Marketing Goal
Retain as many customers and deposits as possible during a merger/acquisition, and reduce the amount of branch staff time required to answer questions from concerned customers by effectively communicating with new customers before, during, and after the consolidation.
Target Market
Obviously, all customers need to be communicated with during the transition, but your high balance and high loan customers should be handled especially well during this critical period.
Program
An effective merger-mailing program needs professional support and can have many elements:
- Announcement: Letter with both logos and signatures from both CEOs.
- FAQS: Information piece to minimize branch calls and visits.
- Old Account/ New Account: Letter with new account numbers and new account product name, brochure with new bank product offerings, FAQ’s, branch location sheet, and required legal disclosure pieces.
- Post Conversion: Legal requirements and mailing targeting high value (top 20% to 25%) customers of acquired bank, with the message “we appreciate you.”
- Satisfaction Survey: Six weeks post conversion, asking Did you receive the material? Are you happy? What do you expect from your bank?
Results
Rather than new business, success here would be measured in rates of retention and minimization of questions and complaints at the branch level.