Key Tactics For Spreading the Word: Promote offerings in old and new ways

by Tom Kazar, Transamerica

Many of today’s financial institutions have products that didn’t exist as recently as a decade ago. If your credit union has developed progressive services and value-added products such as educational podcasts and branded credit cards that offer reward points, you have made a commendable effort to stay one step ahead of consumer demand. But are consumers sufficiently aware of these offerings? Here are some classic and contemporary ways to make sure your innovative products are working for you.

• Promote newer products during branch visits with colorful posters and point-of-sale tools like counter cards.
• Train front-office staff to mention lesser known products and services while interacting with consumers. (They can even wear “Ask Me About XXX” buttons.)
• Record enticing “ads on hold” for people who telephone your credit union.
• Don’t overlook statement stuffers for those who prefer hard-copy correspondence.
• Take a critical look at your website. Does it have a “what’s new” area? It is especially effective to have an animated feature that alternates several headlines and graphics, and allows users to link to additional information.

Ignore social media at your peril

It’s hard to believe that Facebook was once little more than a photo-sharing site for college students. Today, social media like Facebook and Twitter have become so prevalent as marketing and communication tools that non-participating financial institutions risk appearing to be “out of touch.” There are many benefits to embracing social media, and community financial institutions seem to be leading the charge when it comes to social media innovations in the banking world. According to Mashable Business, a major independent online news site* dedicated to covering digital culture, social media and technology, there are five key ways in which your credit union can effectively use social media:

• Community Building: Today’s credit unions are fostering community by focusing on member service and adopting the personality of the people they serve. This is critical because many of the most important touch points in our lives—from attending college, to buying our first car and home and saving for retirement—all involve a relationship with a financial institution. What about the reputation management implications of launching a Facebook Page?  Many credit unions have decided that if people were going to talk about their organization negatively in a public forum, they’d find a way. If it happened on a Page that the FI managed, however, their spokespeople could respond to any concerns on the spot.

• Product Research: A social network is a powerful research and development resource. Your organization can easily use social media tools such as surveys to take a look at your consumers’ needs and use the data to build new products and services.

• Member Service: For credit unions that engage with consumers over social media channels about their products, real-time search can be helpful in addressing problems. A visible Twitter account can be a quick and easy first step in the member service chain when people want to get specific information. Because of the openness of social media, however, consumers need to be careful when sharing sensitive information with service reps on social channels. Service reps should take such conversations private using direct messages and proceed to more secure communications channels.

• Marketing & Promotion: No matter what you’re promoting, immersive marketing techniques using social media tools can yield solid results. For a small investment you can share ideas and information through blogs and audio and video podcasts on a community hub. With a little imagination, your marketing team can create campaigns such as teaching consumers to use your online banking tools to save more money. Depending on the type of promotion and age range of the consumers you are targeting, you can use other social media outlets like YouTube and iTunes to spread the word.

• Transparency: The ongoing financial crisis has led many consumers to distrust financial institutions. Social media can be a way to become more transparent and rebuild trust. A VIP at your credit union can answer questions directly on your blog, for example, and service reps can answer mortgage, business loan, and general finance queries.

Whether you choose tried and true promotional tactics, the brave new world of social media or, ideally, some combination of the two, make sure to let existing members and prospects know about the breadth of products and service your credit union offers.

* Mashable Business has more than 20 million unique visitors monthly