Cut Marketing & Training? Are you Crazy?

By Sean McDonald

Times are tough, money is tight, and your credit union needs to tighten the purse strings. That reality is expressed, discussed, and lamented.

Then something else happens… Management starts to discuss budget cuts and, unfortunately for those of us in marketing and training, tells us our budgets are being slashed. Sometimes, they’re eliminated altogether.

A few months later, we’re called into the CEO’s office and asked why the membership base isn’t growing, why loan volume is down, why branch traffic has slowed, and why employees aren’t properly trained to handle members’ needs.

The best answer to give—if you’re brave enough—is that resources usually used to increase membership, loan volume, branch traffic, and professional development either don’t exist anymore or have been cut to the point that what’s left simply isn’t enough.

It’s amazing that when times get tough, the first departments to be affected often are the most important to credit unions and any other organization: marketing and training.

How can you expect your credit union to grow if you’re not effectively and massively marketing your services? How can you expect your credit union’s staff to remain informed if you’re not providing professional development?

Imagine what must go through current or potential members’ minds if they ask questions about what’s happening in the financial/credit markets and your employees can’t talk intelligently on such matters. We ask members to trust us, and we absolutely must earn that trust. One big way to do that is through having knowledgeable staff.

So, what are possible alternatives to cutting the budgets of these very important departments?

• Look at the whole organization to streamline processes across the board instead of focusing so much on slashing particular departments’ budgets.
• Benchmark. This is the process whereby an organization identifies how successful companies within the same industry continually enjoy growth in market share and revenues, and implements the same types of measures into their own organizations.

If your credit union must cut back on travel in order to train employees, that’s fine. But take advantage of the various Webinars, white papers, and other resources available to you through the Credit Union National Association, National Credit Union Administration, etc.

At least one member of your credit union’s marketing staff should join CUNA’s Marketing & Business Development Council. The peer-to-peer discussions alone through the Council’s listserv will more than pay for the cost of membership.

Your credit union’s success depends largely on your ability to communicate what you have to offer, as well as the preparedness of your staff to serve members. So don’t make it impossible to do these things by eliminating the resources your marketing and training departments need!

Sean McDonald is director of business development & marketing for $60 million asset Liberty Savings Federal Credit Union in Jersey City, N.J., vice chair of the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council, and author of “Stop Complaining! Start Growing! Lessons on Growing Your Business & Career.”