The New Normal for Lending
Our company has been supporting the credit union industry for over 22 years. During that time I bet we have developed thousands of lending promotions. We know a few things about how to identify, present and help our clients generate loans.
by Mark DeBellis, PSB Integrated Marketing
However, the truth is we are all doing loan marketing the same way we have for years…but we hope that our results will be different.
The old way of lending tries to predict buyer behavior. We assume that if a member has a car for a certain period of time, or they are near paying off another loan, that logically they may be ready for another replacement car soon. That predictive approach is the best we have. After all, we can’t ever really know when someone is going to need a loan.
Recent programs have been introduced that allow the credit union the opportunity to have an alert set up when a member has applied for credit somewhere else. The alert notifies the credit union that there has been an inquiry and in fairly short order the credit union knows that a member is in the market for a loan.
Of course the challenge here is that the member has already started the process somewhere else. Plus, with near instant approval in so many venues, often you can’t do anything to change the outcome.
Remember how it felt when you have visited a website through a PURL…and then someone calls you before you’ve had the chance to finish your visit?
It’s borderline creepy.
The real opportunity that credit unions have is to do a much better job with their pre-approval programs. By pre-approving a large part of their membership on an ongoing basis for multiple products simultaneously, the member is always approved. Sure, this strategy works for the best members but those are the ones you need to protect.
Your best members demand and receive instant credit wherever and whenever they shop. That’s the new normal.
Adopt a new forward-thinking mindset to market your loans in advance of need, and integrate this communication into the organization and all the member touch points. You’ll find that instead of trying to predict demand, you’ll capitalize on member spontaneity. Once they know that the credit union always has their back, you’ll become the primary channel for lending.
Credit unions should be unafraid of the threats by the big lenders. Build on the relationship. Make it meaningful. Constantly remind them. Leverage technology.
It’s time to increase CU loan share.
