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.
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%.
"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."
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.
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.
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.
Catchy!
The Postal Service has been around a long, long time. Their unofficial motto, above, has always been a reminder that the mail will come through.
Unless, of course, they don't.
This story from MSNBC (click to read) says that the USPS wants to cut another day of delivery out of their schedule. They're currently staring at a $6 billion shortfall, and hope that not delivering will help them stave off collapse. Oh - and there'll probably be another postage hike.
So, let's boil this down a little more. You'll be sending mail at a higher price. It's going to take twice as long (or longer) to get where they're going. And don't count on that Saturday run down to the post office - they're not there.
Not convenient. Not fast. Not cost effective.
I can promise you that email doesn't "close". Send an email, it'll be where it's going within moments. Send an email that's styled how you want with links to offers, you'll start seeing results. And email won't break your budget.
DigitalMailer is offering two new webinars to go along with our continued run of "Do you want fries with that?". The "Fries" webinar, which has been DigitalMailer's most successful webinar to date, will continue with the two new webinars into June. To sign up for it, click the french fry icon on the top of the left column.
The first webinar, "Budget Stretching Ideas", goes hand in hand with our page on the same subject (click here to visit). We know your marketing budgets have taken a hit in the past few months - want to learn how to make the most out of what you've got left? Come talk to us. Sign up for a webinar by clicking the icon below.The second, called "The Better Mouse Trap", was made to show you all the benefits of using DigitalMailer's Customer Communication Center as your eStatement provider (click here to learn more). Why? Because eStatements (that are easy-to-read, secure, and stored for as long as you need them) are just one arm of the CCC. To learn about the rest, click the icon below. Feel free to sign up!
Jimmy sent me a link to a report (click here to get it for yourself) shown to him by Ron Shevlin of the Aite Group in Boston (click here for their homepage). It talks about plans that Financial Institutions have for spending in the next few months. Want to see what almost made me do a spit-take with my coffee (I didn't - new computer, don't want to ruin it the first week):
What are your plans for spending on marketing programs in 2009 compared to last year? (n=79)
I was stunned that the numbers were so close. Sure, some folks get scared in a recession. But DigitalMailer knows (and has known since before the recession was an official Recession - click here to read) that marketing hard is important when things are shaky. If consumers don't know you're there and you have products to offer, how do you think you'll keep your business profitable or your employees employed?
Now, for the news that really knocked my socks off:
That's a 45% increase on email marketing for small FIs and a 25% increase for the large ones. Apparently, FIs across the country are getting the idea.
The moral of the story: Don't be afraid to market hard right now. You're not going to be the only one doing it. And certainly don't be afraid to use email marketing - it's more cost effective, it's easier to change/personalize, and it works.
