Much has written about the marketing potential of social media (Twitter, Facebook, social networks, etc.) and the Web in general. That’s all great if you’re an online marketer. But what good does it do you if you’re marketing to customers offline or in the branch?
Even if you don’t market on the Web, you can use the Web to learn more about what your customers want and what they think of your bank. And you can use this data to inform your marketing plans and even the wording you use within your marketing content. Best of all, unlike real focus groups, these research tools won’t cost you a dime.
If you use Google for searches, then you’re probably familiar with the “sponsored links” that show up at the top and in the right column of the search results page. These are ads that are purchased by advertisers and appear based on the words you entered into your search.
What’s hot on the Web could be hot in your branch
Google provides these advertisers with its Keyword Tool, which allows them (and you!) to find out which topics are currently hot with consumers. Type in “mortgage” and see how many searches are being conducted on the word mortgage and any phrases that include the word mortgage. To see how popular a keyword is in your region, just add your locality (e.g., Boston + mortgage).
Below is a list showing the number of searches that were conducted for different bank-related searches in March of 2009. Do you see anything surprising in this list? Does it make you wonder what kind of promotion you could do that involves mortgage calculators?
Bank related Google searches, March 2009
| Key words | # of searches |
|---|---|
| Mortgage calculator | 1.83 million |
| Mortgage rates | 823,000 |
| Annuity | 823,000 |
| Mortgage | 450,000 |
| Debit card | 368,000 |
| Reverse mortgage | 301,000 |
| Annuities | 301,000 |
| CD rates | 201,000 |
| Loan modification | 165,000 |
| Debit cards | 110,000 |
| Checking | 110,000 |
| Mutual funds | 110,000 |
| Mortgage modification | 33,100 |
| Savings | 33,100 |
| Money Market | 27,100 |
| Mortgage relief | 12,100 |
Google offers some other market-research tools that you might find helpful:
- Google Trends – Enter a keyword and see a graph of its historical popularity to present, as well as key news events that have affected search volume.
- Google Hot Trends – An up-to-the-minute rundown of the world’s most popular searches. Click any term in the list for historical search data.
- Google Insights for Search – Similar to Google Trends, this tool lets you narrow your search by region, time period, category and other criteria. This tool would be handy for a marketer who works across multiple states. Did you notice in the table above how popular the keyword “mortgage calculator” is? Using Google Insights, you can get granular, as in this example, which shows that for the last 90 days, people in Helena, Montana, and Bend, Oregon have conducted the most searches on this keyword.
- Google Zeitgeist - At the end of each year, Google compiles its search data to determine what were the most popular searches worldwide and in each country. Other trend fast-rising search trends. For example, look how the term “Layaway” skyrocketed in popularity last year.
Next installment: Using Twitter and social media to fuel your offline marketing
[...] See also: How to use free online research to feed your offline marketing [...]