Winning back deposits

For years we’ve been talking about loans, loans, and more loans. Thanks to carefully crafted products, promotions and incentives, we’ve gotten pretty good at encouraging our members to borrow with us. Now, some of our credit unions are hitting the point of being loaned out and struggling to find the best way to entice deposit dollars without squeezing margins in a rising rate environment.

If your marketing team is tasked with getting deposits to flow back in, it’s time to brush up on ways to deepen relationships and get members to save. Get your head back into savings mode with these four launching points.

Pinpoint Your Members with Deposits

When you’re trying to get more deposits, the logical first step is to identify which of your members have money available. You can break this category up into the members who are currently saving with you, and those that likely have money to move into your credit union.

Work on maintaining relationships with members who are utilizing your Money Markets, CDs, and IRAs. That can be accomplished through interactions with your staff, marketing communications, and relationship pricing and perks. For members who likely have more to deposit, you can focus your business development and marketing on showing them your mission and all the value that you have to offer when they utilize more of the credit union’s services.

You may start by looking at your older members who are out of their borrowing years, but also consider high-earning singles, couples and families who are saving for down payments, education, and rainy days.

It’s generally more expensive to attract and onboard a new member than it is to keep an existing member, so don’t let yourself grow complacent with existing deposits. For new members, let them know what makes you unique and make it easy for them to get on board.

Dominate Your Niche and Build Loyalty

Gaining additional business with members and nonmembers is all about building loyalty. Consider what makes your credit union truly unique – the things that get members excited about doing business with you. Then, think about the niche that you want to dominate within the financial services industry and how you can use your business model to carve out your space.

When you talk to your audience, you want it to be clear what kind of experience and products a person will find when they interact with you. That helps set the expectation and attract people who are a good fit. Then, building the relationship becomes much easier.

Remember to connect with your audience on more than your product, as emotional connections are stronger than just a love for your account or pricing. You may even find that talking about awards, initiatives and charitable giving is more effective in gaining member’s complete portfolio than talking about each account individually.

Make it Easy to Move by Breaking Down Barriers

When’s the last time you took a look at the process for switching to your credit union?

If it’s been a little while, try mapping out the journey that a person takes when they are joining your credit union or opening an account. What you’ll undoubtedly find is at least one place where you can improve the process.

Look for barriers that you can break down through process improvement. Also look for places where you can enhance the excitement of opening an account. Naturally, people tend to dwell on the pain points and more easily forget the high notes. You can make the most of the good feelings you’re generating with a new member by creating even more relationship-building moments and cutting out hassles.

Be Deliberate with Your Pipeline

You can achieve small wins with promotional offers, but a more holistic view is better for long-term success. Consider the entire buyers journey when you’re crafting marketing campaigns so you reach people wherever they are: awareness, consideration, or decision.

Talk to people throughout the process and become really good at having conversations. That means reaching your audience where they normally spend their time, either in-person or digital, and crafting a message that helps them make their best financial decision. Follow ups and calls to action help you nudge them along until they are ready to buy in.

Major life cycle changes such as moving, having a child, or changing jobs, continue to be great opportunities for picking up new accounts. Since it can be hard to predict when these disruptions will happen, you can consistently talk about how you help members during these changes with targeted groups who will likely be in a similar situation.

Get Started

Every audience and credit union is different, so take these ideas and adjust them for your specific needs. Don’t be afraid to test ideas with small groups of your members to see what is the most effective before launching larger campaigns. If you focus on your unique advantages and work on building relationships with the right audience, the deposits will come.

Jennifer Laud

Jennifer Laud

Jennifer is a credit union marketing consultant and the owner of Jennifer Laud Consulting. She has a background in strategy and a passion for positioning credit unions to find their ... Web: www.jlaud.com Details