The Story Sells!
by Lyle Heller, CU-VO
A friend of mine, Lori Silverman of Partners for Progress (www.partnersforprogress.com), is a speaker, consultant, and author connecting people to possibilities. She has worked with a number of credit unions across the country demonstrating the power of the “story”. In this article, we integrate a number of Lori’s published findings with credit union website communications.
Internet growth for credit unions is well documented and its value to credit unions is increasing. But value to sales of credit union services can be improved.
After personally viewing 5,732 credit union websites, my overall conclusion is credit union websites tend to be collections of data rather than integrated marketing tools. “Crawlers” and rotating banners are frequently used to catch visitor’s attention. Since these approaches are frequently part of a group of messages, it is difficult to determine their effectiveness.
A credit union website has two major roles: to market and sell services and to provide account access for members. These two aspects must be balanced. The member wishing to perform a transaction wants to complete their business as quickly as possible. Just like visiting Walmart means running the gauntlet of greeters can be bothersome if you are in a hurry. But many other members requiring services need to be “sold”.
Loyal members will use the credit union website regardless of how it looks, because they are loyal and understand the value they receive. (Some of us may remember the days when the credit union was down near company Payroll.) But some proportion of members use services, such as auto loans, from other sources. Why? Perhaps the story approach will make the emotional connection to change the matter.
According to Jim Stead, chief development officer for Utah Community Credit Union, (now VP of Human Resources), “Stories communicate information in fewer words with less time and the point comes across stronger. [When] you touch emotions you create greater impact and make the issue more relevant.”
Stories in the credit union industry are a cultural tradition,” according to Mike Beall of the North Carolina League, World Council of Credit Unions and Missouri Credit Union Association. They have been used effectively in a variety of functions for many years. Stories are being used in sales and marketing and fund development.
Summit Credit Union (Madison) documented a marketing campaign built on a story through photographs and text a number of years ago and exceeded their loan goals by 35%. Website video overlay can supplement such a campaign at dramatically less cost.
Because we are a sound bite world, communication needs to be quick and effective, and much can be accomplished in 45 to 60 seconds, especially with targeted video overlay.
Consider the following: People read at about 177 words per minute. A typical article of 500 words requires about 3 minutes to read. The average person speaks at about 200 words per minute, but comprehends up to 600 words per minute. We stated in a previous article that body language, available personally or by video effectively double the amount of communication in a given time frame. So a rational story is possible.
Lori states that a story consists of a beginning, middle, and end. Simple enough, but look at how this may be done. Present the situation context. Introduce a character. (Remember “Joe the Plumber” from the recent presidential campaign?) Establish the obstacle that is overcome by the credit union service. Develop the credit union’s solution.
Sharing stories can help build rapport and credibility as well as believability in the shared information. Stories captivate people’s interest and make them more attentive.
Is your credit union marketing using stories to connect emotionally with members who need credit union service? Increase the effectiveness by incorporating a story.
Can you tell a 60 seconds story that “sells”? Are you achieving results? Consider the use of stories and video overlay in your next credit union marketing plan and budget. The results will be rewarding and the costs less than traditional media purchases of just a few years ago.
This series is authored by Lyle Heller of CU-VO. Mr. Heller holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from University of Wisconsin – Whitewater and a Masters of Business Administration in Production and Operations from Marquette University. Mr. Heller served as Executive Vice President of two CUNA organizations. He has lectured in at the university level in Quantitative Decision Analysis, Simulation, Systems Analysis, and Marketing for more than ten years. Additionally, he was a top-ranked winner of the 2005 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan contest. CU-VO is a strategic partner of CUNA Strategic Services to provide video overlays to credit unions. Learn more at www.cu-vo.com and follow CUVOTweet.
