Business Details
Galapagos is a marketing consulting firm that works exclusively with community banks to identify, plan and implement growth strategies. With 20-years' experience, we have the expertise and specialized resources to help you target your best opportunities, create competitive advantage, and position your organization for the long-term profitable growth that you and your shareholders demand.
We deliver distinctive and effective marketing solutions built on specialized analysis, insightful strategy, and effective implementation - exclusively for community banks.
We deliver distinctive and effective marketing solutions built on specialized analysis, insightful strategy, and effective implementation - exclusively for community banks.
Services
Our Story
During his visit to the Galapagos Islands in 1835, Charles Darwin observed that how a species survived and became "naturally selected" was based on its ability to leverage its natural capabilities, adapt to its environment, and profit from this change.
160 years later, substitute "Bank organization" for "species" and you'll have the gist of our thinking.
All community banks face similar environmental factors - markets, competitors, economic changes, technology - and share similar characteristics - customers, people, resources.
160 years later, substitute "Bank organization" for "species" and you'll have the gist of our thinking.
All community banks face similar environmental factors - markets, competitors, economic changes, technology - and share similar characteristics - customers, people, resources.
Overview
There's no shortage of off-the-shelf bank marketing solutions.
And no industry is as eager to copy the successes of competitors.
While both approaches can be successful, each comes with unintended consequences: They accelerate commoditization, and ultimately cheapen the community financial institution brand.
For community FIs, the challenge is to find the expertise required to design well-crafted marketing strategy and programs capable of creating real competitive advantage.
We deliver effective marketing solutions built on insightful analysis, distinctive strategy, and effective implementation.
And no industry is as eager to copy the successes of competitors.
While both approaches can be successful, each comes with unintended consequences: They accelerate commoditization, and ultimately cheapen the community financial institution brand.
For community FIs, the challenge is to find the expertise required to design well-crafted marketing strategy and programs capable of creating real competitive advantage.
We deliver effective marketing solutions built on insightful analysis, distinctive strategy, and effective implementation.
Overview
The traditional community banking model is facing competitive forces that threaten to make it obsolete.
Community financial institutions need to change or risk irrelevance.
After working with hundreds of community-based institutions over the past 20 years, we have witnessed what can be successful and have honed an approach based on that insight and experience.
Technology and the pace of change are redefining the very notion of banking.
Nimble competitors are stealing those profitable pieces of business that can be reengineered through technology.
Community financial institutions need to change or risk irrelevance.
After working with hundreds of community-based institutions over the past 20 years, we have witnessed what can be successful and have honed an approach based on that insight and experience.
Technology and the pace of change are redefining the very notion of banking.
Nimble competitors are stealing those profitable pieces of business that can be reengineered through technology.
Insight
Every year, Galapagos invests heavily in industry research, examining the needs and analyzing the behaviors of the 650,000 customer households in our Community Financial Institution Peer Database.
Without it, you won't know why your business matters to the customers and markets you wish to serve.
Every business decision you make will risk misdirection of precious resources and undermining of your long-term business goals.
Because most community FIs can't afford to staff a full-time research function, we've assembled the tools, analysts and expertise you need to probe those questions that have the biggest impact on your strategy and business success.
Without it, you won't know why your business matters to the customers and markets you wish to serve.
Every business decision you make will risk misdirection of precious resources and undermining of your long-term business goals.
Because most community FIs can't afford to staff a full-time research function, we've assembled the tools, analysts and expertise you need to probe those questions that have the biggest impact on your strategy and business success.
Strategy
Arriving at a plan that drives your business toward success requires vision, honest self-evaluation and the skillful alignment of resources with opportunity.
A major challenge that we see all too often is that community FIs spread their resources too thin - trying to be all things to all people and ending up being not enough to anyone.
And when plans fail to deliver, they clutch at the latest off-the-shelf tactic that promises quick results.
But there are no silver bullets.
The hard work has to be put in to create a strategy that differentiates and creates real, sustainable competitive advantage.
A major challenge that we see all too often is that community FIs spread their resources too thin - trying to be all things to all people and ending up being not enough to anyone.
And when plans fail to deliver, they clutch at the latest off-the-shelf tactic that promises quick results.
But there are no silver bullets.
The hard work has to be put in to create a strategy that differentiates and creates real, sustainable competitive advantage.
Execution
The inability to translate goals into action and engagement is the primary reason why the majority of all strategic projects within an organization fail.
Ask yourself the question: Who in my organization do I entrust with major projects?
If you enlist the same handful of difference makers for every important project, you're probably loading their already-full plates and creating an unintended roadblock.
And what about those projects that require a level of expertise that isn't available on staff?
Ask yourself the question: Who in my organization do I entrust with major projects?
If you enlist the same handful of difference makers for every important project, you're probably loading their already-full plates and creating an unintended roadblock.
And what about those projects that require a level of expertise that isn't available on staff?
Measurement
Strategy and implementation can easily become disconnected; there are simply too many distractions that test organizational discipline.
Effective measurement keeps you on track by reporting the effectiveness of your strategy and the progress your organization is making toward its goals.
Leveraging key data from your customer base and markets means you can set realistic goals and benchmarks that will have a measurable impact on your business performance.
Track the performance of your products, channels, your brand and your people.
Effective measurement keeps you on track by reporting the effectiveness of your strategy and the progress your organization is making toward its goals.
Leveraging key data from your customer base and markets means you can set realistic goals and benchmarks that will have a measurable impact on your business performance.
Track the performance of your products, channels, your brand and your people.
Insight
Galapagos maintains a database of 650,000+ community bank retail households and 150,000 business households, which we use to continually analyze banking trends and research customer perceptions to inform our strategy recommendations and program designs.
The database is also used to benchmark client performance in a wide range of meaningful categories, including: Customer attrition, wallet share, same store sales, product penetration, customer commitment, and more.
Customer commitment & Net Promoter Score (NPS) - High levels of customer commitment correlate to higher customer profitability.
The database is also used to benchmark client performance in a wide range of meaningful categories, including: Customer attrition, wallet share, same store sales, product penetration, customer commitment, and more.
Customer commitment & Net Promoter Score (NPS) - High levels of customer commitment correlate to higher customer profitability.
Strategy
Marketing - Our PATH planning process is designed to identify growth opportunities and build the optimal marketing mix to achieve that growth.
The process is structured and collaborative.
At every stage, customer and market data is used to confirm or challenge the financial institution's assumptions and to provide the measurement and analysis of growth opportunity that serves as the foundation for effective strategy.
Go-to-market planning - For special projects and initiatives that demand more than incremental growth to be considered successful, our approach creates a winning customer experience for the right customers while driving the highest possible sales at the lowest possible cost.
The process is structured and collaborative.
At every stage, customer and market data is used to confirm or challenge the financial institution's assumptions and to provide the measurement and analysis of growth opportunity that serves as the foundation for effective strategy.
Go-to-market planning - For special projects and initiatives that demand more than incremental growth to be considered successful, our approach creates a winning customer experience for the right customers while driving the highest possible sales at the lowest possible cost.
Measurement
What gets measured gets managed.
Scorecards provide management with a clear picture of how well the organization is performing against its business objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs).
We can manage this process for you: Beginning with recommendations on key metrics to measure, and then measuring, reporting and distributing the scorecards.
We believe that every marketing activity should target a 3:1 return on investment.
That goal can only be reached if you have the discipline and ability to track, measure and fine-tune every campaign or promotion.
Scorecards provide management with a clear picture of how well the organization is performing against its business objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs).
We can manage this process for you: Beginning with recommendations on key metrics to measure, and then measuring, reporting and distributing the scorecards.
We believe that every marketing activity should target a 3:1 return on investment.
That goal can only be reached if you have the discipline and ability to track, measure and fine-tune every campaign or promotion.
Whitepapers
Strategic Marketing Improves Results - When your marketing budgets are trimmed at the same time production goals get bumped, how do you respond?
Omni-Channel in Action! - The challenge with the Omni-Channel debate is that it's long on theory and short on facts.
Discussing strategies and plans is important, but what you really want to hear is results.
Branch Optimization - There's no question that the branch remains a critically important part of the distribution mix, but how many does your bank really need?
Omni-Channel in Action! - The challenge with the Omni-Channel debate is that it's long on theory and short on facts.
Discussing strategies and plans is important, but what you really want to hear is results.
Branch Optimization - There's no question that the branch remains a critically important part of the distribution mix, but how many does your bank really need?
