DigitalMailer has found a new way to save credit unions money by cutting out print and postage, reducing man-hours and increasing customer response.
As mentioned in the CU Times article "Northwest FCU Cuts Delinquencies, Costs With E-Mails", DigitalMailer helped Northwest Federal Credit Union come up with a new way to reach members who were behind on their loan payments.
From the article:
The credit union had over 55% of its member’s e-mails on file and implemented a new policy that required members taking out a loan to provide a valid e-mail address.
The credit union works with DigitalMailer on other digital communication products, so [Cindy Cherry, Northwest’s collection manager] approached the provider with the problem.
"I listened to the problem and thought with that number of e-mail addresses, they could stop or knock out a lot of the accounts before they got to the 15-day mark," said Ron Daly, president/CEO of DigitalMailer.
"This is technology that bank and credit card companies have used for years, it’s just about getting credit unions to start using it."
Northwest’s success was self-evident. Of 1,605 collection e-mails sent, 845 members have paid before the 15-day delinquency mark. They were able to find bad e-mail addresses and follow up with members who had missed their notification. Even though the number of delinquencies is still high for Northwest, the process of dealing with them is getting faster, more affordable, and more effective.
DigitalMailer can do the same for you!
Are you dealing with a high volume of delinquencies and limited collection resources? The DigitalMailer Automatic Relationship Builder can give you:
Accurate reporting of e-mail opens, click-throughs and forwards
Easy-to-use template creation system
Easy list management
Fast, reliable delivery
DigitalMailer is offering a new FREE webinar: Just a Reminder...How to make collections faster, easier, and more affordable
Paul J Lucas, national marketing and branding consultant and frequent CU Journal contributor, wanted to share some thoughts on brand management for credit unions. Visit Paul's website at pauljlucas.com,email at paul@pauljlucas.comor call (202) 320 5759 to learn more.
Going into 2010, the top brand challenges for credit unions will be:
1. Misunderstanding what a brand is and why it matters. It is important to have a brand strategy that is embraced by the entire organization. If your staff doesn't get it you can't expect your members to embrace your brand.
2. Lack of understanding in the marketplace that credit unions are ideal primary financial services providers - not just a good place to get a vehicle loan. This means that credit unions must explain both the credit union concept and their own specific brand stories.
3. Communicating that shared branching and ATM networks are competitive to the national presence of large banks. This is critical to a credit union's ability to compete against multi-branch banks (and credit unions). Yet most members have no idea what "shared branching" means or how competitive large ATM networks are compared to many large bank systems. Do not assume members know what "shared branching" means, or how to use it.
4. Bad advertising and marketing that obscure the brand and fail to communicate the credit union's benefits can erode brand value.
Your marketing/messaging must be clear, straightforward and benefits oriented.
Creative does matter - effective creative gets you noticed and it clearly states the benefits of using your CU.
All messages must be consistent building blocks for the brand: advertising; signage; brochures; newsletters; statement messages; eLerts - every member touch point.
5. Overemphasis on reaching new members at the expense of building more productive relationships with current members. Build brand loyalty inside-out! Your current members are the best prospects for increasing product and service penetration. That is key to building a successful, stable financial services organization
6. Letting impatience trump consistency. Throwing together ads, products, announcements, etc. without taking time to tie them to your brand strategy is counter-productive.
7. Constantly changing things in search of the "magic bullet." Changing offers, ad mediums, products, etc. in search of the one magic key to prosperity is a death spiral. There are no magic bullets beyond consistency and brand clarity.
8. Thinking business development reps will quickly and easily grow assets. Business development reps are only as good as they are managed and credit unions do not usually have experienced, effective sales managers on staff. Business development reps who are unskilled and untrained can do your Brand more harm than good.
9. Working with a marketing budget that is too small to achieve marketing goals. Some annual marketing budget benchmarks:
0.25% of assets at a minimum for small institutions.
0.50% for a larger SEG, near community or small market community CUs.
0.75 to 1.50% for large/urban community charter CUs.
10. Remembering that credit unions are chartered to lend money! That requires becoming a competitive retail marketer.
While some see red, Old Hickory Credit Union is seeing pink.
by Ron Daly
I'm sure football fans have noticed all the pink surrounding their favorite teams, cheerleaders and even stadium equipment the past few weeks. Sports Illustrated even "went pink" in its most recent issue, all to acknowledge the fight against breast cancer. I saw a great program go across the DigitalMailer production line this week and wanted to share it with everyone.
1. A team of Old Hickory CU employees will be participating in the Nashville Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event on Saturday, Oct. 24. Their goal is to donate $2500 to the American Cancer Society; 2. Old Hickory CU is selling pink umbrellas for $15, with $7 of that going to the American Cancer Society. These umbrellas also come with a set of coupons for credit union services that benefit members; and 3. All branches are offering information on breast cancer awareness, as well as supplemental cancer insurance policies.
When we inquired about the eLert topic Malinda Warchus, Assistant VP of Marketing commented “It might seem like a strange thing for a financial institution to send out an eLert about, but we are committed to improving the lives of our neighbors and making a positive difference in our communities. The outpouring of response from our members tells us that they like joining our cause.”
Not strange at all...and we agree with the members! In fact, I hear our DMI team is in line for any umbrellas that are left once the members are taken care of.
Most of the time, Credit Unions think they can only use member email addresses for eStatement notifications, newsletters or selling a new product or service. Those same email addresses can be used to communicate the difference between a bank and a credit union, as well as raising awareness among CU members the community outreach credit unions are involved in. Old Hickory CU has done just that by tying into a national promotion and using inexpensive methods of communication (email, electronic alerts, and monthly newsletter) and community outreach to reach members and potential members at a fraction of the cost.
Kudos and this effort speaks to the character of Old Hickory CU employees and management. Keep up the great work!
Paul J Lucas, national marketing and branding consultant and frequent CU Journal contributor, wanted to share some thoughts on brand management for credit unions. Visit Paul's website at pauljlucas.com,email at paul@pauljlucas.comor call (202) 320 5759 to learn more.
Hard Knocks - BIG Lessons
Late this summer HBO aired this year's "Hard Knocks" show about the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League training camp. Watching the series it became apparent that the basic building blocks of a winning team are universal - whether you’re on the football field, growing a company or building a successful credit union brand.
David Levitin, a neuroscientist and author of "This is your brain on music" estimates that it requires 10,000 hours of practice to master any craft. Studies of professionals from composers, to NBA players, to ice skaters show that it takes roughly three hours of practice a day, 20 hours a week, for 10 years to achieve the level of expertise we associate with world class. The next time you're tempted to think a top athlete was born lucky think about all the hard work it took to turn luck and talent into success.
Remember the old joke: one man stops another man on the street to ask, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The other man answers, "Practice, practice, practice." As managers it's much easier and a lot more fun to fall in love with hot new ideas than to keep slogging away at the same old basics day after day. The challenge is that those new ideas won't start yielding results until they become those old basics you keep slogging away at.
A successful organization is seldom built on innovation. Watching the Bengals prepare for the upcoming season I identified eight critical elements in their quest to become a winning team:
Leadership - without it numbers 2 through 8 are just exercises in frustration
Preparation
Focus
Execution - especially doing the little things right constantly
Follow-through
Accountability
Getting everyone working off the same strategic plan
Having the right people in the right places
Are you sitting there thinking you could have written that list off the top your head? Bottom line, knowing what needs to be done and making it happen are two very different things. Most successful CEO's I know would willingly mail their annual business plans and strategies to their competitors. Why? Because they know it's what you do every day in the trenches that counts.
So ask yourself:
A) Does your staff consistently up-sell the values and benefits of your credit union?
B) Do you have a brand strategy that everyone clearly understands, right down to knowing how their individual efforts help drive your brand efforts?
C) Can every staff member name the values, benefits and features of your CU?
If they can, keep up the good work.
If they can't, it's time to get in the huddle and make it happen.
A Special Message to Our Clients - There's No Such Thing as "Over-Disclosure"
by Ron Daly
With the Credit CARD Act of 2009 going into effect today, the talk in the industry is all about disclosure. CUNA News Now published this article "21-day rule: CUNA urges CUs 'document everything'" What's the best way to tell your members about the changes in credit card rules and the changes in your policies as a result of the CARD Act?
The Answer: ANY way you can tell clients about the new regulations is a great way to tell clients about new regulations.
The example below is from Belvoir FCU. Click the thumbnail to see the full size image.
For our clients: We want to let you know that we're here to help and that there are several ways we can increase awareness for your members - the way we did for Panhandle Educators (click below to see example)
We can add a notice to your eStatement notification emails, to your Customer Communication Center splash pages, we can load a permanent notice inside the available statement library, or we can even send a special notification through the ARB to your mailing list. The statement needs to be as clear as possible, and the more members see it the better they'll understand the new regulations.
For NON-Clients: We're more than willing to get you set up with a special one-time ARB email for your specific mailing list. Just give us the addresses and we can get the word out for you.
You and your credit union/financial institution are going to need to act fast to spread the word. Take advantage of the many channels you use to communicate already to be as specific as you can about the new regulation.
Just a Reminder...How to make collections faster, easier, and more affordable 
