Credit union marketing opportunity: Small and home office

by. James Robert Lay

I enjoyed participating in the Digital Insight, Barlow Research and Banking.com Twitter Town Hall chat. The discussion revolved around findings from Barlow Research in the small and home office market. Below are some key tweets from the session along with insights from my perspective.

I believe there is a big opportunity for credit unions to tap into the small and home office (SOHO) market segment. What if credit unions who currently engage the consumer market were to offer solutions for the SOHO market that not only provided financial services but also a community market place?

The SOHO business members could provide relevant offers to the consumer members as the credit union acts as a commerce conduit, providing financial services to both market segments. The success of this would be dependent on other factors, but imagine the possibilities of a credit union building a united community bringing together buyers and sellers.

Another thought would be to target the Gen-Y SOHO segment and offer some kind of business incubator service. Imagine if your credit union were to hold bi-yearly SOHO contest allowing members to vote for the best business idea. How many leads could your credit union generate for loans and new accounts both from the consumer market as well as the SOHO market?

continue reading »