Don’t just hit the bullseye. Obliterate it.

Most of the attention in marketing these days is on Big Data. Big Data is all about who gets a message, when, and how. Credit unions are full of Numbers People, and Numbers People love Big Data.

But it’s easy to forget the “what” and the “why”.

What, exactly, are you sending out? Why will the recipient open that email or envelope? Why will they pay attention?

Every part of your message must be as carefully crafted as the list and the strategy. High quality creative is the difference between tapping your target market with a pea shooter or obliterating it with a ton of bricks.

Here’s how to crush your numbers by crafting killer creative.

Get in Their Heads

You’ve got numbers. Now make them real people in your mind. What makes them happy? What makes them sad? What’s their emotional, unique, and authentic connection to your credit union? How does your offer make their lives so much better than they’re going to drop everything and respond right now?

Be Human

Human beings are built so that they mostly understand and value messages from other human beings. Messages from machines and organizations have a very hard time getting attention and being understood. Was your copy filtered through a committee and then buried in weasel words by compliance? Quality copy is one-to-one. It’s personal, readable, understandable, and interesting, like a message from a friend.

Stomp Stale Stock

Images can make powerful emotional connections, but modern humans can smell stale stock photos a mile away. Don’t just plop any old generic stock house photo into your HELOC promotion. Use high-quality images that make emotional, human connections. Better yet, work with a good local photographer to build your own library of unique images with that perfect local flavor.

Make the Most of Personalization

If you have access to reliable data, use it. (If it’s not reliable, fuhgeddaboudit.) Even if you’re mailing out old-fashioned slices of dead trees, digital printing can make every piece a custom piece. For example, you could use different images in emails for folks in different zip codes, or who are different ages. There’s a whole world beyond “Hello, !”

And for digital marketing, customize to match the medium and the audience. Make your social media posts more interesting and useful, and less “salesy”. User fewer words, and more images and video. Tailor your message around the “culture” and fit in.

Send them a complete no-brainer, a screaming bargain, a gotta-have-it reward.

If you’ve gone to the trouble of picking out the ripest prospects, why send the same lame offer you give to every schmoe who walks in the door? People love to feel special, and if you’re going to the trouble of getting their attention, they ARE special.

Get Professional Help

Even if they’re not designers, people respond on a deep emotional level to quality creative. That’s why professional consultants, designers, writers, and web developers are so valuable — their specialized knowledge and wider experience will take your creative quality to the next level.