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A deeper understanding of the consumer mindset is required to make headway in today’s competitive arena of financial services.
CUES member Michelle Shelton, hired in mid-2016 as chief marketing officer with $646 million SCE Federal Credit Union, Irwindale, Calif., began her career in financial services as a teller and then moved into marketing a dozen years ago. She says two big changes over her marketing career have been the faster, broader information channels through which marketers can communicate with members and the deeper understanding of the consumer mindset required to make headway in today’s competitive arena of financial services.
“We used to think it was marketing about financial institutions and banking products. With all the information available today, we’re starting to think more of what consumers look for,” Shelton says. “When I’m working on a new initiative or marketing campaign, I’m looking at what Amazon is doing and what Google is doing versus only what Bank of America or Wells Fargo are doing.”
As financial services become more commoditized, “it’s really a question of ‘How do we tell our story and put our message out in a way that resonates with the consumers we’re going after?’ Because we’re not the only choice in town,” she adds.
If that story is told well, it helps build the brand consistently over time in a way that conveys the credit union’s values and sends a message to which members can relate on an emotional level, says CUES member Tony Dunham, SVP/sales, marketing and channel marketing with $1.2 billion Northern Credit Union in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Chief marketing officers are also increasingly tasked with internal branding—to develop messages that resonate with employees—which requires effective collaboration with colleagues in retail delivery and operations, says Peter Myers, senior vice president at CUESolutions provider DDJ Myers Ltd., Phoenix. “When we match the internal brand to the external brand, the credit union is much more successful in member services.”
Karen Bankston is a long-time contributor to Credit Union Management and writes about credit unions, membership growth, marketing, operations and technology. She is the proprietor of Precision Prose, Eugene, Ore.
