2 minutes
If your credit union is in the market for a new email vendor, it can be overwhelming trying to decide which features are must-haves and which are nice-to-haves.
According to Ray Parenteau, founder/president of ClickRSVP, a Milford, Mass., a feature that should be considered standard is the ability to let members specify their email preferences while still remaining subscribed to the overall email program. This can be achieved through providing multiple content tracks.
"If a credit union offers only one content option, members who opt out are basically removing themselves from all future email marketing," he explains. With tracks, a member might opt out of messages about car loans but still get messages about home equity promotions.
Basic automation is another helpful feature, enabling automatic responding to certain types of member actions, like clicking on a link or requesting information, he says. For example, if a member clicks a link for more information about car loans, the CU could auto-send an email about its products. And of course, security features assuring internal stakeholders and customers that data/personal information is protected is essential.
Some beyond-the-basics features that credit unions might want to consider include the capability of personalizing the messages through triggered email capability, variable custom field insertion, and/or auto-responders, says Jesse Boyer, president/CEO of CUES Supplier member and strategic partner DigitalMailer, Inc., Herndon, Va. Other options he mentions include split testing, which enables credit unions to determine what has worked best in past campaigns, and various survey applications allowing for the capture of member feedback.
"Split testing (or sometimes referred to as 'A/B testing') is a way for email marketers to test out new techniques or formats for similar email campaigns to improve conversion rates (open rates, click-through rates, etc.)," explains Boyer.
"In short, if a credit union is looking to promote a specific product, they could send the same message but with two different subject lines ('Product XYZ on Sale!' and 'Discounts on Product XYZ'). Other things to test could be the call to action ('Buy Now!' and 'See Plans & Pricing!'), the personalization ('Mr. Jones' vs. 'David') or the specific offer ('Save 40%' vs. 'Get Express Shipping').
"By comparing the response or success rates of the two different campaigns, CUs are able to home in on the most effective means of communicating with their members," he says.
Pamela Mills-Senn is a freelance writer based in Long Beach, Calif.
Credit Union Management's online-only "Inside Marketing" column runs the third Thursday of the month.
