no one offers the alternative, everyone makes essentially the same claim. Therefore, such claims offer no distinction in the marketplace. With everyone saying the same thing, no one really says anything.

The same is becoming true with the concept of relationship.  Every institution seems to promote the idea of relationship in some form or fashion. The conglomerate banks are well known for callously treating customers like numbers, but now even some of them seek to link to the concept of relationship.

Some institutions even train employees with “customer greeting requirements”, etc. Unfortunately, strict adherence to a list of rules often comes across as insincere. For example, a national video chain trains its employees to greet everyone who walks in the door with a “hello”. The intention is good. However, the problem hails in the execution. At times, the customer receives a hearty and warm, “Hello” that sends a relationship-driven message of “I’m glad you’re here!” Other times, the employee groans out a miserable and pain-staking, “…h-e-l-l-o”, which can only mean, “…another customer…now I have do to more work!” The former promotes a sense of relationship. The latter quite simply does not.

“Customers know the difference,” comments Mark Loudermilk, CEO and President of Foothills Bank and Trust. “People are smart. They can easily discern between a sincere effort made to build a relationship and a half-hearted effort done to adhere to an employee manual.”

Community Banks are driven by relationship. Foothills Bank and Trust and Citizens Bank of Blount County are the only two Community Banks in Blount County, both being headquartered in Maryville. “Relationship is what drives us,” states Loudermilk. “It’s why we’re here. Yes, we’re rate competitive and, yes, we offer the same financial products provided by the bigger institutions, but relationship is what we’re really about. People bank with us because we know them by name; because we go beyond the typical, rigid banking measures to accommodate them and because we flat-out care.”

Regardless of the spread of the word’s use by larger institutions, Relationship will always matter. When dealing with financial matters, it’s important to work through a trusting relationship that instills security at every turn. Closing on that large construction project is a daunting task either way, but the relationships held with the lender can make all the difference in the world. Developing an investment portfolio that accommodates both growth and risk can be quite intimidating to the average consumer, but a solid working relationship with the right institution can bring cohesiveness and peace of mind. In short, relationship matters regardless of who makes the claim.

And, what of those large institutions that offer relationship as mere policy and a side note to sales? “Customers know the difference,” reassures Loudermilk. “They’ll always know the difference.”

© BrandVision Marketing. 2008. Matthew Scott Trueblood. All rights reserved.

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