Oh, the Stupidity! The Fatal Error of Neglecting Your Website

In the course of business, I’m fortunate to work with a large number of marketing professionals at credit unions across the country. It’s a diverse group, with asset sizes ranging from a few million to a few billion dollars; a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of members. While I learn something new about our industry with each interaction, one thing struck me as particularly worrisome this summer.

Credit unions can be extremely stupid when it comes to their website and digital presence.

Let me explain. When conducting a marketing audit, we look at all aspects of a credit union’s marketing, from brochures and commercials to lobby décor and member opinion. We also focus on its website. While there are a lot of good ones out there, there are plenty of bad ones. Really bad ones.

Newsflash: This whole world wide web, internet superhighway, google-thingie isn’t going away. And however people access it (desktop, smartphone, tablet), they are using it to check you out. In fact, there’s a good chance potential members are trying to learn more about your credit union, right now, by checking out your website. Based on what they see there, they may decide whether or not to ever step foot in a real brick-and-mortar branch.

Consider the following statistics from Business Journal:

• 38% of consumers of consumers preferred to use online channels to learn more about products and services
• 34% prefer to receive their statements online
• 43% prefer to check specific account information (balances, transactions, check images) online
• 51% prefer to transfer funds online
• 60% prefer to pay their bills online

These stats really shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. The trend towards accessing financial products and services online continues to grow. Credit unions must heed this and put more effort, energy, time and, yes, money, into their websites and digital strategies. To fail in this is to miss out on a critical component of what members and potential members increasingly expect as a core product.

How can credit unions improve their web presence? A good way is to start with your members. They’re probably already telling you what they need, want and expect in your web offerings. You can also quiz your staff. Hopefully, they are members as well and their insiders’ insight can provide valuable data. Another option is to reach out to a firm specializing in website audits. Their review of your website may be hard to hear, but you need to if you want to improve, grow and attract new members via this channel.

“We spent $1 million on our new branch this year. I got $10,000 to revamp the website.” That’s a paraphrase from an actual client. Branches are important. But your online branch deserves just as much, if not more, time and attention.