by Ron Daly

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

No matter what new technological developments crop up, the old standards still hold. Billboards still draw eyes, there's still a "fold" in paper advertising spec sheets, and coupons bring in new business -whether they're clippable or clickable.

In a recent eMarketer article ["Coupons Boost E-Mail Open Rate", Nov 19 2009], coupons are shown to boost email open rates significantly. Whether the coupons are for in-store use or online use, users are more likely to click through when a significant savings offer is presented - 80% more likely, to be exact.

Coupons have become de rigeur in the recession. Services such as Groupon and Vente-privee have made a tidy business of selling discounts on local businesses and couture fashion via email. Savvy shoppers take full advantage of this trend by waiting out their daily coupon and snapping up opportunities that interest them. They don't have to stake out a site or enter a contest, however - they just have to open up their inbox. How could your business capture this trend for itself?

Well, for starters, how about your own services? We've talked about onboarding campaigns recently, email campaigns aimed at new members who might be in the market for your credit union's services. Why not make special coupon-style offers that are good for the life of the email to new members? Cut rates on interest earning services or give $25 worth of free money to anyone that takes the time to open a new account with you. The sky isn't the limit - your imagination and willingness to outreach is.

Some best practices that we can give you now (via email marketing reports):

1) No need for a fancy picture

A photo coupon might be interesting to look at, but what happens when your member's ISP blocks the image or removes it from the email altogether? Make coupons and coupon codes readable in plain text so members can see the value of what you're offering without any images to misplace or misinterpret.

2) Tighten up that net

You think that offering everyone the same rates is going to get everyone on board? College students have different wants and needs that their parents, just like first time home buyers have different wants and needs than long-time mortgage holders in the market for a HELOC. Use DigitalMailer's ARB to send to refined groups and specific age or income ranges.

3) Where's "step two"?

Your coupon was clicked by 10% of your target audience. That 10% counts as a group of qualified buyers - what about the other 90%? Is there a product or service that might better suit them? And quit bugging the 10% that already took you up on your offer - be more accurate and more precise in your marketing and you can save money in the long run.

Want to learn more? DigitalMailer's "Do You Want Fries with That?" Webinar is a FREE webinar that goes through email marketing with the Automatic Relationship Builder. We've helped financial institutions across the country reach customers and members in a number of exciting ways.

Click here to see available dates for this webinar and to sign up for the next session.

Labels: coupon, Coupons, e-mail, email, email marketing, Groupon, Marketing, marketing on a budget

Click Here to Read the Full Version of "No Scissors Required"

by Ron Daly

[Read all about this story on CUTimes.com or at CUNAMarketingCouncil.org]

NARFE Premier FCU in Alexandria, VA started using the Automatic Relationship Builder last summer to bring new services and products to members' attention.

Wanting to branch out into the world of email marketing, NARFE Premier marketing director Jessie Dederer turned to the team at DigitalMailer. Our recommendation? An on-boarding program aimed at new members who may not have been aware of everything NARFE Premier had to offer.

On-boarding campaigns are aimed at members that have just joined a credit union. The Automatic Relationship Builder takes in new member lists and sets up a series of emails to be sent to those members across a few weeks. A simple welcome email is followed by information about loans, mortgages, HELOCs, credit cards, checking accounts, money market accounts - anything the credit union thinks would be of interest to new members.

NARFE Premier's own campaign proved to be a great success. Deposit accounts increased 24%, while loan accounts increased 190%.

From the CU Times article on NARFE Premier's on-boarding campaign:

"This helped trim our marketing budget by 40%, and we are looking at finishing the year spending 50% less," said Dederer. "It's a win-win for everyone. We save money and are still able to deliver the same message with better results while reaching our members the way they want."

Want to get started with your own, customized on-boarding program? Click here to contact us.

Labels: Credit Union News, email, email marketing, member enrollment, NARFE Premier, On-Boarding, targeted marketing

Click Here to Read the Full Version of "NARFE Premier says "Get on board!""

Thanks to all our loyal readers for another GREAT year of blogging. We've covered industry news, met some great people and learned a lot about our clients, friends, and fellow bloggers.

Please take some time in the next few weeks to browse our archives. We'll be out of office/offline until after the new year. We hope everyone out there has a safe and happy holiday and that 2010 is a great year for everyone out there.

Thanks again, and we'll see you in '10!

Click Here to Read the Full Version of "Season's Greetings from DigitalMailer's Family of Blogs"

The Biggest Losers of 2009

Our version is not about weight loss - it's about losing paper and postage costs through eStatement enrollments. Twenty-one credit unions were vying for the top spot at the chance to win a Nintendo Wii console and Wii Fit.

Before we get into our winners, let's talk numbers. For every new member enrolled in eStatements, a credit union saves about $.50 in statement costs. That's $6 in savings per enrollment per year. Six dollars not sound like much? Well, multiply that by 17,079 new enrollments, the number of people enrolled in eStatements across all the CUs in our contest during the contest period. That makes $102,474 PER YEAR saved thanks to eStatements. One hundred thousand dollars saved inside of just over four months. If those members stay with their CUs for five years, that's half a million dollars - and a lot of trees - saved!

The winners for this year were chosen based on a complicated formula developed by our account managers that took into account number of new enrollments and percentage increase in enrollment volume.

Our runners-up did a great job and we wanted to highlight their efforts.

10. TopLine FCU
9. Paragon FCU
8. 1st Community CU
7. Palmetto Citizens
6. Decatur Earthmover CU
5. Jersey Shore FCU

HONORABLE MENTION

Town of Hempstead Employees FCU

Town of Hempstead took honorable mention (a position we created after the results were in) for launching their eStatements in time with the contest. They brought in hundreds of new users thanks to their use of our One-Click enrollment email. To applaud their adoption of eStatements and their hard work getting their program together, we decided to extend them a $50 Best Buy gift card. Congrats, and keep up the good work!

THIRD PLACE

Hudson River Community CU

Hudson River Community CU ran TWO instances of the One-Click enrollment email for a 39% increase in total enrollments for the contest period. To sweeten the pot, they offered $100 cash for each of the promotions they ran. Great work! A $50 Best Buy gift card is on its way.

SECOND PLACE

ABCO FCU

ABCO gave away iPods and Wii video game consoles to a few lucky members who signed up to receive eStatements. ABCO must be pretty lucky as well, because not only did they increase their enrollments 224.13% during the contest period, they walked away with a $100 Best Buy gift card and second place in our contest!

AND OUR GRAND PRIZE WINNER IS:
Gulf Coast FCU increased their enrollments 720% in the course of the contest period by making eStatements the default for Online Banking members. Not only do we applaud this method of enrollment for the cost savings, but it's a simple, one-step way for your CU to "go green", decrease paper use and print and postage costs!

Gulf Coast's efforts not only earned them our top spot, but will save their credit union an estimated $14,000 per year in statement costs.

Gulf Coast, the Wii Console and Wii Fit will be arriving at your door any day now. Congratulations on being DigitalMailer's BIGGEST LOSER OF 2009!

Click Here to Read the Full Version of "When does it pay to be a loser?"

by Ron Daly

No, not the Connie Francis song - I'm talking about where the BUYS are. We know (and we've mentioned before) that we're partial to email marketing. But you're wondering about the profitability of marketing via email and whether or not there's any impact when you're using email to market products. Which emails are sure to get opened?

If you're a credit union marketer, you have a particular challenge when it comes to email marketing, and a particular advantage to answer it. Your problem:

1. getting members to buy/invest more at the credit union,
   
2. getting them to recommend the credit union to friends, and
3. finding a way to get either done with a limited budget and in a limited space.

What's the advantage, you're asking? Take a look at this chart from eMarketer Daily.



According to this chart, financial emails are getting read between 60 and 70 percent of the time. When you send your eStatement reminders every month, your members are going to open them for a look-see. Why not start branding them and adding in links/ads for other services and support from your institution? Push new products and rates, or encourage members to tell a friend and promote your credit union to potential members in the community. Take advantage of the relationship you've already established and a high open rate. That's where the buys are - smart, well-placed ads that tell members and potential members what they need to know.

As Liz Miller of CMO Council says:

“Irrelevant, impersonal communications, be it email or traditional mail, is a waste as it does not engage a receptive recipient...It is no surprise that consumers are opting out of irrelevant emails. However, what is a grave sign for marketers to heed is that customers will disconnect and stop doing business with brands who continue to send messages that demonstrate a lack of intimacy, customer insight and individual understanding.”

Email marketing works best when you can tailor it to the target. If you're interested in getting members. The DigitalMailer Automatic Relationship Builder helps marketers do just that. How? Visit our ARB page or call us today to find out - 866.994.4900 ext. 115 or info@digitalmailer.com for more information.

Labels: Credit Unions, e-mail, e-Statements, Marketing, marketing on a budget, smart marketing

Click Here to Read the Full Version of "Where The Buys Are"