Here’s a portion of an ongoing “Thread” by Serge Milman at Optirate.com. You would think we were discussing the payday loan space:

Chase knows exactly what they are doing and has a clear plan on stealing customer base and wallet share from competitors in what-ever local market they enter.

Large Banks – assets > $50b – can easily afford this strategy, and for some, it actually makes sense. But not so for smaller Banks and Credit Unions. Smaller Banks CANNOT outspend larger banks on Branches. The Branch – as a marketing tool – is a failed strategy for smaller Banks (assets < $10b) and virtually every Credit Union.

As such, the only question that remains is how best to utilize limited resources to a) win new and profitable customers, and b) how to expand wallet-share of existing customer base. You are 100% correct that mobile is part of the solution for some demographic segments, but more importantly, Banks and Credit Unions need to develop differentiating products & services, price them appropriately, develop intelligent relationship management plans, and market the products. Seems like Business 101, yet…

The old ways of doing business in the small dollar loan space are just that: Old! Land mines are everywhere. And yet, 20 million+ borrowers are still out there. Will your Team figure out how to meet this demand?