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.
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.
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:
getting members to buy/invest more at the credit union,
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.
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.
How to wear a barrel in a way that flatters the hips
by Ron Daly
Yes, I know. It's a joke that's getting less funny, because it's slowly becoming reality. People are losing homes, jobs are disappearing, business is bad all around. And we, dear friends, are in an industry that is constantly under the microscope (read about the CU industry's recent scrutiny on our other blog, the CU Soapbox). We're on the tightrope, and we need to stand up straight and tall to get through.
Marketing suffers at a time like this. People and businesses trying to do more with less are often left with nothing at all. And while "no news is good news" applies in some aspects of life, it sure doesn't work for the CU industry. A diminished marketing budget only means you have to be smart about spending.
Multiple studies show that companies that keep their messages and brands in the public's eye during a recession often come through hard times much better than those that don't. One such study, by MarketSense, proved the point with the 1989-91 recession: Brands such as Jif Peanut Butter and Kraft Salad Dressing increased advertising, and saw sales grow 57 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Pizza Hut and Taco Bell stepped up promotion, increasing sales by 61 percent and 40 percent. But McDonald's, which took the opposite approach, had a 28 percent decline in sales over the same period. Case Study: Innovative Recession e-Marketing
Solidarity Federal Credit Union is taking an innovative approach to recession marketing: YouTube-style videos. The Kokomo, Indiana-based credit union is emailing promotional clips to targeted members, using short videos created in-house. Members tell their own stories about why they like the credit union's services, such as electronic checking and at-home check deposit. And according to Vice President of Marketing Diana Tenbrook, members' recommendations go a long way to boost credibility.
Tenbrook says the credit union began its unique approach to differentiate SOLFCU from its banking competitors. But with tighter budgets in today's down cycle, the credit union has found email can extend its marketing efforts without draining resources.
SOLFCU uses DigitalMailer's email engines to distribute the information. Here's the latest SOLFCU latest video clip, where Jake and Kylie, a newlywed couple, discuss how they had to deal with enormous bank fees with no explanation!
"Emailing these clips has actually resulted in some viral marketing, with members spreading the word after viewing them," Tenbrook said. "One of our members, who has a home-based business, told us people come up to her in the grocery store and say they've seen her in a Solidarity video."
Using DigitalMailer's email marketing service, SOLFCU can ensure that the emailed videos get to the inboxes of members who want to receive them. And with a high open rate of nearly 30 percent, the strategy is clearly working.
When we bring in a new client, we try and convince them that using email to on-board members is faster, easier, smarter and more effective than other methods. Email's great for building and strengthening member relationships. And we're not the only ones who think so.
BAI just published this article (click here to read) about E*Trade's on-boarding email practices. What's more, they presented this graphic representing the results of a Javelin research study.
[For details, click the image.] People are asking for email statements/communication. And for just the reasons I stated:
1) SPEED - Why wait on paper mail to get in touch with people? Two weeks to make one statement say "hello and welcome" to a new member? 2) EASE - One campaign can roll out within a matter of hours, not weeks worth of printing and prep. 3) INTELLIGENCE - Know who to send to, when to send and what to say. Don't waste time blanketing every member when you can target specific members and groups. 4) EFFECTIVE - You want $1.4 Million in new loans? Want to boost ROI? We've got the means.
Our ARB can do for you what E*Trade does for their new customers. To learn more, sign up for our webinar "Do you want fries with that?" by clicking the icon at the top of the left column.
That question is one of the most famous examples of up-selling in American history. Today, credit union executives and marketing teams are striving to create the same up-sell message that will increase their service-per-member ratios. The fact of the matter is, credit unions are not really that good at up-selling when they are not face-to-face with the member. Until now...
How do you seal the deal in a wireless world?
Wikipedia defines Up-selling as a sales technique whereby a salesman attempts to have the customer purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or other add-ons in an attempt to make a more profitable sale.
Not too long ago a member had to walk into a branch to join, add a new service they needed or get a loan for a dream that they had. The face-to-face contact made our jobs easier to up-sell additional products or tell them what was new at the credit union.
Not anymore. Members can now join remotely, apply for loans online, make deposits and withdrawals from free ATMs around the world and hit a shared-branch. Have you ever stopped and considered how many members actually walk into your branches? Wonder if some members even know where your branches are? Or quite possibly what a credit union really is?
Sealing the deal in today’s wireless world is challenging credit unions. Experience has shown that credit unions are really not that good at up-selling when they are not face-to-face with the member.
TELL US NOW:Does your credit union still rely on face-to-face up-selling as its main method of moving products to members?
On Greed and Fear: How Credit Unions get the most out of the crisis.
by Ron Daly
Came across an article today written by Warren E. Buffett. Buffett knows money, I think that's safe to say. Read his very good article here.
Anyway, he said something in his op-ed piece that really stuck with me:
"A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."
This was one of those things that, on the first read, was smart sounding. But reading it again gave me a clarity I hadn't expected. It made me think about our industry and how we SHOULD be looking at the opportunity presented. Now, more than ever, attention is placed on the stability of credit unions versus big banks. In the midst of the big earning days of low-rate loans and bum securities, banks were greedy and CUs were fearful...fearful of loaning and mortgaging irrational sums. Naturally, lending money to people who couldn't afford to pay it back turned out to be a bad idea.
So now comes the time where CUs are thriving and banks are scrambling to make up the difference. Is this the time to drop marketing? Is this the time to be weak-willed when it comes to drawing members? Quite the contrary.
Now's when CUs need to:
1) Market Hard 2) Consider their next round of member rewards and incentives 3) Become the "Bull" of finance, not the "Bear".
You are worthy of attention, CUs - you made the right decisions at the right time and you're getting praised for that. Now's your chance to be greedy when the other financial institutions are fearful.
Part 1 of our long awaited "SPAM Series" is a horror story (just in time for the start of October...we're all excited about Halloween over here). Jeffry Pilcher, E-I-C of the blog The Financial Brand, sent me a story (and seven or eight actual examples) of e-mail gone wrong.
What follows is the story of..."THE MAIL THAT WOULDN'T DIE!"
I never signed up for email notifications from Jupiter Images, a stock photo supplier. Nevertheless, I started getting email from them. Too much, too little relevance. So...
April 29 – I try using the unsubscribe option in the email. It bounces back.
April 30 – I send an email directly to the sender of the spam (rare that there was an actual, real reply-to address). I told him I no longer was in a position to buy stock photos, so “please remove me from your mailing list.”
May 22 – I’m still getting spam, so I try the unsubscribe option again. No dice.
May 22 – I send this message to sales@jupiterimages.com: “I should be able to unsubscribe. I believe Jupiter's non-functioning unsubscribe email address is in violation of the anti-spam laws. Please fix this. Thanks.”
May 29 – The sales rep sending out spam says he’s trying to take care of this for me. He wants to know if I want to be completely removed from every email list they have. I tell him "yes."
June 3 – Still getting spam. Try unsubscribing again. Nope. Send emails begging: "Unsubscribe me pleassseeeee."
June 5 – More spam. I’m f**king pissed now. Blood boiling. I go online and Google as many Jupiter email addresses I can find, then send the following message to 26 employees of the company: "Sorry, I don’t want to be a jerk, but nothing else has worked and I’m out of options... I’ve tried THREE TIMES to unsubscribe from your mailing list, but YOUR UNSUBSCRIBE EMAIL ADDRESS HAS BEEN DISABLED, which, by the way, IS ILLEGAL. ILLEGAL! My patience has expired. An "unsubscribe" process that should have taken 3 seconds has now taken seven emails (make that 8, with this one) over the span of a month. A MONTH???? EIGHT EMAILS??? This is unacceptable. I’ve highlighted the most-relevant excerpts from this process in my messages below. I think everyone can agree that this would push even the most patient and understanding person past the breaking point. Your company will IMMEDIATELY find a way to stop sending me emails. IMMEDIATELY. NOW. Thank you —in advance— for your swift and effective response. P.S. - I don’t want any more emails. Period. That includes apologies or explanations. I don’t want to see another email from Jupiter EVER. Just take me off your list. All of them."
June 6-15 – Despite my request to the contrary, I get emails from these folks apologizing and promising to do whatever they can to remedy the situation. "Eff you... just do it," I’m thinking.
July 24 – Yep, you guessed it. BINGO! Another promotional spam email. This time, the message was short and to the point: "You have got to be kidding me... One more email from you and I’m calling a lawyer. Got it? - jp"
July 25 – The sales guy figures out the only way he can stop email from getting to me is to go in and change my email address. He can’t delete it. He can’t change its settings. All he can do is garble up the address so that it bounces back.
Future – If I get another email, I’ll spend up to $5,000 of my own money on a lawyer.
Frightening, yes? It's all too common. From Greg:
The CAN-SPAM Act uses broad language. Where Jeffry says he didn't sign up for e-mails is an example of this, as businesses are allowed to dispatch e-mails to clients/patrons without a prompt. But Jeffry was facing a problem that's fairly common - it's not that the people sending you the automated e-mail don't provide a solution, it's that the solution doesn't work.
In thinking more and more about SPAM, I realized a fundamental truth: SPAM is in the eye of the beholder. Jeffry didn't want his e-mail about pictures just like anyone else might not want chain e-mails about the Arctic Fox or the Presidential Campaign. In either case, they're a grievance, but it's the simple fact that you're getting a whole lot of what you DON'T want that makes it so aggravating.
Special thanks to Jeffry for sharing his indignation with us.
In the next few weeks, Greg Crandell will shed light on the origins of SPAM - how it came to be, how it continues, and how you can avoid it on both ends of the e-mail spectrum.
Before we here at DigitalMailer begin this long and winding road to understanding SPAM, we want to hear from you. How has SPAM affected your personal life, your e-mail, the way you do business online, your marketing efforts, or your world in general?
If you have questions, comments, stories, photos, screenshots, videos, recordings...whatever... that has to do with SPAM, send it to us at this address. We want to hear from you.
20&Change: What're Ya Worrying About? [**SPECIAL REPORT: THE JIMMY CHALLENGE CONTINUES!**]
When my dad was 20, he asked my Uncle Allen, his brother-in-law, if he could borrow his brand new car. Allen wasn't sure, but dad told him he'd be very, very careful. He even went so far as to throw in a "don't worry".
Dad drove Allen's car into a river.
My grandmother was mad, but not surprised. Which brings me to Gen - Y marketing or, more appropriately, Gen - Y mentality. Lindsey Siegriest from CUTimes Wrote about this just recently (read the article here), saying Credit Unions and other financial institutions should start looking at not just Gen-Y, but "Gen-Z". That would be Tweens and Teens that are verging on spender status. After all, marketing professionals consider seven to be the start point of Gen-Z advertising - kids of age 11 are considered active consumers (more horrifying stats about how much young people spend can be found here).
That said, it's important to remember that Gen-Y is one slice of a $175.1 Billion dollar pie. A large slice of pie, to be sure, but a slice nonetheless.
In Communication, there is a theory known as the "Two-Step Flow of Communication". The idea is that there are opinion leaders and opinion followers - followers follow the leader. Still with me? Good.
Young people, more specifically Gen-Y, look to our parents to give us guidance and help us make decisions. We trust, respect, and admire their decision making skills. And here is where I eat a little crow: I, too, am "Gen-Y-ish" and wanted to get away from my point of origin from ages 14 to 20. But I, too, ask my parents about the big calls I have to make. And I've learned from their examples AND their mistakes. Here's the news that's not really news: YOUR KIDS WANT YOUR OPINION AND YOU CAN HELP THEM MAKE GOOD INVESTMENT DECISIONS. I don't need an article to back that up, but here's one anyway.
People my age and younger want to know they've done the right thing by socking their money away in a checking/savings/investment account. Let them know all the benefits and the differences in their choice of service. I'm not saying that the creative approaches to Gen-Y investing aren't good - some of them are really extensive (Young and Free, which is in Texas now), some are simple but to-the-point (BankerSpank.com), and some of them are hillarious (WhatTheB.com).
Then there's folks like me (you're reading the article) and CU Tomorrow from Filene (Hi, Ben and the Gang!) and Dane, Elliott and Lydia over at Callahan (they did their big webinar and it was a SMASHING success. Way to go, guys!). We just shout out our thoughts about the way we think and folks seem to get a kick out of it. But as much as you, the "big-wigs" rely on us for insight, remember: we're looking to our parents to give us guidance.
THE THREE COMMANDMENTS OF GEN-Y MARKETING: Don't talk down to us Don't waste our time with boring details, and Don't expect us to run right to financial responsibility.
(last minute fourth): And don't worry...we'll figure out how to save soon enough.
That said, it's time for "The Jimmy Challenge!" How much have I got saved after this past paycheck?
Drum roll....
$5! The amount I started with to open my member savings account. It seems that the idea of financial security was less tempting than a Redskins game and a concert...hoo boy.
Since this is our first time out, I'll forgo the "What Ron Says" section about how best to invest the amount I've got saved. I've decided to hang onto this tiny amount and wait until next week, when I'll have to start...you know, saving money. For real.
Have any ideas for what I could do with Mr. Lincoln? Send me 5 bucks worth of ideas to blogs@digitalmailer.com.
Ron Daly's new segment, "Ron Rants", tells readers what gets him angry.
Every so often, I pick up my phone and find that the person calling is someone at their wits' end. They've had it with their inferior service at another vendor and they've finally called us to help them get their systems working the right way. Some call it "a lesson learned the hard way". I call it "getting hosed."
HOSED (n.) - Taken advantage of by a service provider that does NOT know what they're doing.
Why do people do this, you wonder? Because there's some sort of crazy idea about Internet services that says cheaper services are just as good as other services that are a bit more costly. This is as good as saying that a gas station hot dog is as delicious and filling as filet mignon. What gets in people's heads that says "this costs drastically less, but must be just as good"?
Does this mean that every online service that's any good is expensive? No. But when you pay money for a service - of any kind, really - you should be getting your money's worth. When your e-mails don't get through and your surveys don't produce results, you're getting hosed. H-o-s-e-d. So how do you avoid this?
1) DO YOUR HOMEWORK - It's not impossible to comparison shop web services. Good businesses can back up their performance with testimonials. They have corporate partners in the same line of work. They have evidence of success in the form of awards, mentions, and accolades. Are these things missing from your provider's site? They're HOSING you. Failing anything else, ask other businesses that have used the service in question. Hear what THEY have to say. With Web 2.0 becoming more and more prevalent, the idea of dialog is so important. Have a chat with people who know what's happening.
2) ASK FOR PAPERWORK - It's called due diligence. You take the time to ask for reports on success rates, for survey results, for feedback. When they don't provide it, give them the boot.
3) REMEMBER: IT HAPPENS BOTH WAYS - Every business began as a small business. Google was once something overshadowed by Yahoo!. Apple floundered for most of the 90s. David doesn't always slay Goliath, but he CAN avoid being stepped on: when you can get the same thing from vendor A that colossal vendor B has been giving you at a fraction of the cost, make the best decision you can.
Good support is everything. When your "helper" stops "helping", it's time to move on. Get the most out of your dollar and don't settle for second best. No one gets into business to be the most mediocre corner of the market. Long story short: DON'T GET HOSED!
Key West, FL - With Tropical Storm Fay bearing down on Florida, Keys Federal Credit Union wanted a way to let everyone know their branches wouldn't be open Monday morning. DigitalMailer worked overnight to make sure that the people of Key West knew the situation and prepared an e-Lert to help get the word out to members. The e-Lert went out Sunday evening and Monday found a number of people in the know about the storm and the situation.
UPDATE: The CREDIT UNION NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (CUNA) newsletter, CUNA NewsNow, published a story about Tropical Storm Fay and its effect on Credit Unions in Florida. DigitalMailer was featured in the article for its contributions to Key FCU's emergency information plan. Read the full article here: More CUs close as Fay gains strength
DigitalMailer's Crisis Management Notification System offers e-Lert services to your business to connect with customers and make them aware of threats and increase security and safety. Messages can be received by e-mail or by mobile device. To learn more, write us at info@digitalmailer.com or visit our CMNS page
Ron Daly answers a question that he gets asked a lot.
What you're seeing is a mass e-mailing system utilized by a Credit Union that did not previously use DigitalMailer to get the word out about it's services. The left-most column is a list of ISPs and e-mail providers. The colored bars are the measured success of their campaign. The red indicates eMail that failed to go through entirely. The yellow shows e-mails that were treated as bulk or junk mail by the server. The green bars are the only e-mails that made it to their destination. Only 35% of eMails got through to the customer. Click on the image for further details.
What you're seeing now is the proof that DigitalMailer provides systems that work.
97% of eMails sent by DigitalMailer on behalf of the same Credit Union reached their target. Talk about results you can see.
Did you know that display ads account for more than 20 percent of US online advertising? At DigitalMailer, we specialize in finding the best ways to make your messages seen and heard. Some things to keep in mind: Location, Location, Location - Remember to keep your ads where they can be seen, which isn't to say that the top of the page is best - better to keep the ad within the initial screen viewers will see when they first click onto your site. One pitfall to avoid - don't put the banner right at the top of the page.
Make it interactive - Banner ads that lead to other pages and to the offers they promote mean more movement, more immersion, and more traffic to other key areas of your site. "Click-through" opportunities or links make for engrossed viewers.
Be fresh - Banner ads can be made to rotate, making it possible to show several offers in a matter of seconds. They can also be updated fairly frequently to make sure your customers can always see the most current information. Take advantage of this power - let customers know with only a few words what you have to offer and how they can make it work to their advantage.
I popped into DC yesterday (translation: "fought my way through nearly NYC-level traffic while trying not to run over all the joggers with iPods who don't care that the light-up hand means DON'T WALK") to have lunch with Lydia Cole and Dane Coalson, the Gen-Y Industry Analysts for Callahan, Inc. They were plenty friendly, taking time out of their day to go to a swanky little pan-asian joint a block or so away - thanks, by the way, to Cafe Asia, for terrific Pad Thai and a very funky atmosphere.
The things we talked about were mostly resume comparison - they went to different universities than I did (Dane's a Wahoo, Lydia went to Wellsley), they were different majors (Psyche and American Studies, respectively), and they went through Callahan's very involved orientation process. In that respect, they learned credit unions from the inside out and then went right into cutting them open like a biology-class frog. A gross analogy, I know, but worth noting because the two of them get credit union's concerns. They've been given a glimpse behind the curtain that very few get, and they really do know how to get that information across to readers. I'm from a much different spectrum - I didn't even know what a Credit Union was starting out. So, what did I know? I knew about the internet, I knew about where it was going, and I knew what was/wasn't working for businesses trying to cash in. Beyond that? I find out the answers when the questions come. It's a learning process for me, and it's shared by Lydia and Dane, too. They want for their stories and blogs what I want for mine - readership. And they've been getting it. I'm envious in a good way. It's strange, thinking that I've gotten to the point in my life where college is on the way out and real life is creeping on in. The work I've done, the things I've tried, what little of that handful of things has succeeded - yesterday, it hit me that all of that has become my experience. The fact that there are two other people in the world that started where I did and made their way to something important is sort of enlightening. For the record, both Lydia and Dane are considered "analysts", which is pretty big in my opinion...I'm still working on becoming the "Czar" of something, because honestly, what better title is there? But, I digress.
"You have to learn a lot about the industry," Dane said, spilling some manner of sauce on his shirt. "We can all bank on our youth as a selling point or point of interest, but better to know the industry and have plenty to say."
"That's true," said Lydia over her delicious looking fried rice platter. "I wrote an article about the recent upswing in borrowing. It's been well received." It's true - Lydia's article has, to date, received 535 reads, which is terrific. We talked about a lot of things during our all-to-brief lunch: where's the best calamari in town; who's coming out with what Webinars; how we didn't have internet for the longest time before seeing our first dial-up connection come to life; how we're all working to make Web 2.0 something that is useful to the credit union industry. But beneath all our crazy ideas and our real-life snippets, the air of dedication. The kind of dedication it takes to believe that what we're doing is helpful - to people, to the industry, to our companies, to the future and the concept of growth. If we didn't care about what we do, it wouldn't just fester beneath the surface and never show. A lack of dedication online means the whole world can see your displeasure. It's our goal to always put our best foot forward and to do unto the internet what it's done unto us: inform, inspire, enlighten, and expand.
Leaving DC yesterday taught me two outstanding lessons:
1) When planning a trip, know not only where you're going to go after you've parked, but where you're going to be parking. $14 for a decent garage and I still nearly had a coronary when I thought the valets lost my car in the lot.
2) Don't be afraid to reach out to others in the industry that can give you advice, help, and encouragement. Lydia and Dane know what it takes to reach the "youngsters" in the credit union arena. They're sharp, they're self-aware, and they're willing to show you the way. I'd be a fool to think my own experience/the information I gather is enough - I have to rely on the people who really do know the ins and outs of making this business - or any business, for that matter - work.
Which brings me to DigitalMailer, my "handlers". They've been good sports about unleashing me on the internet like some terrible hurricane because they trust my judgement. I've been through the gauntlet of the online world from a few sides now and each trip through has taught me something new and useful. I'm gaining more knowledge every day, finding new ways to pigeonhole it into my work here. In the end, I give them the best I've got and they give me a check that's worth the time it took. How do they get the money for that check?
Because they do what I do, but on a much larger scale.
DigitalMailer gives credit unions a look at their experience and their knowledge in the form of hard numbers. They've helped credit unions make millions in new loans and new members. Their systems are, quite literally, second to none in terms of dependability, speed, reach and return. There are few, if any, people that do this as well as we do. We learn more about our potential to serve all the time, and we apply that learning to the process of improving and maintaining our systems. It can seem risky to hire an outside company to boost marketing, increase member participation, and increase ROI. But people hire DigitalMailer for the same reason Dane, Lydia and I all wound up with our jobs - they want to improve their relationships with the people that make up their business. In my study of Public Relations, I've learned about brand loyalty. The folks that use us do so for one specific reason - there's nobody better.
I get the feeling that, barring anyone finds out about my beautiful singing voice and suave, manly looks (are you getting this, Hollywood?), I'll be at DigitalMailer for a good long while. I'll keep doing my best to let you know that DigitalMailer is the best at what we do. You just be sure to pay attention.
As someone who has been in the business of marketing financial services for quite a while now (tomorrow's my birthday, but that doesn't mean you should know how old I am), I got a bit of a chill when the MySpace/Facebook movement came along: I stay in touch with the "new tricks" of the day as best I can, but how does one learn to market on a whole new wavelength?
As Jimmy discussed yesterday, users - even young adult users - are reluctant to purchase and deal on social network applications. Another article from eMarketer, seen here, shows statistics that prove what I've known for a while now: e-mail marketing works. People prefer to deal with businesses via e-mail, and that's a statistic that goes across a number of age boundaries.
Numbers still remain low for telephone purchasing/level of appeal. I think the reason for this might just be the reason Jimmy outlined yesterday. Facebook, as I see it, is a lot like telephone. You like to hear from friends and family. Over the phone, however, you can't find people that have the same interests as you and you can't join "phone groups" of people who share said interests. That said, the purpose of the two mediums is mostly the same: keep in touch. You might be less than receptive in dealing with a telemarketer (see the "do-not-call" list as proof of that) because they're taking phone time away from people from whom you'd like to hear. The same goes for Facebook - better to let it be a personal space, perphaps, and let the business be done in e-mail...where some 60% of consumers like to do business in the first place.
Face to Facebook: Online Social Networks Might Not Be the Goldmine You Think They Are
Jimmy Marks, Special Guest Author and DigitalMailer's Whippersnapper-in-Chief, talks about Social Networking dollars and digs (or is it "diggs"?) into the bottom line.
I woke up this morning and started on my routine. Toaster-waffles cooking? Check. Coffee brewing? Check. Paper somewhere close to the driveway? Not even close, so...check. And once all the unimportant bits are finished, I go for the laptop. E-mail first, then the morning cartoons, then Facebook. I'm a die-hard "facebooker" - I have been since Facebook's inception my freshman year of college. By the way (I'll bet you didn't know this), Facebook wasn't always Facebook: it started as "AboutFace", a web application designed to be a directory system for industry professionals. Don't believe me? I wouldn't either...which is why I included a link to Facebook's history, courtesy of the Wayback Machine.
So, we have Facebook, MySpace, YouTube - some of the biggest companies that came from some of the most simple ideas. Back in the day, when I was a foolhardy 12-year-old, we had Yahoo! GeoCities - little websites you could cobble together with a primitive WYSIWYG and show off to whomever. You could make a site about anything and, with enough patience (hey, remember dial-up?), you could be a web-wunderkind. But making web pages was tedious at 56k and the odds anyone would care to look at your page were slim. So, it seemed there was just no way to get a hand into the Internet.
Until the birth of Web 2.0, that is.
Suddenly, life was sweet: you could have a page that you didn't have to know HTML to maintain and update! It could have pictures, video, gadgets, information, lists of songs you like, blogs...anything! Best of all, the internet evolved into something that didn't take too long to understand or utilize. So, here we are, a few years older and lifetimes ahead of where anyone believed we'd be. Of course, capital has to come into play, so advertising gurus took aim at sites such as these with the goal of hooking "the youngsters" into purchasing their various wares. A smashing success...right?
No, not really.
Sure, if you choose to advertise on sites like these you'll get some return. But will it be what you expect? And if you're a financial institution (I'll assume you are), can what you're "selling" be boiled down to pure numbers?
The dollar amount is revenues per unique visitor. According to the article linked above, that number is swelling, as is the number of businesses that are gunning for the social network market. It's not a bad idea - put your business out there on a site that people are visiting frequently (by frequently I mean multiple times an hour). Thing is, and I know I can't speak for EVERY 18-34 year old out there, but I don't go to Facebook looking to get sold on something. I go to check in with friends, post pictures from my relatively silly life, and let people know what's up with me. Advertisements are sparse on Facebook, too - which is a reason I keep using it. I get enough ads just reading blogs and news sites. Facebook is my hiding place from all that silliness.
So, where ARE those e-marketing dollars coming from? According to the good people at Nielsen - the same ones that want to know what you're watching on TV - more people spend time on email than anywhere else on the web by almost half. Hallerman's article seems to follow that, saying that direct marketing e-mails contribute to a much wider margin of purchases than do ads on social networking sites. The main means of swaying public opinion online remain search engine returns and positive feedback on the company website. When I look to make a purchase, word-of-mouth (or "word-of-web", as it were) makes a big difference for me. You can learn a lot about something/someone by using Google to see what about them stands out the most. If I find something I want on Google and the talk about it is strong, I'm more than happy to move forward. If people seem to hate it, I shy away.
This is not to say that there's no money to be made on Social Networking sites: clearly, there is. But when it comes to marketing to people my age there's not much difference between what we think and what our elders think. We want to find information, or have that information find us. When we get that information, we want to see that other people found it useful as well. What's the lesson to take away from this, then?
1) Make sure your SEO (search engine optimization) is strong, and that when people search for you they find you.
2)Make your "customer feedback" page a priority: it's common sense to put the good feedback up top, but don't dismiss negative feedback. Rob Banker, another in our DigitalMailer cavalcade, wrote a great article about how bigger companies are using Twitter to monitor customer satisfaction. You really want to make the most of Social Networking sites? See what people are saying about your company without any prodding. One person's angry post about poor customer service and support should be a COO's next "note to self". 3)Diversify, Diversify, Diversify. Advertising in one place is as good as putting on one article of clothing. Any successful marketer will place multiple sites in the marketing mix and never count on just one to make all the difference.
4)Keep watch on what booms and what recedes - Facebook and MySpace are king today, but who knows what's coming up in a matter of weeks? Stay on top of trends and never get thrown on the idea that "it's just a fad". They said the same thing about The Beatles.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go update my status so my friends know I plan to eat burritos later today.
