How We Created the #2 Online Only Bank [Case Study]

Case Study Background

BankFive has a pedigree that most local banks dream of. This Fall River, Massachusetts-based financial services institution has 13 locations, a history dating back more than 150 years, and the support of the entire South Coast of Massachusetts. They’re community leaders and keep current with cutting-edge banking technology. BankFive is as well-positioned for growth as any bank can be.

The Problem

Despite having everything in its favor, BankFive was predicting an astonishingly low .02% growth rate in deposits over the next few years in its geographic region — and the bank had maxed out its geographic footprint. In order to expand beyond its current boundaries, BankFive would have to build more branches, which are prohibitively expensive.

The Challenge

What could BankFive do to bring in new customers and put the deposit trend line back on the upswing? There was only one direction for them to go, and that was online. BankFive already had an online presence, but they were seeing online-only banks starting to pick up momentum and grab market share. They needed a partner that could not only build them an online-only site, but help them maintain high search engine rankings, keep them optimized, and support them as they staked a claim in the online-only banking world.

The Online-Only Bank Marketing Strategy and Solution

BankFive created an online-only entity known as Bank5 Connect and partnered with McDougall Interactive Marketing to help them take it from concept to launch. McDougall created the site’s design, copy, and nuts and bolts over a period of four months and guided it to a successful debut at www.bank5connect.com in July 2013.

While it was tempting to focus on paid search, McDougall knew that competitors like Ally Bank were also doing content marketing and promoting thought leadership, so a more integrated approach was called for. Through sharing helpful content and promoting BankFive’s thought leadership, McDougall sought to increase conversions and create a stronger value proposition.