Five biggest marketing mistakes and how to fix them
We all make mistakes. We make professional mistakes. We make personal mistakes We make leadership mistakes.
And as credit union executives, more than likely we’ve made a few marketing mistakes. You can’t be in marketing without making mistakes. I remember as a new marketing coordinator at my first-ever credit union job that I spelled the CEO’s name wrong in the newsletter. Yes—that was indeed a big (and almost career ending) mistake!
Rather than continuing marketing mistakes, the key is to learn from them. As we’ve worked with hundreds of credit unions, we see some common mistakes that some are still making.
So here are the five biggest marketing mistakes and, most importantly, how to overcome them.
Mistake Number One: Marketing Everything to Everybody
You cannot be all things to all people. That may be a nice theory but it’s a terrible reality. As Donald Miller famously says, “niches lead to riches.” Your credit union is not for everyone. And that’s okay.
Some of the most generic and bland marketing comes from falling prey to this mistake. When someone says, “I don’t get your marketing,” that may actually be a good thing (especially if that person is a board member!).
Having a refined target will help you craft your vision and messaging. The better focused your brand is, the better effective your brand is. Focusing leads to growth.
And watch out for broad niches or too many niches. For example, the “Millennial Generation” is extremely broad. A better niche might be Millennial moms, DINKs (dual income, no kids), HENRYs (highly educated, not rich yet), etc. Or if your top four niches are Boomers, Xers, Millennials, and Gen. Z then you’ve just decided to market everything to everybody.
Solution: Focus on three to four niches you are really good at serving. Answer key questions like “who do we serve better than anyone else,” “what are our historical roots” and “what groups will help us grow?” If you have not conducted a strategic brand workshop, doing so will help you not only answer those questions but help you stop making this mistake.
Mistake Number Two: Too Much Copy
Most marketers are word people. So it’s easy to fall into this trap.
But you need to say what you need to say in fewer words. People are no longer reading. They are either skimming or watching. While people are consuming more information than ever before, they are consuming it in smaller bites.
As marketing guru Seth Godin says, “Say what you need to say, then leave. Less is actually more.”
In visiting with a client recently we were talking about her newsletter. When I noted the amount of copy in her piece, even she confessed, “You know, if I received our newsletter, I wouldn’t read it.”
Solution: Where possible, use bullets, lists, subheads and short paragraphs. If necessary, break a long item into multiple pieces. Time how long it takes to read the social media post, newsletter article, e-mail blast, web page or brochure. If it’s more than 30 seconds, start cutting.
Mistake Number Three: Not Assessing Your Marketing
When was the last time you had someone from the outside examine your marketing efforts? If it’s been over 24 months, then that is too long. Why? Because marketing constantly changes.
We audit everything in financial services, yet we often overlook the one area that has the most impact on our growth: marketing.
A thorough marketing audit provides strategic suggestions, offers tactical growth ideas and identifies brand gaps. It can also help answer the question, “Are we spending too much or too little on our marketing efforts.”
It’s easy to fall into the mistake of never reviewing your marketing’s effectiveness.
Solution: Conduct a marketing assessment. As Lily Newfarmer, CEO of Tarrant County’s Credit Union said, “For years, we marketed by committee. That wasn’t working anymore. The marketing assessment was encouraging because it helped us know where to go next and how to get better. Now, we’re ready for the next level.”
Mistake Number Four: Not Investing Enough In Marketing
Marketing is an investment. But too many people see it as an expense. And when looking at Excel spreadsheets and GL reports, it’s easy to cut the marketing budget.
But downsizing rarely leads to growth. Please note I’m not saying you should always spend more in marketing. When we do our marketing assessments for clients, we actually put you through a proprietary formula based on a number of factors to determine the right marketing spend for your credit union.
With today’s economic headwinds, the temptation is to make this mistake (not investing enough in marketing). But as Apple’s CEO Tim Cook says, “We believe in investing during downturns.”
Solution: Thoroughly review your marketing expenses. GL by GL. Make sure you are putting resources into marketing efforts that yield the highest return on investment (ROI).
Mistake Number Five: Not Operationalizing Your Brand
No matter what you say your brand is, it’s your employees who must live it every day. Your front-line staff. Your support teams. Your managers. But do they know how to live that brand?
Many financial institutions make the mistake of having a great brand (visuals, taglines, etc.) but they fail to connect the dots to everyday employees. You must operationalize your brand.
The biggest threats to your brand come from within. One poor service experience will destroy years of great branding you’ve done (just see the Southwest Airlines debacle).
How your staff serves consumers matters. As Nicholas Ind wrote in Living the Brand, “It’s the collective power of individuals in an organization that provides and sustains a competitive advantage.”
Stop assuming your employees know your brand and are delivering on your brand promise.
Solution: Journey map the consumer experience and train your staff on your brand.
More than likely your credit union is making one or more of the mistakes above. However, once the mistakes are identified, you can begin correcting them by taking those solutions.
Mistakes happen. The key to growth is correcting and overcoming them.
