6 minutes
Last summer at the World Credit Union Conference in Belfast, Ireland, I had the opportunity to meet with and interview Darren O'Reilly business development manager at Member First Credit Union, Dublin. Today, on International Credit Union Day, I wanted to share our conversation about the top issues facing credit union marketers in Europe.
What is the biggest difference in marketing techniques/strategies between Europe and U.S. today?
There are a number of differences between the marketing techniques and strategies used between Europe and the U.S. credit unions. Three such differences are centered on:
- the member’s appetite for personalized marketing;
- online buying behaviours; and
- tone of brand messaging.
There are opportunities for both U.S and European credit unions to learn from each other. The main challenge is first understanding the member culture to apply the practices in the most relevant way.
Why is this?
Customer intimacy is one of the most strategic ways to compete in the today’s marketplace – especially now given the availability of consumer data. This is particularly important for credit unions whose business model is based on that member-relationship. Among U.S. credit union members, this personalized marketing has become the expectation as customers have a comfortable mindset of brands delivering tailored marketing based on their data. In Europe, however, member culture is a little more conservative when it comes to credit unions using personal information and much remains to be done through educating European members about the value of using account information for tailored product marketing and advice.
Online behavior also differs on either side of the pond. In the U.S., credit union members use online channels with ease on the go via their smartphone, while their European counterparts lag behind when it comes to online behavior – particularly for making online purchases. Only half of European adults purchase online. The tendency in Europe is to research products and services online first and avail of them in branch.
In North America, calls to action in advertising are very direct and this type of messaging is perceived by European consumers as aggressive. European consumers prefer to be educated and informed rather than sold to. Therefore, European messaging takes a softer approach and focuses on providing a solution to a problem rather than a push approach involving direct calls to action to purchase a product or service.
What can we learn from each other in this area? (Are more alike than we think?)
There's a misconception floating around that European credit union marketing or European marketing in general is about 12 months behind their North American counterparts in adopting new marketing strategies. European marketers are just as advanced as North American marketers. And I'm not just saying that because I'm European. While the same types of strategies are used on either side of the pond, they are influenced by member culture. Therefore, the marketing goal may be the same but the execution is somewhat different to better resonate with the member in that region.
Are millennials as big a deal in Europe as they are here? Why or why not?
No matter what country your credit union is in, millennials are your most important demographic. As in North America, millennials are a big deal and a hot topic on many a credit union agenda in Europe. By 2030, millennials will outnumber baby boomers by 22 million. They will account for one third of all retail spending in the next five years, and soon, millennials will be 50 percent of the workforce. Recognizing the importance of millennials is the first step. But the greater challenge is to determine what your credit union needs to do in order to successfully attract millennials.
Having said that, credit unions have become obsessed with millennials and so they should be. But a credit union that solely focuses on millennials will go out of relevance. Millennials are not a niche youth segment but a generation who will ultimately give way to a newer generation. Therefore, millennial-focused credit unions will have to change their game to stay relevant. Credit unions need to be always evolving, planning ahead and acknowledging the next generation crawling into the marketplace – while being mindful of older generations and what appeals to them.
Where are we going for the future of marketing?
I believe the future of marketing will in credit unions be centered on mobile, personalization, transparency, social and content. The evolution of mobile is a prime factor influencing the marketing world as credit unions can leverage the power of mobile to strike up a more personalised relationship with their members.
To support this mobile approach, personalized marketing will become more refined as credit unions move from push strategies to focus solely on relationship building. As a result of the growing trends toward mobile and personalization, transparency will dictate credit union member relationships as members demand credit unions to make their dealings with them more transparent when it comes to data capture and use.
Social media plays a big role in providing marketers with data driven campaigns and it has the potential not just be a channel but the channel. Social media will continue to become an integral part of the broader marketing discipline for credit unions.
As a result of the growing role of social media, the need for good content will increase rapidly for credit unions. Content, particularly visual content in the form of video, will rule the roost in the online marketing world disrupting the conventional marketing models. Moreover, the level of creativity, relevance and speed at which a credit union can create content will play a part in their success.
Anything else to wrap up?
When it comes to marketing to millennials or marketing in general to most members today, traditional communication rules have not changed, but the consumption, speed and frequency of communication has. Credit unions can successfully engage members by following traditional communication rules of planning while being mindful of today’s consumers, their behaviors, their culture and what best appeals to them. Always be watching, always be evolving, always be learning, and always be listening to what your member has to say!
Mike Lawson, principal and founder of the PR/marketing firm DML Communications and the host of the online CUbroadcast show, has two decades of journalism, public relations and marketing experience. His unique and robust knowledge allows him to meet the varied needs of editors, end-users and clients. Lawson's expertise enables him to enhance his clients' market exposure through media relations, social media tools, advertising efforts, target marketing strategies and more. He also speaks on PR, marketing and media issues to audiences nationwide.
