What’s The Key To Successful Marketing?

Cathy Fleming

Marketers are looking for innovative ways to differentiate their credit unions from other financial institutions. Darlene Diamond, vice president of marketing for Energy First Credit Union, Monterey Park, Calif.; Matt Tebbetts, vice president of Greenville (S.C.) Federal Credit Union; and Charles Plassenthal, CEO of Dayton (Ohio) Firefighters Federal Credit Union, share their thoughts on keys to successful marketing.

Plassenthal: The most important thing is matching up your services with your membership. With the small membership we have, it often doesn't make sense from a financial standpoint to do target marketing. Sometimes we can do a mass-market mailing that’s cost effective.

Diamond: Segmentation. Any marketing customer information file product that segments members and determines their propensity to buy is key. Segmentation is especially important for credit unions that are diversifying and obtaining community charters. You can’t send the same message to everyone. Make sure your own identity or brand is included in every offering or mailing. That builds awareness. Even if members and potential members don’t buy what you’re offering at the moment, you’ve got them thinking about you, and they’ll consider you the next time they have a need.

Tebbetts: Keep your message simple. Being overly creative can detract from an advertisement or campaign. Each piece of a coordinated campaign should focus on the promotion or benefit while educating current and potential members about the credit union.