Jaime Richardson
Title: Marketing Coordinator, Claremont Savings Bank
Age: 29
Experience: Banking, one year; marketing, eight years
You could say banking was in New Hampshire native Jaime Richardson’s blood – at least in her maternal line. But her passion for marketing is something that Richardson herself brought into her career – one that’s stretched from a farmers’ co-op to Claremont Savings Bank in New Hampshire. And throughout, building community has been a theme.
Q: Tell me a little about yourself.
A: I grew up in a small town called Cornish. I lived there for much of my life until I bought a small home in Weathersfield, Vermont with my husband. [I] graduated with my [bachelor of science degree] from Granite State College here in New Hampshire in behavioral science. So I’m a local girl.
Q: How did you go from behavioral science to banking?
A: Initially when I was going to college I studied psychology and sociology, which I think are two outstanding areas to learn about. You can probably use them for anything. I was a substance abuse counselor for three years at a local facility and I realized I had some skill sets in the arts … So I moved my career, and began to work for a cooperative food store, and I worked in education and marketing there. I was there about six and a half years.
My mother has been in banking here locally for about 30 years, so it’s certainly something that has been in the forefront of my mind. And then when I went to the co-op – that was kind of a great stepping-stone for me to get a feel for what it was like to work with a small community-style institution. There’s something to be said certainly for cooperative experiences and cooperative industries. It teaches you a lot about collaboration and working together … Certainly, being in a retail world, you’re always trying to figure out how to market your product to people. I have been at Claremont since December of last year.
Q: Has it been difficult to transition into the banking industry? Sometimes banks have such a long-established history in a community, but they’re not as hip to the need to market themselves as a retail institution.
A: It hasn’t been as challenging for us, because of the value that this institution has in this community. It generationally overflows for us. My grandmother had a savings account here, my mother had her first account here, and, of course, I had my first account here. So we’re really relying on that generational longevity – that we’ve been here, really strong in our community, for 100-plus years … [But] we’ve realized that we haven’t started to express to our community members what we do as a community institution. So we’ve been trying to share with them a little bit more …
One of our proudest moments recently was when we donated $3 million, plus the land, to build our new community center here in Claremont. There was so much excitement around it – it’s truly to support the kids and the community members, and give them a safe place to swim, and hold events. It’s right up the road from our main office, and we’ve been eagerly watching it grow. So that’s what we’ve been trying to do – trying to better articulate to our community what we do for them. Let them know, remember, no matter where life takes you, we’re here holding your hand.
Q: I understand you’re involved with NEFMA? How did you hear about that, as someone new to bank marketing?
A: Yes, I just joined NEFMA. It was the first organization that approached us, as an organization that had a new marketing department. [So] I just said, let’s just go to the winter conference and see what it’s all about. It was right here in our backyard in Stowe, Vermont, an easy trip for us. And once we walked in the door it was really the most rewarding experiences that I’ve been a part of. And I’ve been to a lot of conferences and joined a lot of groups. But NEFMA really was an organization that understood the value of that collaborative experience that I had come from. You know, banks are competitive – you’re careful about your trade secrets. But NEFMA understood that with community banks, it’s more like a cooperative. Even if you are at each other’s back door, it’s really about the customer and what they need. And it’s so important to share our experience with each other. I think it’s a safe zone for us to come and learn from each other… I was surprised that I was one of the newer faces. Most of those folks are really high-level people in their organizations. But we’re all there learning together. NEFMA kind of puts us all on a level playing field. There’s no intimidation.
Q: Have you found you’ve had to adjust your ideas, moving from such a different environment into banking?
A: It’s really been surprising to me the similarities. We joke around in our department sometimes, saying if you can’t adjust to that culture, of giving the customer the very best experience that you can, and trying to sell them a product that’s really going to give them a better benefit for their life, then you should get out of retail. And that means banking, that means food stores, that means everything.
Top Five Differences Between Bank Marketing And Other Retail Marketing:
- Awareness Of Risk: Emphasizing Safety Is Paramount
- Consumer Interest v. Bank Limitations
- Support Systems: Banks Have Your Back When You’re Rolling Out A Campaign
- Unique Partnerships: Banks’ Charitable Foundations Allow Them To Build Unique
- Partnerships With Arts Organizations And Charities
- Brand Loyalty: Building Consumer Trust Is So Much More Valuable In This Industry Than In Any Other
