Your Word-of-Mouth Litmus Test: Do You Make the Cut?

by Ron Daly 

Kelley Parks is what they had in mind when they came up with the idea of a "go-getter". Shortly after leaving Call FCU, she founded her own consultancy called gira{ph} (the pronunciation of which I've been corrected on multiple times - it's just "giraffe", like the animal, it's not a trick or anything). She's written some great articles and made some waves by talking about what, exactly, makes an initiative stand out for a credit union. Recently, in an issue of the CU Journal, she shared what she calls her "litmus test" for word-of-mouth. According to Kelley - 

1. Is it engaging?
2. Is it true?
3. Is it relevant?
4. Is it fresh?
5. Is it memorable?

are the five questions you need to ask . If the program/plan you want to implement meets these criteria, you can bet they'll get people talking. 

Some great initiatives I've seen in recent years that meet these criteria: 

Shell Federal's iLife

Shell Federal in Deer Park, TX has a program to get people involved with the credit union. One of the programs they took on was Cell Phones for Soldiers, which provides cellular services for soldiers overseas. They collected a lot of prepaid cells and minute cards so soldiers could call home and they've engaged members in a way that's fun, relevant and lasting. 

Belvoir FCU Scavenger Hunt

Belvoir FCU in Woodbridge, VA teamed up with CodeGreen to create a web-based scavenger hunt. Members went to the site to browse through the pages and find the "slices of life" pie pieces - which increased viewership and time-on-site for Belvoir and far exceeded their marketing goals. I think this worked so well because A) everyone loves games and prizes, but more importantly because B) it makes the Internet feel like it used to - a fun place to browse around and discover. 

NARFE Premier's Onboarding Program

NARFE Premier FCU in Alexandria, VA started an on-boarding program that increased deposits by 24% and increased loans by 190%. More importantly, it cut their costs by 50% by year end. Why? Because the promotion highlighted all the points of Kelley's litmus test: 

1. Engaging members that just came to the credit union
2. True content, current rates, the values of the credit union on show
3. Relevant to members because NARFE serves a niche community (retired federal employees and their families) and the content reflected their needs and concerns
4. Fresh look (they'd recently rebranded after a merge) and fresh content (rate changes reflected month-to-month)
5. Memorable because an on-boarding series sends an email every few days/each week/twice a  month to members to keep you top-of-mind on services. 

Do your plans and products cut the mustard? Ask yourself why or why not and then take Kelley's advice. 

Domino Effect: Are You Helping the Member Understand?

by Ron Daly 

Sometimes the best way to get a result is to give a system a little push. You have to pull the choke to get the lawnmower to start. You give your kid a gentle push on their bike so they can start pedaling on their own. And sometimes, to get members to take action, you have to tell them what's at stake. 

We've talked about Interchange before. The debate is raging on, but that hasn't slowed down the legislation or the outcry on both sides of the wall. Retailers want fewer swipe fees and finance folks all know that we'll be killing free services if we lose Interchange income. The Electronic Payments Coalition has another commercial out about "the domino effect": 

 

Bill Cheney at CUNA said that over a quarter of a million members have written in to change the rule, according to this NPR article. An article from the CU Journal says the Fed is working on a compromise that will try to please both sides...word's out on whether or not it will, seeing as the cap will still go into effect. It's going to be tough for people to suss out why this all matters, because both groups say they're acting in the best interest of the consumer. 

This is a perfect example of how a national campaign for credit unions would work. A large body (or bodies) would put out the word about CUs and...what? Everyone would know what to do? Examine the video above; what does it ask of the viewer? Do they know who to contact? Who are the champions of "not changing Interchange" in Congress? 

It's time you gave your system a little push. 

Your homework is to think up ten (10) ways to educate YOUR members about Interchange. How are you going to do it? Can you rope in a Senator or Representative to come talk to your members? How about a letter to members? How about a video from your CEO asking members to talk to Congress? Localizing and personalizing a problem makes it stand out more. How are you going to tell your members "if you don't act on our behalf, this is going to hurt"?

Tell us about it in the comments section.

The Credit Union in My Pocket - Are You Marketing via Text?

by Ron Daly 

I never thought I'd be a "texting" guy. I talk on my phone and read emails, but texting was never my strong suit. But eventually I got used to the idea. I had to - it was the only way to get the teenagers in my life to pay attention to me. 

And now I'm one of the masses. Javelin Research released a report recently that outlined the demographics of cell phone use - with a particular focus on the habits of mobile banking users. From Transaction Directory's summary: 

Almost 9 out of 10 mobile bankers (89%) access the mobile web compared to 77% of all smartphone owners. Furthermore, mobile bankers send and receive texts at higher rates than all consumers. Javelin found that 91% of mobile bankers sends or receives SMS text messages, compared to 67% of consumers with mobile phones. These findings create specific opportunities for FIs to promote their brands, sell and cross-sell products and services, and retain and acquire customers.

So mobile banking users aren't just banking via mobile - they're on their phone a lot. Are you on their phone a lot? 

I'm betting no. Call me cynical, but cynicism is born out of experience. And my experience? Credit unions aren't aggressive about grabbing new methods of contact. They really should be. Quick, how many mobile numbers do you have (versus land line)? You're probably not sure because you probably weren't expecting people to move away from having a land line. But if you can get that number, get it. And then start talking about the idea of text messaging. 

Texting can be used for notices, alerts, marketing messages - lots of things you're doing now by mail or with a phone call. And let's not forget the drumbeat we've been hearing for, oh, about five years now - we need younger members. And how can you pretend that you're interested in young members when you won't speak in a language they understand - text messaging. According to Nielsen, teens send an average of 3,339 texts per month. Are they always going to read your texts? Maybe not, but at least you're meeting them on the level. 

If you want to get started with a text program today, visit our website and contact us about it. 

Know of anyone who's using texting programs at their CU? Tell us about it in the comment section.