It's human nature to keep doing the same thing year after year, and Credit Union marketersare no different. CUstend to push home equity loansin the Spring, car loans in the Fall*, and Visa cardsrightbefore the holidays–because theyalways have.
Now ifthat sounds likeyour entire Marketing Plan, then you should probably bring in some outside help. In the meantime,thanks to Google, you canget a glimpse into whatpeople are thinking aboutall year round, based on what they are searching for.
Compare these insights to your marketing calendarto see what opportunities you may be missing, then use the information to build a more robust marketing strategy.
January gets people to think about theBig Picture:
- First time buyers are looking for Mortgages, andhalf of them aremillennials
- Searches peak for information about how to save for retirement
- Savings accounts and 401Ks are hot topics
February/March is definitely tax season:
- Tax-related and IRA searches peak, along with questions aboutcollege financing
- "Where is my refund?" is a top question
July gets people thinking aboutvacations:
- Searches for travel rewards credit cards
August meansback to school:
- Especially when it comes tocollege financing and student credit cards
*(As it happens, August through December is also agood time for buying a car, as most dealers start rolling out next year's models in early September, and want to thin outtheir lot before the end of the year. Google does not break outinformation about new car searches in this data, but that may be because it has become a year-round activity. Keep in mind thatmobilesearches in the auto categoryare growing 51% yearly, so you might want to use that infoas part of your mobile strategy.)
November is all aboutcredit cards:
- Searches for credit cardapplications are peaking(almost a third of those are coming through mobile)
December is gift-giving season, even if it is last minute:
- Credit card gift cards and store credit cards top the search list before the holidays.
- 40% of all holiday shopping isnow done online, and 53% of that was on smart phones and tablets.
