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!
Electronic Messaging Tips for E-mail Success: A sample of our whitepaper on e-mail deliverability
The email industry is still evolving so there are no firm standards. However, the following tips will help you improve the results from your email marketing. Permission rules Internet users are increasingly saturated and frustrated with junk email. This shouldn’t be a problem for most credit unions, at least in dealing with their own members. Most members want to hear from their credit union, especially if you craft concise, well-written missives. But for credibility, you must seek permission to send messages, and always make it easy to opt out.
Open a dialogue Don’t just talk AT your members; they get plenty of that through other media. Establish a dialogue with members and use the interaction to strengthen the relationship. Invite users to check out your Website, ask questions, give opinions, but be prepared to keep up your part of the dialogue with fast, well-crafted responses.
Short = sweet There is no rule of thumb for email length, but most professional messages are short, sometimes no longer than one screen, with the details presented on Web pages linked to the message. Some of our favorite email lists rarely get read because there is just too much good info to absorb quickly, so the message is set aside and ultimately never read. Like a good speech, three topics are probably enough.
Seek professional help Electronic messaging is not rocket science, but you can make your messaging efforts much smoother by enlisting the services of a specialized email service provider such as DigitalMailer. Service providers will automate much of the tedious maintenance efforts such as resends, bounce-back maintenance, and opt-out requests so you can concentrate on making the messages better.
Timing counts Although every rule of thumb should be tested, the conventional wisdom is that Tuesdays through Thursdays are best for reaching members at work, reserve Saturday and Sunday emails for home users. Many experts recommend sending messages late in the workday so they needn’t compete with the morning clutter.
Ensure a good landing An effective email marketing campaign includes a specialized Website landing page that supports the teaser email copy and converts prospects into buyers. You should NOT use your home page for the landing unless your offer is obvious AND you have tracking in place to distinguish regular visitors from those visiting due to your direct-marketing efforts.
I get this complaint from Credit Unions and other businesses all the time:
"We don't want to start sending e-mail messages and statements to our clients because we're going to get phished".
It's one of those funny statements like "life isn't fair" that's right and wrong all at the same time. The Credit Unions we serve aren't being phished. No one's asking them for crucial information and taking advantage of it. What happens is this: 1) Some crumb-bum (pardon my French) sets up a website/e-mail address and snags a picture of a CU's logo. 2) They start e-mailing people (members or not) and asking for their social security numbers, member numbers, account numbers, names, addresses, mother's maiden name, etc. 3) Here's where we get a split: 3A] The targeted e-mails drop the phish e-mail in their SPAM folder. End of discussion. 3B] The member gets smart and deletes it. End of discussion. 3C] The member ACTUALLY SENDS ALL OF THEIR CRUCIAL PERSONAL INFORMATION TO A COMPLETE STRANGER WITHOUT THINKING!!!!
Sorry, went a little crazy there. But it DRIVES me crazy. People short their members out of essential services in favor of "steering clear of trouble", so they say. Oh really?
I recall the 70s (yes, I was clean-living enough to remember some of it) - people would put boxes in front of ATMs marked *ATM BROKEN, PLACE DEPOSITS HERE*...and people did.
And, of course, we stopped using ATMs altogether.
Then, people started "vishing" - or voice phishing - by calling up people and taking their information or asking for mail-ins.
So naturally, we stopped using the telephone.
Is any of this sinking in? You can't just run away from technology because people start using it for ill. You're cheating the people you serve out of what they need to manage their money and make decisions regarding the use of your business.
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 $5,000 of my own money on a lawyer.
Frightening, yes? It's all too common. From Greg:
The CAN-SPAM Act uses broad language. Where Jeffry says he didn't sign up for e-mails is an example of this, as businesses are allowed to dispatch e-mails to clients/patrons without a prompt. But Jeffry was facing a problem that's fairly common - it's not that the people sending you the automated e-mail don't provide a solution, it's that the solution doesn't work.
In thinking more and more about SPAM, I realized a fundamental truth: SPAM is in the eye of the beholder. Jeffry didn't want his e-mail about pictures just like anyone else might not want chain e-mails about the Arctic Fox or the Presidential Campaign. In either case, they're a grievance, but it's the simple fact that you're getting a whole lot of what you DON'T want that makes it so aggravating.
Special thanks to Jeffry for sharing his indignation with us.
Give It Away: How can we make things easy for you?
By Ron Daly
The Wii. A miracle of modern gaming. It's fun for everyone, it's easy to pick up, and it allows my daughter to have something to do on a rainy day.
Anticipating this year's Holiday Party for our office, I purchased a Wii for my employees. Needless to say, they can't wait for the Holidays.
Yes, the Nintendo Wii is awesome. So much so that nearly 30 million units have been sold. It's a hit with parents who want their kid's gaming to be more mobile or with people who aren't "typical gamers" who are suddenly interested in making it happen. Women and seniors, long considered the outliers in gaming, are getting in on the trend.
Which brings me to the topic of this post (took a while to get here). One of our early promotions involved giving away mp3 players to members who signed up for electronic statements. Credit Unions could order inserts which offered a chance at winning an iPod Nano. We charged a fraction of a cent per flyer ($.00162, on average) and saved the CUs over $25,000. The best part? We payed for the iPods with the money gained from the flyers. The CUs simply had to sit back and watch members flock to online statements, a smart, green, money-saving alternative to paper.
So, my question is this: could we do this with a Wii? Would anyone be interested in a "Wii give-away?" Contact me at rdaly@digitalmailer.com or leave a message on our comment section.
DigitalMailer can provide Crisis Management Notification Systems for CUs concerned about impact/ recovery information. Visit our CMNS page for more info, or contact us at info@digitalmailer.com.
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.
