Steve Jobs on credit unions 4: A third rate romance with consumers
Romance or a one-night stand? Which is the goal of your marketing?
In 1984, Steve Jobs had the good fortune of meeting then PepsiCo President John Sculley. The two immediately hit it off. On his flight home, Sculley penned an eight-page memo on how he thought computers should be sold to consumers. Among his recommendations: “Romance the consumer with Apple’s potential to enrich their lives.”
It was a message Steve Jobs heard. Many times over in his discussions of Apple’s marketing, his directive to the marketing team was to romance consumers. If you had to put Jobs’ directive to his marketing team in the form of a song, it would be pretty close to the timeless Marvin Gaye classic “Let’s Get It On.”
Are you creating a service that embarks on creating a long-term relationship with consumers and your members? Or are you doing the bare minimum of relationship building and spending more time talking about YOU, downplaying what consumers need and want from a financial institution?
There’s not a lot of time spent wooing the consumer in credit union marketing today. Rather, more time is spent talking about the credit union with hopes of a one-night stand with the consumer in the form of a quick car loan or checking account. It’s a quick flirt. There’s no focus on relationship or what the consumer needs—rather a hope and a prayer that that one ad can help make the numbers for the month to keep the CEO or board happy for another 30 days. Too often, credit union marketing feels more like the moderately successful Sammy Kershaw song “Third Rate Romance.”
Think on that for a minute.
If something as simple as a computer can enrich someone’s lives, what could MONEY do for someone? Money is our product. And while money can’t buy happiness, it does play a huge part in peoples’ lives. Why do we not spend more time wooing consumers on how credit unions can enrich their lives?
Look back at the last few marketing pieces you’ve created. Does it speak more about your product or service than the benefits to the consumer? Does it hum “Third Rate Romance”? Or does it focus on the consumer, the common issues they face, and how you can help? Does it croon “Let’s Get It On”?
Today’s challenge is to spend more time focusing on how you can romance consumers with your credit union’s potential to enrich their lives.
