About ten years ago, the economy was faltering and the mood of consumers was impacted by anxiety over losing money. People were seeing foreclosures on homes and our clients were losing loans due to the bankruptcies of members who had gotten hit with foreclosure as well as a pullback by members who were just afraid to borrow in turbulent times. On the flipside, there was a liquidity concern as members wanted to have their savings “safe,” so deposits flowed in …

As a marketer or manager responsible for the marketing of your organization, it is critical to understand what options you may have in communicating brand to attract younger generations in this fractured time for financial institutions. Here are three things to consider to be more successful: To attract young adults, keep in front of parents, the younger Boomers and Gen X. Because younger adults turn to parents for advice, understanding that they are comfortable using online services, you have to …

With limited marketing budgets and personnel, it is so important to make sure you are making the best decisions for marketing planning.  While every market is different and every organization has its own strengths and weaknesses, the questions below help you focus on the credit union’s goals. Equally as important, in our datamining for clients we have found that less than 20 percent of their customers/members were profitable.  In fact, some clients had ten percent or less contributing 120% of …

This is the time of year when planning sessions typically are held for boards and senior management teams to review the year’s progress and determine future goals. Often teams go on a retreat to focus on the planning session while others conduct the sessions in their own board rooms. The most important part of holding a planning session is to realign the members of the team for the challenges and opportunities in the next year and beyond. Both Dennis Koepke, …

The strategic planning process is all about making sure you organization has a well-defined path to thrive and grow.  Here are some questions that we have used to start the process of understanding where our clients may have gaps and what strengths you have to build upon: What is your competitive advantage for why a member/customer should do business with your organization? How do you compete in the marketplace for attracting members/customers? Where are the growth opportunities that you see? …

With declining traffic in branches, fewer SEG relationships, and more fintech competition, many credit unions are looking to digital as a way to recapture interest, lead and more business. There has been a proliferation of credit union investment in mobile banking and updating websites which is key to competing.  However, there needs to be a focus on offering a seamless omni-channel member experience which flows from mobile to online to branch. A lot of this member experience management is done …

While not glamorous, project management is a key factor in keeping your focus on credit union goals. Everyone is prone to dealing with the crisis situation when it happens and putting other work aside temporarily. However, if time is not programmed for regular tasks and projects, everything becomes a crisis! Set tracking for easy updating – Be prepared for reporting results on demand. Using a marketing dashboard is a key tool. Also, a budgeting worksheet helps keep tabs on expenditures. …

For most marketers, looking at “the numbers” is not their favorite part of their jobs!  Having learned through the years how often I had to justify marketing expenditures and strategies to CFOs and CEOs, “the numbers” became my friends! Here are three reports that provide the initial insights: What do we have to work with this year? Report: Distribution of Members by Age Segment, overlaying loans and deposit dollars by the age segments. This report offers insights into what segments are …

There are three dangers that come from setting growth goals in a strategic plan each year that not only may not be attainable, but more importantly are not grounded in developing new members once they join. First, there is the danger of being self-defeating by making up a number, like; “Grow membership by10%” after a year of attracting 3% growth. The second danger is not having a strategy for attracting members in the age segments necessary to bring in loans and/or …

As a newbie marketing director,  I was told the foundation of a credit union was “People Helping People”.  It was the statement of pride for each credit union about why they were in business and added to it was, “Not for Profit but for Service”. For a credit union, it really was a great foundation for talking about why someone should become a member. Whether the credit union was a single sponsor charter or had a large list of Select …