Banking on Digital Growth

We’ve all been there - after opening an account with a new bank or credit union, you never hear a peep from them. Why aren’t financial institutions more proactive with their customer onboarding? I’m joined by J.J. Slygh , Principal Product Marketer at Total Expert , to talk about why so many FIs fail to make their new customers feel welcome. Communication is the key to deepening relationships, but...

A lot of people get anxious when they hear the word ‘automation’ in corporate-speak, sparking a dystopian vision of robots and computers replacing humans at work. But my guest, Glenn Hopper , believes that machine learning is simply another tool that can take financial brands to the next level. The CFO at Sandline Global and author of Deep Finance: Corporate Finance in the Information Age argues t...

With Google intending to phase cookies out of their browser later this year, marketing teams are scrambling to fill the void that the loss of third-party data will leave behind. Plenty of first-party data-mining options are at our disposal; you just need to look in the right places. In this episode of our Inside Digital Growth series, I answer questions about third-party data and share insight on...

With mountains of data at their disposal, financial brands already have what they need to gain real-time insight and strategic foresight into their customer’s needs. That is the power of competitive intelligence. In this episode of our Inside Digital Growth series, I address your questions about competitive intelligence. You, too, can use it to empower your teams to get in touch with the ‘beat on...

Financial brands are becoming self-aware of their need to embrace digital, but a vast majority of them still feel they’re falling behind. Craig McLaughlin , Chief Executive Officer at Finalytics.ai , feels they missed a golden opportunity during the pandemic by failing to ready themselves for digital transformation. The data they need to reach the next stage of digital growth is right at their fin...

A lot of banks are trying to catch every fish in the ocean. But you don’t need to hook every potential customer in your market - only the ones who benefit from your expertise. In this episode of our Inside Digital Growth series, I answer your questions about niche banking. Banks and credit unions have the potential to build niche portfolios that will help common people with their common problems....

Financial brands will often try to cure a hemorrhage in sales with a marketing bandage. But my guest, Bo McDonald , the president and CEO of Your Marketing Co. , believes that FIs are neglecting to dig deeper to discover the root of their problems. He argues that fear and lack of commitment have made marketing teams a convenient scapegoat when times get tough - yet that is exactly when businesses...

Millions of Americans are drowning in student loan debt. With repayments resuming post-COVID, many borrowers are desperate to find a way to keep their heads above water. My guest, Bobby Matson , founder and CEO of PayItOff , contends that a lack of clarity is the number one culprit hindering people from escaping the student debt abyss. While several opportunities for repayment assistance exist, a...

Since our pilot episode two years ago, the world has undergone incredible changes. Yet, we at the Digital Growth Institute remain invested in educating and empowering people burdened by financial stress. We have had the privilege of gathering positive deposits from the most brilliant minds in our industry. More importantly, our guests share our vision of helping first and selling second - because...

We grow personally and professionally through learning, and what better way to self-educate than through books. In the first episode of our Behind the Cover series, I’m joined by my friend and colleague Audrey Cannata , Operations Lead at the Digital Growth Institute , to talk about The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More, and Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier . We break dow...

What makes your financial institution special? Simply adopting digital concepts in an analog world isn’t enough to stand out in the FinTech crowd. You have to blaze new trails to be unique in the digital world. My guest, Jason Henrichs , CEO at Alloy Labs Alliance , shares why he believes many banks aren’t doing enough to differentiate themselves in their pursuit of banking as a service - and give...

A strong financial institution is reflected by a healthy community. By investing in their constituents, FIs can reap sustainable, exponential growth. But as digital banking evolves, so has the definition of ‘community.’ My guest, Jeff Marisco , president of The Kafafian Group, Inc. , elaborates on several points from his latest book, Squared Away , in breaking down why he thinks communities as an...

Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Does the world see that same person? Your peers’ perception of you is everything. So, why do some people drag their feet in building their personal brands? In this episode, I sit down with Kyle Lacy, SVP of Marketing at Seismic , to talk about the perks of crafting a positive persona for the masses. A co-author of the book Branding Yourself: How to Use S...

Great institutions are constantly chasing the ultimate customer service experience. Once they’ve reached a threshold of excellence, how do they retain it? That’s one of the great questions that Todd Treadway , Digital Channels Director and Senior Vice President at Provident Bank , had for me in this episode. Todd and I had a wonderful conversation when we met at the Total Expert event Accelerate i...

Growth, whether it be personal or professional, is a journey. Sometimes, we need to take time to reflect on where we’ve come from to grasp where we’re going. We can’t be afraid to fail. Our failures are the flames that forge us. Do you use them as an opportunity to gripe - or to grow? I had a second round of back-and-forth with Audrey Cannata , the Operations Lead here at the Digital Growth Instit...

50% of consumers have shared that the pandemic made them reconsider their life’s purpose. Let that sink in. As a society, we value purpose-driven ideas - and brands - more than any other time in recent memory. In this episode, I chatted with Jay Baer , founder of Convince & Convert . As a leading customer service expert and 6-time author, Jay talks about the evolution of companies taking a sta...

Financial institutions have only scratched the surface of possibility in their shift from analog to digital services. What’s holding them back? My guest, David Brear , believes that financial services have grasped a mere 1% of their digital growth potential. The CEO and Founder of 11:FS , Dave believes resistance to fundamental change is the culprit. But he is excited about what the future holds o...

Social media has come a long way since Myspace, but a lot of banking institutions are still fumbling the ball with implementing it in their marketing strategy. I’m joined by Liz McIntyre , director of Social Media and PR at Renasant , to talk about the transformation of social media in fintech. Join us as we discuss why ‘engagement’ dominates social media and what holds firms back from establishin...

A lot of marketing and sales teams equate governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) to a handcuff. How is fintech supposed to evolve with GRC factors holding them back? Risk is everywhere, but by addressing GRC head-on, we can mitigate potential roadblocks in the innovative process. My guest, Amanda Cohen , director of GRC Products at Resolver , breaks down the GRC playbook and gives us th...

Failure to carry out a plan in an organization is often caused by a lack of understanding. Many companies are limited by operating in silos that don’t have a shared outlook. If people don’t grasp the meaning behind change then they won’t fully embrace it. Independent systems need to come together to break the constraints that bind them and build a true vision of sustainability for institutions. We...

Life has a way of throwing an unexpected curveball now and then. Perhaps an illness or professional miscue sets you up for a downward spiral. Adversity doesn’t define us. How we choose to face it does. Failure is just a stepping stone to success when we surround ourselves with good people we trust. I had the pleasure of talking about fighting through hardship with Jim Morris , whom many of you may...

Digital growth is about collaboration through transformation, which means we’re on this journey together. That’s why we’re answering more of your questions about how you and your teams can incorporate digital growth. Once again, James Robert dives into the digital mailbox to address your questions and concerns about financial health. Learning the language of digital growth is essential to overcomi...

Marketing can be a messy business. With mountains of customer data at our fingertips, keeping it tidy can be a chore - especially when it’s outsourced to a third party. But by keeping marketing in-house, financial institutions can ensure personalized service to their customers. I recently spent time with Laura Byers , Chief Digital Banking Officer at Coastal Community Bank , and talked about her e...

We appreciate great companies, but we fall in love with individuals. Above all else, relationships are about trust – clients will seek out the people with whom they’ve established a connection through truth. Authenticity is the bedrock that supports your personal brand. What are some hurdles that may keep people from expanding on that brand? I had an uplifting conversation about the craft of perso...

You’ve got questions - we’ve got answers. In this episode, James Robert digs into the Digital Growth mailbag for questions that will help us all guide more people out of financial stress and into a bright future. We are all on the journey of digital growth together, because digital growth is ultimately about people. Join us as we discuss: -The importance of people-centered transformation -Building...