My Marketing Strategy
Nicolette Lemmon, President & Founder
Considering that some long-term brands have disappeared in this tough economy, the new retail landscape has caused a lot of re-evaluating of the brands we align with for our purchases and services.
If you are trying to retain and grow your membership, members are evaluating their experience with your organization to see if it matches your marketing promises.
The most impressive branding is not gimmicky or crazy creative; it’s the measure of being genuine.
Genuine, according to Merriam-Webster’s, is: actually having the reputed or apparent qualities or character. From Random House Dictionary, genuine is defined as:
- possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality, or origin; not counterfeit; authentic; real: genuine sympathy; a genuine antique.
- free from pretense, affectation, or hypocrisy; sincere: a genuine person.
Building a brand takes years, but if the experience for members/customers is not consistent with what you promise or failing to monitor that everything is preserving the brand experience, today’s consumers will take their business elsewhere.
How can you make sure the brand is consistent and genuine? One exercise that we use in marketing audits is to interview all employees, especially those who meet your members. Ask them two questions:
- If someone asks why they should move their banking to the Credit Union, what would you say?
- Why do you like working here?
You will quickly find out if there is alignment with what you think is the “brand” and what the front line is saying to members and prospective members. Plus, your “brand experience” that is provided by the front line is only as good as how the employees feel they are treated.
Being genuine, true to who you want members/customers/prospects to believe about your brand, is only achievable if you inspect what you expect on a regular basis.