Posted by Christopher Stevenson
I like to travel for work. In my travel for CUES, I stay in very nice places--tropical resorts, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carltons, JW Marriotts, and so on. But before I worked with CUES, I trained teachers for a living. I was on the road two or three days every week and stayed in places like Holiday Inn Express, Fairmont, and, most notably, the DK Inn. In spite of my travel experience, or perhaps because of it, I've never been a hotel snob. I'd just as soon stay at a nice, clean Holiday Inn as a Ritz-Carlton. I've never learned to appreciate the finer features of luxury hotels. I don't use the spa or valet service. I rarely use the concierge and couldn't care less whether someone turns down my bed at night. I'm just too low-brow to be high-brow. But, I think I finally found a reason to go to a Four Seasons. The shower...mmmm...oh, yes...the shower...mmmm.
Uh, what I mean is the water pressure. The Four Seasons Las Vegas, where CUES hosted its 2008 CEO Network, had the best water pressure of any hotel I've ever stayed in. It wasn't the kind of water pressure that rips your skin off (who needs that?); it was perfect and constant. On top of that, the showerhead was high enough that I didn't bump my head on it...a real plus. 
Now, anyone who has seen me knows that I don't have any problem with thick, full hair interfering with rinsing shampoo out, and I certainly don't have to worry about using conditioner. But there's nothing better than getting in a really good shower when you have to get up at 5 a.m. to go to work. I'd go back to the Four Seasons Las Vegas in a heartbeat, if only for the water pressure.
So why am I writing this post? Is it just because I like to share my shower habits with my readers? Nope. (Listen carefully, and you'll hear the big sigh of relief from Lisa Hochgraf and Mary Arnold as they realize that I am not, in fact, trying to spice up Nexus Connection with shower stories.) The Four Seasons shower got me thinking about how organizations can best meet the needs of individual consumers.
I know I'm in the Four Seasons CRM system. Why aren't I getting offers catered to my whims? (Given, offering me a good shower in an e-mail marketing piece might be stretching it a bit, but you know what I mean.) What I receive from the hotel are generic announcements and offers for discounted rooms. Do they know which restaurants I eat at when I stay at their hotels? Uh uh. Do they know what I drink? No. Could they? Absolutely.
It's not necessarily easy, but every transaction I make at the hotel could be tracked by their CRM system and used to tailor their messages to me. Would that help them get a larger portion of my lodging dollar? You bet.
Think of your CU. How effectively are you using your CRM to keep track of your members' transactions and inquiries? Are you really tailoring your messages to their needs and wants or are you sending out blanket messages and hoping they stick? In an increasingly competitive marketplace, credit unions are much more likely to earn a larger portion of the consumer dollar if the message is tailored.
I'd love to hear success stories about effective use of CRM and database marketing. Who's doing it? How's it working out? Fill me in.
