By Denise Wymore
How do we systematically go about forgetting everything we know, before it destroys us?—Tom Peters
What if we got it all wrong? If 20 percent of your members are providing you 80 percent of your income, why did you spend the majority of your marketing budget trying to woo in complete strangers? Why in the world would you spend your existing members' money on a campaign that offers a better rate than you're willing to give them? And why would you take dividends from long-term members and buy iPods to give to expensive single-service households? What if we got it all wrong?
I am grateful for this economy for one reason. It requires we step back and take a look at everything we spend money on and ask, is this necessary?
In 1999 as we were busy making Y2K preparations, we learned that marketing was a non-essential function. Should we wake up on Jan. 1, 2000, with no computers functioning, would we put any resources toward marketing? Not likely. That was a warning shot across the bow in my opinion. And many ignored it.
It's time to let our members market for us again. It's the best marketing, it's free, and you know it. But how do we let go of what we know, before it's too late?
- Stop cheating on them. If you still have a core sponsor that is healthy, happy and loyal, you need to spend more time at "home" and less time trolling for new partners (SEG, community).
- Know them. Identify your top 20 percent (you may find it's an even smaller number). Go beyond how much they have on deposit or in loan balances. Who are they? What makes them so loyal?
- Invest in them. Ask yourself, what have you done for them lately? Pretend your credit union is small again. You know them all by name and you just pick up the phone and thank them for their business. How about taking them to lunch? Or buying THEM an iPod as a gift—not a bribe?
- Enable them. This is the true definition of social media. Encouraging, allowing and supporting communication. It is not marketing. There is no better example, in my opinion than Verity Mom.
Retention is the new acquisition. Everything old is new again. Imagine you've just started a financial cooperative in the lunch room. Ten people are committed to pool their resources so those who can save will get a good return and provide funds for those who need to borrow. Now relax and let them market for you—again.
Denise Wymore is a firebrand, marketing consultant and credit union lifer. Check out her blog, Cult-ivation.
