10 things that can kill marketing at your credit union

While there are many external factors that make marketing a difficult art, the success of a marketing campaign is within your control. In fact, here are ten things that undermine the success of your marketing efforts.

1. Not having an objective. There is a seemingly endless list of “shiny” things out there that you could try for marketing to your members – some successful, others not. However, if there isn’t a larger “why” behind spending those precious marketing dollars, such as to “increase auto loan portfolio” or “grow membership,” it could quickly backfire on you. It is important to keep your marketing efforts aligned with the overall business objectives of your credit union.
2. Not having a target audience. I hate to break it to you, but your credit union isn’t an appealing choice to everyone – and that’s a good thing (and means you are on the right track)! In an effort to attract anyone, credit unions regularly try to market to “everyone,” which causes a complete disconnect with consumers through generic messaging and creative design. Choose a target audience based on the service or product by determining for whom it is best suited. For what kind of person is this account/loan/product? What lifestyle would find it most appealing and convenient? Where do they live? How do they communicate with your credit union? How do they bank with you? Then narrow your strategy from there.
3. Not knowing your audience. You may have the best credit union in history, but, if you don’t really know your audience – what is important to them, where to reach them, how to reach them – and commit to connecting with them, no one is going to hear the great story you have to tell. Make sure the products/services/brand you are selling is relevant to the target audience(s) you have chosen and you say it in a way that is compelling to them.
4. Not having a strategy. Strategy is largely built on the needs of the specific audience(s) for a given campaign. Each audience should have its own strategy for how you are going to reach them. Blanket marketing doesn’t work, and it is also really expensive. A solid strategy outlines which tactics and which delivery channels you’re going to use to reach your given objective for the campaign or initiative.
5. Being self-focused. You have identified a target market for your campaign, but now what? Making it about you and not them is a sure way to have your commercial dialed to another station or direct mail piece thrown into the trash. Look at your campaign from a consumer’s perspective, and answer the question “how will this make my life better?” The answer to this question will drive your messaging in the proper direction.
6. Lacking employee buy-in. I personally believe this is the most important of them all. You could have the most beautiful marketing campaign, rock solid messaging and a huge budget for delivery and, yes, you will see some results. However, not involving your employees from the beginning of the process and getting their important feedback and buy-in can cause them to feel alienated and unimportant. Depending on the culture of your credit union, this could backfire as disgruntled employees try to work against the successful momentum you’ve been working to build. Engage them early and often through the process. They are your champions and need to be treated as such. They are the face of your organization, after all.
7. Not educating your employees. If you took the necessary time to talk to your coworkers about their ideas for an upcoming campaign, make sure you spend the necessary time educating them about it before it goes live. Whether it is at a staff meeting beforehand – or, depending on the size and number of branches of your credit union, you or a branch manager personally delivers a campaign description, talking about it with each employee – spending time on this step is vitally important.
8. Not communicating results. If you did an effective job of educating your employees and getting them excited about the campaign, they will want to know how and where their efforts are paying off. Find the communication style that best suits your credit union, whether it is through weekly emails to everyone, utilizing the employee intranet or weekly “huddles” at the branch. We tend to get sick of seeing our campaign throughout its course, so it is important to spend time on this step in order to keep everyone excited and continue forward momentum.
9. Moving on. Yes, the campaign was launched at the beginning of the month, but that shouldn’t be the last time you look at it until it’s over. Failing to monitor its success means you miss crucial opportunities to adjust and continue to make it better as the campaign goes on, increasing your overall results and return on investment.
10. Not living your credit union’s brand. This is true not only in the development of the campaign pieces, but also in how your credit union goes about its daily business of serving members. Make sure your campaign effectively communicates and lets your credit union’s brand shine. Make sure the experience in the branches and among all of your communication channels is a consistent and wonderful one that is true to your credit union’s brand and vision.

Creating success in marketing is tactical; it requires a well-reasoned approach that is different for each credit union. It is also delicate, meaning that small oversights can run sound efforts off the rails. By being sure to avoid these common pitfalls, each effort you make at marketing will be better than the last. Then, the conversation is changed. You will go from trying to justify a marketing expense, to tackling the next opportunity to communicate your credit union’s unique story and brand. You become extraordinary.