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Name: Nicole Almeida
Title: CMO and Senior Vice President, BayCoast Bank
Age: 43
Industry experience: 18 years
Bram Berkowitz
When Citizens Bank began to open supermarket in-store branches many years ago, the bank was looking for sales-oriented individuals to manage these locations. Nicole Almeida was recruited for her hometown location and after four weeks of intense bank training, she was hooked. After close to two decades in banking, she now runs the marketing division for Swansea-based BayCoast Bank and its affiliates – Plimoth Investment Advisors, Partners Insurance Group, Priority Funding and BayCoast Mortgage Co.
In an industry like banking, marketing can be much different and requires a blend of creative thinking and the ability to learn, understand and keep up with the complex banking industry. Banker & Tradesman caught up with Almeida to see what it’s like marketing for a bank.
Q: How do you think marketing at a bank is different from marketing in other industries?
A: Hands down, the regulatory requirements – or constraints – on bank marketers is the most significant difference. You not only need the skill set for the marketing aspects, you also need to know the rules. And there are a lot of them!
Q: How do you show ROI on your marketing efforts? Is there any way to quantify it?
A: This is something we are constantly tweaking in my department. A bank marketer’s role is to help drive revenue to the organization’s bottom line, and there’s a lot of pressure to “prove your worth.” While ROI might be easy, from a formula perspective, it can certainly be hard to quantify depending on the campaign being run. There are a ton of data points that can be utilized. We look at incremental lift in sales, interchange or fee income growth, increase in product usage, decrease in expenses and profitability of an account when available.
Q: How do you help inspire your team to get creative when they are often working on what can be dryer topics?
A: We just have fun. Brainstorming ideas needs to be silly and serious at the same time. Coming from a more management and financial banking background, they are usually more creative than I am once we get the ideas flowing. I give them some room to think and they deliver every time. We also work with a fantastic ad agency that complements our vision perfectly.
Q: What is one of the cooler campaigns you and your team have run?
A: The coolest campaign we have done isn’t even related to a product. As a community bank, our focus is always on providing solutions for the community, whether financial or not. We don’t compete on price, but rather the value we bring to the community. So for me the best campaign is our “Get on The Bus” educational initiative.
We bought a bus, wrapped it in a cool design and tricked it out on the inside. It’s a mobile billboard and resource, hoping to make education in the South Coast a top of mind subject with kids, teachers, parents and the community at large.
The bus has been traveling around the region collecting stories of how education has impacted people’s lives. We created PSA-type commercials retelling those stories in the hopes that others will join us by “getting on the bus” in supporting education. In addition to the bus, last year we sponsored teacher professional development opportunities for over 300 teachers in the region, and brought all Fall River Public School 7th graders on a tour of a local college campus.
Q: What is the best advice you have for a community bank trying to stand out in a crowded market?
A: Get back to the basics. Find out who you are truly serving and give them what they want and how they want it. With all of us providing mostly the same products and services, knowing who your customers are and what they want becomes even more valuable in setting yourselves apart from the rest.
Be nimble. The technology is everchanging and you need to be able to adjust with it in order to service your customers appropriately.
Stay true to your mission. Keeping up with fintech and “the Joneses,” so to speak, is important, but there is always a right way to go about it for your organization.
Almeida’s Five Favorite Podcasts Right Now:
- The Good Life Project
- The Model Health Show
- 10% Happier with Dan Harris
- The Daily
- Marketing Money
