Remember, Folks - "Target"-ed Marketing Needs Humans

by Ron Daly 

I know you've already read the Forbes article about Target sending baby-related coupons to the teenage girl before her father knew she was pregnant. In case you haven't, here it is. If you're too busy to read it, the short version is this: 

• Girl buys pregnancy-related products
• At point of sale, Target identifies those products as products pregnant women buy
• Target sends girl baby-related coupons
• Father finds coupons, calls Target, complains
• Target calls back to smooth things over with the father
• Father has to apologize to Target  -- daughter actually WAS pregnant

Stunning, right? Not really. 

Marketers have lots of information with which to work and can make offers and decisions about consumers that would surprise the average citizen. Target's got their system down. Amazon does it every time you log in, and weekly in an email ("Customers who bought this item also bought..."). Google's got a history of everything you've searched for as a Google user that they're using to put certain items in front of you. 

Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. But when you take some of the humanity out of marketing, this is what happens - a girl has to break the news to her father that she's going to need those coupons after all. A major, life-changing event, a big secret, gets dropped on the dining room table and left for all to see. Not because Target had any interest in revealing this girl's pregnancy, but because, somewhere along the way, she went from person to data point. 

How do you avoid things like this? I have to believe, after more than a decade of working on things like this, that preference matters. How you communicate things to people, how you make offers, what they've told you, directly, that they want out of your relationship - that has to matter. 

When a consumer says they don't want offers, don't send them. 

When they unsubscribe, don't email them anymore.

When they refocus the message themselves, don't keep drowning them in information they don't want.

In the history of marketing, we've never had clearer insights, or a greater pool of data from which to draw conclusions. Just remember, emotional intelligence matters, too. 

Marketing needs humans and a little more humanity.

What are your feelings on this story? Let us hear them in the comments section.  

 

 

 

Guest Author Marvin Umholtz: Stop Feeding the Strategic Crocodiles Snapping at CU Heels

The following strategy-focused overview candidly dissects the challenges and risks that are dangerously snapping crocodile-like at the heels of credit union leaders.  The mere fact that there is so much change going on and so much change that could go on in the 2012 to 2013 timeframe makes credit union’s reluctant to take major strategic steps when significant energy and resources might be demanded to manage through these unprecedented challenges.  Although potentially unsettling for those who like easy answers, this overview’s’ fundamental premise is that today’s credit union leaders must thoroughly understand what they are up against and mitigate it.  Credit unions aren’t paranoid if malignant forces are truly out to get them!  Use this overview as a discussion-starter at the next Management Team or Board of Directors meeting. 

Strategic Macro-Trends Affecting 2012:

• Today’s political, legislative, and regulatory risks far exceed the traditional operating risks – credit, interest rate, liquidity, transaction, compliance, strategic, and reputation.  The crushing regulatory burden exacerbated by compliance’s escalating cumulative complexity now drags on the credit union business model and threatens its future viability. 
  
  
•  The polarized Congress and the gridlocked legislative environment that results cause strategic uncertainty in financial services regulation, mortgage finance, and the economic recovery.  The November 6, 2012 elections could lead to a massive macro-directional overhaul of the federalgovernment.  That added ideologicaluncertainty makes scenario planning and financial modeling difficult at best – perhaps impossible. 
  
  
• Many credit union officials claim that the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board has been relentless in imposing its interventionist agenda on credit union decision-makers.  On a regular basis the NCUA Board demonstrates through its policy directives, supervisory edicts, rulemaking, and enforcement actions that its priorities too often stray from an emphasis on safety and soundness toward micro-management and counter-productive social engineering.  However, the biggest burning question – How much is the corporate credit union crisis resolution going to ultimately cost? – remains unanswered.
  
  
• In addition to its own pre-disposition to re-regulate credit unions, the NCUA is mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s(CFPB) statutory mission to examine for and enforce additional complex and costly requirements on credit unions.  The NCUA is destined to become a branch office of the marketplace-controlling CFPB enforcing a “level playing field” of fewer consumer choices and limited credit availability.
  
  
• The global economic situation has not been this troubled in decades.  The U.S. Federal Reserve System Board of Governors has promised to keep interest rates at unprecedented lows through 2014.  Only slight improvements are expected in overall economic growth and employment over the next several years.  Consumers will continue to focus on deleveraging their debt and limiting their spending.  The federal debt continues to grow and the political inability to deal with demographically unsustainable entitlement programs embeds more uncertainty into the fiscal dynamic.  The wearying margin-less economic situation obstinately refuses to go away.
  
  
• Additional strategic hot topics: net worth expectations, capital access, deposit insurance reform, moral hazard, too-big-to-fail, systemic risk, loan portfolio mix risks, charter conversions, prepaid cards, consumer activist groups, financial literacy, credit union service organizations, participation loans, partisan political polarization, and many specific credit union-identified hot topics.  
  
  

Key 2012 Strategic Takeaways:

1.     Fundamentally Different Decade Ahead.  The next decade will be fundamentally different – economically, competitively, demographically, culturally, and politically – from the preceding decade.  Using the same strategic approach to the financial services marketplace as in the past would be insane.  The economy in particular is expected to inch its way along impeding everyone’s business plan.  To keep the credit union’s metaphoric head above water, its leaders must fully understand the prevailing undercurrents that radically impact on strategy.

2.     External Risks > Internal Risks.  External risk factors – especially political risk, regulatory risk, and complexity risk – will have more impact on a credit union’s strategic success than will internal factors.  What one does not control will exceed what can be controlled.  Get used to it – uncertainty and how well it gets incorporated into strategy is critical to a credit union’s successful operation.

3.     Federal Government Not Friend.  The Congress, the National Credit Union Administration Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Reserve Board have their own political agendas and are not a credit union’s friends.  Don’t let them fool anyone into thinking otherwise.  Instead, expect them to keep making things more difficult.  Treat their increasingly costly, complex, and burdensome demands with deference – but validate, verify, and when appropriate challenge their directives.

4.     Ultimate Stabilization Costs Unknown.  Regardless of whether the NCUA Board’s loss estimates for the corporate credit union legacy assets are realistic or not, the Board sets the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund(TCCUSF) assessment based upon those estimates and they drive the credit union’s costs.  Nobody knows for certain how deep the multi-billion dollar TCCUSF hole really is or how long it will take to pay it off.  Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

5.     Industry Infrastructure Fractured.  As a direct result of the 2008 financial system meltdown, the current credit union industry’s legacy infrastructure – including its in loco parentis regulators, non-risk-rated deposit insurance regime, and even its traditional trade associations – are showing signs of rust and structural weakness.  Proactive demolition and reconstruction of these faltering institutions sans dogmatic platitudes, entrenchedoligarchies, and one-size-fits-all approaches could go a long way toward restoring real return on investment for each increasingly diverse and independent credit union.

6.     Heavy Mortgage Loan Mix Untenable.  In the absence of a serious refocus of lending strategies credit unions are at risk of becoming the next Savings and Loan debacle.  Collectively credit union loan portfolios are dangerously loaded with low-return fixed-rate mortgages.  Many credit unions also rely heavily on originating and selling to the secondary market that is currently in flux due to the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the glaring absence of any private market investors, and Congressional proposals that could radically reduce the demand for mortgages.  It’s an accident waiting to happen that credit unions must anticipate and avoid.  

7.     Non-Bank Competition Toughest.  Big banks, community banks, thrifts, and even other credit unions are not a credit union’s biggest competitors.  Big box retailers, insurance companies, payday lenders, and other non-banks are running circles around traditional federally insured financial institutions and it will only get worse because most of the non-banks’ offerings are convenient, uncomplicated, and consumer-friendly.  Credit unions, and especially Congress and regulators, should learn from these competitors’ successes rather than try to stamp them out.

8.     Boomers & Seniors Rule, X & Y Drool.  Aging baby boomers constitute a major portion of credit union memberships and along with many seniors dominate credit union boards of directors.  Generations X, Y, and the very young will not be a credit union’s salvation in the near term no matter how hard they try to attract those smaller demographic cohorts.  Each credit union needs to find out what their existing baby boomer members want and find a way to profitably give it to them.  Neglecting boomers could be fatal to the institution’s bottom line.

9.     CU Business Model Threatened.  The traditional low-cost, high-service credit union business model seems increasingly at risk from its cumbersome governance structure, limited access to capital, reliance on loan and investment income, legacy modest means mission, innovation-killing hyper-regulation, and inadequate products and services authorities.  Credit unions desperately need additional ways to generate income, broaden service offerings, streamline delivery systems, and generate scalable growth.  The credit union business model will need to evolve in ways that will make the traditionalists uncomfortable, but the alternative is stagnation.  Credit union leaders must proactively advocate this business model evolution since it won’t be simply handed to them. 

10.  Urgency for Change.  Lead, follow, or get out of the way.  Credit union elected officials and management executives that are unwilling to be drivers of change should seek early retirement.  The future belongs to credit unions that are committed to and intensely involved in change.  A change management skill-set and a sense of urgency will be required if a credit union wants to emerge unscathed at theother end of the coming decade’s strategy-altering uncertainty-laden gauntlet.

 Have questions/comments for Marvin Umholtz? Leave them in the comment section below. 

Everybody's Reviewing It! Why Gen-Y Depends on Other People's Opinions Online

by Ron Daly 

Ah, Gen-Y - the "El Dorado" of marketing demographics. People are hazy about where they are, what they do, and the richness of the treasures they possess. And after about five years of hearing how critical it is to win over the Gen-Y crowd, we get a little insight into how they buy and behave with their money.

One of the critical things a business (or credit union?) must do, according to a study done by Bazaarvoice, is point Millennials to user reviews (which they describe as "user generated content", or "UGC"). The opinions of other online users of a product or service weight heavy, particularly with regards to electronics. They're more eager to hear from people with "relevant experience" and they're three times as likely as the Baby Boomers to ask for people's opinions on a social media network. 

Why would the opinion of someone a Gen-Yer has never met mean more than their real-world friends and family? Well, in the real world, maybe not. If someone runs up to you on the street and screams "BUY AN iPHONE!", it might not make you break out your wallet right then and there. But when Bazaarvoice means "stranger", I'm pretty sure they mean a "reviewer". And what does a review have? 

• A star rating - Quick and easy. If there are five possible stars and three of those stars are filled, that's a metric. There are typically a row of those stars followed by a number in parentheses indicating how MANY people have responded/rated that product. If a product has four-of-five stars and a thousand reviewers, well, that product is probably pretty good.
• Short write-ups - A short review says a heck of a lot. If it's thoughtful and fully formed, it tells you the reviewer took their time and is a smart, well-informed consumer. If it says "Dis produkt is h0rrible, teh wackness"? That person's probably not so trustworthy. 
• A link back to more information - Some online channels will give you permission to see other things that reviewers have reviewed on that site. This helps you figure out whether a person is ALWAYS negative or just negative about the thing you want to buy. 

Online reviews are interesting and helpful because not only are you evaluating a product, you're evaluating its users. But you don't see a lot of online reviews on a CU's website, do you? At least, I don't. 

Why is that? 

According to that same study (presented in a friendly little infographic on this site), 29% of millenials won't make a decision about credit cards or insurance without feedback from other users. Maybe more important: 

"Most Millennials say companies that include customer feedback on their websites are "honest" (66%) and "credible" (53%). "

Pretty great first impression, right? Think that could work for CUs? Who's willing to start this out? We know of a few CUs over on Facebook that let Facebook users review their products, but who's going to up the ante and include a place for reviews on their actual website? Is some CU out there already doing it? 

And before you go on about how you want to manage all your content and control every aspect of your "online presence", consider that over six hundred thousand people in the US moved their money in the past three months and attributed that switch to Bank Transfer Day, an online event that largely happened TO credit unions, not BECAUSE of them. 

Food for thought. 

Want to "review" this article? Have some insight? Talk to us in the comment section. 

 

 

Suze Orman gets into the prepaid card game -- and out of the good graces of the CU Industry?

by Ron Daly 

 Remember a while back when Suze Orman went to bat for the NCUA as an "educator"? She wanted to get the word out about how NCUA served the same function for CUs as the FDIC did for banks. A noble goal, and helpful for those who are confused about what all those letters mean on the bottoms of loan promos and direct mail pieces. It raised the question, "Is Suze Orman the right spokesperson for CUs?" 

Well, it's a false dilemma, really. See, Suze Orman wasn't hired to promote CREDIT UNIONS, she was hired to promote NCUA and their capacity as the insurer of cu deposits. But people read "Suze Orman" and "NCUA" and interpreted that as "Credit Union Spokeswoman".

Which is unfortunate, because Suze Orman just decided to set herself up as a prepaid card magnate. Click here to read about it on US News and World Report's website.

I really don't know how to make heads or tails of this. Sure, Suze Orman has a lot of brand equity, specifically with the "underbanked", but to lend that equity to a prepaid card? She's taken the road the Kardashian sisters weren't able to walk a little over a year ago; the only difference being that Orman actually seems to understand how money works and the Kardashians...well, the less said, the better.

An Associated Press story claims that the aim of the card - which Orman has (reportedly) already pumped $1 million of her own money into in development costs -  is to boost the credit scores of users through a deal with TransUnion. This new breed of credit score would reward users who previously paid for things with cash or other prepaid cards, but Business Insider doesn't seem to think so.

According to the PR Newswire press release, the card comes with "Suze Orman's advice and tips on personal finance," (which are delivered...how?) and is also "insured up to $250,000. The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC". So, there's a bank involved somewhere along the line, but a few steps removed...

I guess the question is, has this move soured your opinion of Suze? Some of the choice tweets on the topic I read over yesterday and today: 

Yes, much has been made of the $3 monthly fee, which is actually low compared to cards like the Kardashian Kard. But a card that preaches better finance management while taking out $3/month to "cover costs"? Would "Pre-Card Suze Orman" approve of that? 

Ron Shevlin from the Aite Group always has great links and thoughtful reads on the topics of the day, and he found one by Ron Lieber in the Times. In it, Orman swears she won't be making much money on the card and certainly doesn't want to be making money off of the "99 percent's backs" (her words). She insists that if the rates increase dramatically, she'll kill off the product. But surely there's some reward for her, considering how much she's already invested...what is it?

This reaction is one of the more damning, in my opinion. Ondine Irving has worked with Suze Orman in the past to get the word out about credit union credit card programs and has been a pretty big Suze Orman "stumper". She's not happy with these new developments. I sense she won't be the only one. 

I'm eager to hear your comments on this in the comment section. 

 

Taking the "Bank" out of "Banking": How the Steve Jobs Decade Has Changed Finance

by Ron Daly

Brett King over at Bank 2.0 posted an article titled "How Steve Jobs Killed the Branch". There's been a lot of talk recently about Steve Jobs stepping down as the CEO of Apple and moving into a more private role in the company. Tim Cook has taken Jobs' place as CEO and the black-turtlenecked dynamo has quietly stepped aside, due to his health concerns. The news of this change sent a shockwave through the Internet as Apple fans and tech fans alike shared their shock and their appreciation for a man that has many times over beaten the odds (go read about Steve Jobs' impact and listen to his 2005 commencement speech here. Very good stuff.)

Brett's article focuses on one important aspect of Jobs' legacy. From the post - 

This is not the sole legacy of Steve Jobs and the team at Apple, but when we look back on banking in 10-20 years time when branches have disappeared, we will attribute the destruction of the traditional value chain of banking to the death of the ‘store’. Not all stores are destroyed, of course, but where you have goods or services that can be easily digitized or where distribution does not absolutely require physicality, then the value chain is disrupted. The two big upsets in this evolution of the store were really Amazon’s destruction of the book store, and iTunes destruction of video and music stores.

I think Brett has a point there. The Kindle really did a number on bookstores and paper books alike (the Borders down the street from us is going, going...). The iPod destroyed all the Tower Records and Sam Goody's of the world because, finally, you didn't need a twenty-disc CD changer in your car - you just needed a little rectangle with a wheel. And why? 

Because paperbacks and hardcovers were just a means of distributing the words in a book. CDs and Casettes were just a way to store the music until it hit your ears. The medium wasn't more than the message. In some cases, it was much, MUCH less. 

As technology has advanced, our dependence on cash and checks has diminished. Debit and credit are pushing out cash and NFC is threatening cards - we'll keep making strides away from the physical aspects of money management until branches are almost obsolete. Why? Because money's not a physical thing anymore. At least, it doesn't have to be. And you don't need a bank to do all your banking.

When you can:

• Open an account online
• Deposit remotely online
• Apply for a loan AND get approved online
• Resolve NSFs and low-fund situations online
• Transfer money between accounts online 
• Budget online
• Buy online

...why go to a branch to get things done? 

Steve Jobs didn't exactly kill the branch. But he certainly didn't stop the bleeding. 

Are you Delivering Financial Telephone Books and Newspapers?

by Ron Daly

Some things just never change, but should. Two examples.

My family and I returned home this week from our west coast vacation. As we turned into the driveway my daughter spotted a large plastic package with items inside leaning on the mailbox. Being nine, she naturally assumes that every package delivered to the house is something for her. As I exited the car I saw her struggling to carry the package with two large yellow books and one large white book inside. Dropping the 1,000 page books at my feet she asked “Dad, what are these?”

To which I replied, "Those are telephone books, sometimes referred to as 'yellow pages'."

If you have a nine-year-old you know there are even more questions to follow...I believe it went something along these lines.

Q: What are they used for?

A: People use them to look up up the telephone number of someone they want to call or a businesses they might want to hire.

Q: You mean they don’t Google them, look them up in their Outlook contacts or call 411?

A: Guess there are still some folks out there that need them.

Q: Did you pay for these books or ask for them?

A: No, dear.

Looking down the street at all the bags of books lining the driveways as far as the eye could see–

Q: Why did they print all these books, waste all this paper and leave them on everyone’s driveway if no one pays for them or uses them?

A: Guess it’s a conspiracy.

Thumbing through the A-L Yellow Pages she stopped in the “D” section

Q: Dad, why isn’t DigitalMailer listed in the Yellow pages?

A: Well, we are a digital communication company and it doesn’t make sense to spend money this way. Besides, any person that has to use the yellow pages to find us is probably not ready for the products and services we offer.

Q: What good is this ad on this page? It’s in black on yellow paper. There are no moving images and nothing interesting about it. I can’t click the website address to learn more and I can’t hit the phone number and have my cell phone dial the call for me.

A: Not everything keeps up with the changes going on. This is just an old-fashioned way people use to find information.

Her final comment as she walked the books directly over to our recycling bin and dropped them in… "What a waste of good trees."

One more example to share, from a conversation we had with a lovely lady I’ll refer to as “Marge” at the large national newspaper in our area. We decided rather than to stop the Sunday paper while we were gone, we’d just cancel it altogether. After waiting in the call queue for a while Marge was lucky enough to get our call. Here goes:

Ron – We’d like to cancel our Sunday paper subscription.

Marge – Why?

Ron – We get our news from other sources, we never read it and we wind up just recycling it each week.

Marge – What if we give you weekdays free?

Ron – (Thinking to myself – OK Marge, I don’t read Sunday and now you want to give me six more days not to read and recycle?) No thanks, we just want to save the $15 per month by cutting out something we don’t need.

Marge – You know, if you use just three coupons per week from the Sunday coupon section the paper will pay for itself with the money you save.

Ron – (Thinking to myself – Ok Marge, I’m not a “35-cents-off-of-ground-round-cut-that-coupon-out” kinda guy, but I do like that song. Besides that, my yellow and white flowered coupon organizer was retired about two weeks prior to my marriage, never to be resurrected again.) No thanks, we can get coupons and discount codes online for most of the stuff we need.

Marge – What if we just charge you 59 cents each week of the Sunday paper? Will you stay?

Ron – (Now I’m starting to boil realizing that I’ve been paying $15 per month for at least ten years for something that Marge is now selling to me for just over $2.40 per month) No thanks, just cancel the subscription.

I can remember which one of us hung up on the other, but the paper has stopped showing up.

Some things just never change, but should. So, my question is… Are you still delivering financial telephone books and newspapers? Are you relying on old systems and technology to reach customers faster and in the communication channel they want? Have you looked at the organization to make sure that you are not? Do you have any idea where financial services are going on the web and in the branches? Is your Virtual Branch even open?

We’ve launched an eStrategy presentation on the future of financial services that is perfect for senior management and Boards of Directors. Contact me at rdaly@digitalmailer.com for more information.

Truth or Dare: Do You REALLY Need a Social Media Expert?

by Jimmy Marks 

I saw a discussion group on LinkedIn - "Is there such a thing as a Social Media Expert?" 

It's an interesting question. With social media still such a young enterprise and with so many questions still in the minds of users and content creators, you have to wonder...is there really such a thing as a social media expert? 

What's sad is that in the short time "Social Media" has existed, we've already developed a stereotype of the "social media expert". It's usually a man, usually in a very expensive suit. His speech is very terse and he's VERY SERIOUS about how social media can help your credit union. 

Granted, he doesn't know what a credit union is, who you serve, how you're chartered, how you're capitalized, what your loan portfolio looks like, what your CAMEL rating is, how many employees you have, how much money you have...

He doesn't know anything about you or what you're doing. And he'll never care. Because by the time his check clears, he's moved on. It's like "The Music Man", only he's not coming back to win your heart and the heart of everyone in River City.

Why care matters

Am I a social media expert? That depends, I guess. I know how to set up and use the networks that most of you are using or considering using (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, etc.). But I think that's about one-tenth of the equation. My biggest social success has come from one thing and one thing only, and that's caring. 

I was hired a few years ago by DigitalMailer to start a company blog for their website. In time, I slipped into the position of Creative Media Director. When I had to get the blog noticed and read by the right people, I simply emailed a long list of financial industry bloggers that I thought would be good contacts. I said, very simply, that I wanted them to read our blog and to feel free to comment on our posts. 

In time, those "thought leaders" became personal friends of mine. In time, I became a person they thought of when they thought of eStrategy. Now, with hundreds of contacts and relationships formed, I can say I'm helping to inform more people about what our company does than I would have if I'd just started without their help.

It didn't start with Twitter, it didn't start with Facebook. It started with me asking them for their guidance and their friendship. I cared about their opinion enough to seek it out. They cared enough about my actions to continue communicating with me. They're great people and, pretty soon, a few of them are going to change the way things are done in this industry. 

My point: audience is everything. And anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. A big liar.

The biggest lie you've been told about being social

If I had to guess, I'd guess there's been at least one person who's gone out of his or her way to tell you all about how you're "doing it wrong." And sure, maybe you're not as accustomed to social networking as you are to other forms of marketing (by the way, yes, social media is a marketing enterprise. Marketing should be involved.).

The worst thing you can do for your social endeavors? Convincing yourself it's not worth the effort it takes to make it good. 

I can tell you that it takes FOREVER to build a following. I can tell you that not everyone's going to like you and not every kid in the playground will be your friend. I can tell you that a sales strategy is MUCH different than a strategy to gain followers.

I can get you started. But the level of care you bring to the table is what will make or break you. 

The "Truth" in Truth or Dare. 

Not to be one of those people that speaks in analogies, but here's a good one: getting started in social media is like making a cake. You need to know the ingredients, you need a little help with the mixing and the baking temperature, but the success of the "cake" is all in how much effort you put into it. 

You can get a store-bought cake and try to pass it off as home made, but over time someone's going to see through that. The same is true if you hire a "social media expert" to run your various social media accounts. Eventually, everyone's going to get tired of it. 

And yes, some people might not like your cake. Some people might love it and want another slice, and another, and another. Focus on that one person that likes it rather than the one that doesn't. A "social media expert" is most likely going to tell you that your efforts suck. Well, if you got into social media to impress social media experts, you might as well just get out of it, because you're not working to impress the people that matter. 

Some folks are going to tell you that baking a cake can stop up a leaky pipe in your basement. Those people are insane. The same with social media - if your infrastructure and your business model completely sucks, no amount of twittering or Foursquare promotions are going to save you. A cake doesn't solve a leaky pipe. Social media will never solve everything wrong with your business. 

The "Dare" in Truth or Dare.

With all that in mind, I'd like to talk to you about social media. I can show you the ropes, talk about ideas and strategies that I know to be successful, help you nail down the message and, if you're not ready, be honest with you about the things you need to get right before you get into social media. 

We've used social media to help us sell, to get the attention of new partners and clients and, most importantly (to me, anyway) to make us the envy of some of our stiffest competition. 

Can you do the same? That's not up to me. And if you come to one of my learning sessions, I don't guarantee you'll be a success. But I guarantee you'll understand more about what to do than you ever could alone. I guarantee you, you'll know what you want out of social media. 

With that said, here's a link to our sign-up page for a social media sit down. Get in touch with me and I'll be happy to slate some time for us to talk about what you're up to, what you want to do and what you're able to do. 

As a parting shot, I dare you to do one of four things with your social media endeavor of choice today: 

1) FOR FACEBOOK: Say something that's true of your credit union that the average user might not agree with - If you believe something, stick by that belief and throw it out there. What's one thing that you need/want to impress on your members? Don't be wussy and say something like "We believe that credit unions are great!". Say something bold and see what people shoot back with. Poke a bruise. Make a wave.

2) FOR TWITTER: Block or unfollow anyone who's following you that you can be sure is outside of your service area or is not a current member or potential member - How gutsy would THAT be? If you go through your followers list, you're likely to see a number of people who are not actually tweeting or are spam-tweeters. BLOCK THEM. If you see someone whose info lists them as a "social media expert" and they don't list a location within a few miles of your credit union, BLOCK THEM. If a major business is following you and it's not for any reason other than you mentioned them once, BLOCK THEM. Make your credit union account an account that just helps members. Set up a separate account for networking and use that to study what other CUs are doing. I can tell you for sure that more people contact @jimmymarks to talk about things and get a sales conversation started than those that contact @digitalmailer, and that's okay, because at least they associate me with the company. They're getting through somehow. And I've never been contacted by anyone who considers themselves a "guru" at social media. Because those guys typically have no money for what I'm selling. 

3) FOR LINKEDIN: Hire someone off of the recommendations they list on their profile - If good help is REALLY all that hard to find, at least start with people that have a little word-of-mouth behind them. You know there's someone you're dying to hire at your credit union. Make their LinkedIn account your crucial factor - slice anyone that would have been considered for the job that DOESN'T have a LinkedIn page. Who's that leave? Food for thought.

4)  FOR FOURSQUARE: Make a mad, mad, mad, mad world out of it - Give away something REALLY AWESOME and see who shows up at the branch. Let's say you're giving away a month's worth of gas. Let's say you're giving away an iPad. How about a wad of cash you would've wasted on a phonebook ad? Make it a crucial giveaway. Make a big stink of doing that. Then try the same with a Facebook check-in. Don't get shy. 

Go to DigitalMailer.com/socialmedia.html to learn more about DigitalMailer and social media - while you're there, sign up to be notified when our learning sessions begin and when our guidebooks become available. 

Spend a Little (Less) Time on Me: Why a Self-Service Strategy Means Everything

by Ron Daly 

I read a good piece on the Profit Stars website titled "The Holy Grail of Banking: Profitable Customers and Members Strategies to Attract and Maintain the Lifeline of Your Financial Institution". Long title, but good content from Dave Foss about what's going to make or break financial institutions in the next few years. 

The whole article's worth the read but I want to focus specifically on the role of technology and innovation in all this. Read this passage from the article: 

3)    View self-service strategies as necessities. Advancements in consumer and small business technology have made self-service strategies a necessity. Banks and credit unions are leveraging solutions for mobile RDC and P2P payments as an acquisition and retention strategy for profitable clients. Javelin reported in its 2011 Mobile Remote Deposit Capture Report that one in every four consumers finds mobile RDC desirable, and 13 percent of those consumers will change their financial institution based on its mobile capabilities. Plus, financial institutions with solid mobile foundations will be well positioned to benefit from mobile payments, a very near reality.

So, what is the goal of technology for financial institutions? Is it to make things easier on the member or the FI? I'd argue both if the technology works well. And then, with any discussion of new technologies for credit unions and banks, we get that old grumble about how important it is to pay attention to the branch. Yes, it is important - and your online branch is a branch, too. It needs attention. And it should be the fastest and most efficient branch. 

Technology should be decreasing the amount of time and worry that people put into their money management. If one corner of your online branch is more complicated than going to a physical location,  that part needs attention. Why are 25% of the people in the above report attracted to remote deposit capture? Because it's one less trip they have to make. Maybe instead of the idea of "service" meaning "being really nice to the people that come in to the branch", we should strive to equate "service" with "how small we can make the amount of time people need to spend face-to-face with us." 

 Tell us your thoughts in the comments section. 

 

Adding Ads to Statements: Some Food for Thought

by Ron Daly 

I'm always surprised the kind of ads that show up while I'm "surfing" (is that still the word?) online. 

Sometimes, they're interesting. Sometimes, they're just awful. And sometimes, they relate to me on a personal level. 

Like LL Bean and other clothiers - they seed ads for their shirts and shoes into my daily browsing experiences. I'm usually buying those things online, so it's a tight fit, advertising-wise. 

But imagine if LL Bean read my credit union statements and saw what I was buying. What if they sent me personalized offers based on my spending habits. 

Imagine no more- it's a reality. Several companies do it, and do it very well. But as more attention is drawn, I begin to wonder: will the reaction of consumers be positive? 

The public is getting hip to the idea of in-statement/in-PFM ads. Check out this article from the Today show website: 

There IS an app for that...but why?

by Ron Daly 

I like my iPhone a lot. I'm not a "Mac-man", not in the least - I've had a Dell running Windows for years. But my iPhone keeps me organized, streams in my emails and, yes, makes and receives calls. 

I don't download a lot of apps - not a lot of need. Email? Check. Text? Check. Safari? Check. With the introduction of the smartphone, iPad, Xoom and all the other tablets on the street, every credit union, bank and techie is looking to build an App. Even DigitalMailer is strategically looking at building a value-add App or two down the road that produces revenue or opportunities for our clients.
 
When I saw this one I have to admit that the boy in me got a bit excited after checking out the story: 

Learn To Launch A Missile? There's An App For That

Vienna, Va. based C” Technologies, Inc. announced it has delivered the first segment in a series of seven iPhone mobile applications the company is developing to train Patriot Missile crews for the U.S. Army.

Part of the Army’s Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications program, the C” Patriot Missile mobile app was developed using the a game development platform. It incorporates video of actual Patriot Missile crews in action as well as 3D animation and illustrations.

"Mobile apps on handheld devices allow the soldier to train any time, any place, and can provide access to critical information in the field," Dolly Oberoi, C”’s founder and CEO said in a statement. "They leverage the ability to train outside the traditional classroom, improve training effectiveness, and can greatly reduce resources required."

Woah! An app that launches a missle? Two thoughts: 

1. That's crazy.
2. That's awesome.

I went looking for some other crazy apps - here's the craziest I've found (with special thanks to Directory Journal): 

Rimshot or Crickets - Someone tell a good joke? Give them a "ba dum bum"! Someone tell a bad joke? Chirp, chirp, chirp. I'd wear out the crickets around the office here.

Hold On! - You press a button and you hold it...and that's it. You're scored on how long you can hold down the button. Man, what a thrill. Now, if you made it so that once you let go a missle launched? Instant classic.

Hang Time - Throw your iPhone in the air, catch it, see how long it stays up. Fun, assuming you always catch your iPhone and can live with it shattering if you miss.

 

Annoy-a-Teen - Emits a high-pitched frequency that, supposedly, only can be heard by teens. Useful, if true.

Drunk Dialer - Randomly calls people in your phone book when you're drunk. They should just call this one "Make Everyone Angry". 

Haircaster - An app that takes in weather data and tells you how good/bad your hair will look that day. 

Zippo Lighter - Ah, this one takes me back. I love a good concert and I don't smoke, so carrying a lighter isn't something I do. But an iPhone lighter? Sign me up! 

Seen any other crazy apps? Let us know about it in the comments section.