Pinpoint Direct Marketing

Use Credit Reports to Score?

2012-02-13T09:56:00.000-06:00

By Margie Church

What if you started using creditreport inquiries to reach members and prospects who are on the hunt for new loans andrefis outside your financial institution? Tapping into credit inquiries forauto loans and mortgages (first and second) could have a pretty good payoff. Consumers are still spending conservatively, so anythingyour credit union can do to help them save cash is potentially worth theeffort.

What about the expense of doing this?

There's the potential sticking point.

There are two costs to consider: lead acquisition andfulfillment. Ask your service provider for some historical information aboutthe kinds of data you're seeking. The lead volume may be quite low, but ifyou're confident about the quality, that could diminish or negate theacquisition cost concern.

Managing a program such as this in-house, requires a realcommitment. Leads must be checked and pursued every day. Many credit unions don'thave a large staff, and for that reason, using a direct marketing firm forfulfillment probably makes more sense. They have the systems set up to handleprojects like these automatically.

What's the right response?

This is a 100-percent prospecting activity, so keep yourcosts low, and make wise choices. Using cross-channel marketing helps tomaximize your success. Start with tried-and-true direct mail. Timing is everything, so send a postcard, via first class mail,to any prospect.

Do youhave the member's email address? Use it for a fast and very cost-efficient way toreach them. Is the member using mobilebanking? Send an alert or text message! A combination of these tacticslets your credit union strike while the iron is hot.

As the economy's kneesstop knocking, other opportunities are knocking. Mining credit inquiries couldopen a new door.

Pinpoint Direct Marketing exclusively serves the U.S. creditunion market. We provide excellent, turnkey or a' la carte creative services ata great value. Click to learn more about us.

Bill Pay a Data Goldmine?

2012-01-25T10:54:00.000-06:00

By Margie Church

The information you have about members using Bill Payservices, is potentially a marketing goldmine. You've had access to the datafor years, but likely it's been costly and cumbersome to access. You may havebeen reluctant to make the time and financial investments until your creditunion could gauge how successful Bill Pay would be among your members.

Nationwide, Bill Pay's adoption is strong. Is it time to havea conversation with your service provider about whether you cancost-efficiently use that data to increase your loan portfolios and membershiproll? We think so, especially since portions of the economy seem to bestabilizing, and some loan products are seeing good uptick.

Short-term, you might compare the cost of quality leadsagainst your budget. Perhaps you'd choose a few seasonal promotions versus afull-blown commitment. Long-term, we contend that if the data gives you a highlevel of confidence you'd reach a ripe-for-the-picking audience, and the costto get the leads is reasonable, pursing this is something you should seriously consider.It could be a very lucrative component of your credit union's retention andprospecting strategies.

Once you have insight to a member's financial habits andobligations via Bill Pay, you can show them time and money-saving products andservices they might want. The not-for-profit charter of credit unions puts youin a position to do this without appearing as the money-grabbing, for-profitbank that has had their hands in the members' pockets far too deep, far toolong.

A secondary benefit, is that you'll ride the leading edge ofcreating a new membership profile: your most active eBankers. As the financialindustry continues evolving into virtual banking, you'll be in a position ofstrength to have products and tools your members want at the time and placethey want them. That's just smart marketing.

Pinpoint Direct Marketing exclusively serves the U.S. creditunion market. We provide excellent, turnkey or a' la carte creative services ata great value. Click to learn more.

Seven Ways to Change Your 2012 Business Landscape

2011-12-29T10:07:00.000-06:00

By Margie Church

At this time last year, many CUs were idled back, waiting for the New Year to reveal which direction to take. Many CUs wouldn't put a stake in the ground and chart their own course. They had their budgets and ideas under lock and key. In a down economy, we can understand a conservative approach, but doing nothing puts a business in perpetual reactionary mode.

If your credit union is still navigating without a rudder, we offer seven suggestions to get you moving in a forward direction right now.

1. Do a post-mortem on 2011. Take out the white board and write down successes and failures. In simple terms, try to understand what made each item your list fall where it did. Then, try to figure out which are worth pursuing further/again in 2012.

2. If you haven't already, create a new member program to deepen your relationship with these people. Many of them may have joined because of the November Bank Transfer Day. They could already be disillusioned if they haven't been hearing from you. Correct this now by convincing them that your friendly staff and comprehensive services are perfect for all their financial needs. Time is running short. The first six months of membership are crucial.

3. What's your new idea for 2012? According to Callahan & Associates, credit unions that increased their marketing budgets in the second quarter of 2011 noted substantial increases in member growth and balance sheets. U.S. credit union marketing expenses increased 3.8% to reach $483 million. This was the fifth straight quarter of annual increases. Profitability will remain a key issue for CUs in 2012. Take a look at your promotions calendar and compare it to your membership profile. What can you do to make promotions fresh and more effective?

4. Reposition specific products and services to answer a need. Are you trying to reach people aged 22 to 35? Did you know:

Sixty-five percent access their account information through the Internet, while 28% use a mobile application from their bank or credit union.
Six percent use mobile devices to remotely deposit checks. Among those using the service, 54% use it at least once a month; 39% use it weekly.
Sixty-four percent said that tracking account balances is the most important feature they currently use while banking online, followed by paying bills (34%), and transferring funds (28%).
Seventy percent wish they could see their entire financial picture, and manage all of their finances in one place, regardless of the information source.

5. Stop talking about Gen Y and Gen X and start talking with them. They are highly connected with social media and the Internet. Be yourself. Be authentic. Give them reasons to engage with you by providing information they can use and easy ways for them to respond.

6. Get to know your members better this year. Do something proactive to keep them, and foster younger members into becoming your most profitable members. Invite them to quarterly events, put polls on your Facebook page, or make a commitment to collect and use membership data.

7. Identify one bad habit you're going to kick this year. Maybe it's overcoming a resistance to using email marketing. Maybe you'll start asking your member services staff for input at the front end of a campaign so more leads are converted to sales. Perhaps you'll study the performance reports from your campaigns, and finally be able to justify the expense (or not) because you know what is working and what is not. Maybe you'll stop being reactive or passive and get out in the marketplace acting and sounding like the winner you are.

The economy is improving, and interest in credit unions has never been higher. Make the best of your marketing landscape. We'd love to hear how you plan to meet 2012 head on.

Pinpoint Direct Marketing exclusively serves the U.S. creditunion market. We provide excellent, turnkey or a' la carte creative services ata great value. Click to learn more.

How to create impulse buyers

2011-12-13T11:39:00.000-06:00

by Margie Church

With the growing emphasis on electronic marketing tools, wepay particular attention to our clients' success rates when they use emails andPURLs in their direct mail campaigns. Can a credit union get members to act like impulsebuyers? We think so.

Here are three typical examples of how our clients provedour theory.

1. We learned that aPURL, email, and letter is the perfect combination for skip-a-pay campaigns. Ourclients typically see an average of 10% PURL visits and over 80% conversions. In other words, hot leads. "I want your offer,and I want it now."

2. Using emails to promote auto loans and credit cards alsoproved successful. We see an average read rate of 20% on these campaigns. Including a PURL gave an additional 1% lift rate.

3. We have clients that use a PURL with their new membermailings. The PURL reduces the "I'll think about it" behavior. The recipient can directly and conveniently sign up for new servicesor products when they receive their monthly letter. If your credit union needsto improve the number of products-per-member ratio, adding a PURL has deliveredan average 1.5% response rate.

What's the typical cost per hot lead?

Let's say you sent 2,000emails with a PURL. At our place, an email costs a mere five cents per address and so doesthe PURL. Your expense is $200 for this portion of the campaign. Our averageresponse rate on any campaign is 2% on PURLS, giving you 40 visits. The average conversion rate(PURL submissions) is 70% or 28 hot leads, costing you $7.14 each. Seems like the expense is justified, don't you think?

Emails and PURLs take dead aim at fast delivery andresponses. Sure there'll always be people who prefer to come in or call, andthere's nothing wrong with that. But using email and PURLs help ensure youstrike while the iron is hot, and don't leave business on the table.

Pinpoint Direct Marketing exclusively serves the U.S. creditunion market. We provide excellent, turnkey or a' la carte creative services ata great value. Click to learn more.

Where do you go from here, Credit Unions?

2011-11-15T11:21:00.001-06:00

By Margie Church

Unless you've been stranded on adesert island without connectivity to America for the past six weeks, you knowall about November 5. A grassroots movement that credit unions were slow toembrace, Bank Transfer Day took off without them, leaving some racing to ridethe wave of free publicity it created.

In case you missed these eye-openingresults:

Approximately650,000 people have joined credit unions since September 29. This equates tomore new members in October than in all of 2010.

Creditunions realized approximately $4.5 billion in new deposits through October.

40,000 newmemberships were opened on November 5, and

Creditunions saw $80 million in new share accounts,¹ and

Creditunions originated $90 million in new loans.¹

We may never discern what portionof this growth was motivated by Bank Transfer Day versus consumer anger about newfees and big bank arrogance. What matters is that Americans reacted, and creditunions were the big benefactors.

History has proven that Americansare fond of grassroots movements. And Bank of America likely smelled a grassfire when it cancelled its plans to institute the debit card user fee. But weall know big banks aren't going to go quietly into the sunset, licking theirwounds, having finally learned not to mess with the Average Joe. They, andother banks, will find ways to increase existing fees and introduce new ways toget what they're always after – bigger profits for themselves.

Credit unions are sure to see an uptick in new business as longas this topic is kept in front of consumers. What can you do? Pick thelow-lying fruit. Deepen your relationship with members by contacting them withanother relevant and timely message now.

Free checking is only one way credit unions save their membersmoney every month. At this time of year, everyone seems to becash-strapped. Boost your members'budgets by offering your lower-interest rate credit card. Tantalize them withsavings examples when they transfer higher-rate balances. To those members whoalready have one of your credit cards, offer a great rate on a personal loan tohelp pay off holiday expenses or plan a winter get-away.

As we close out 2011, and look forward to next year, we haveone piece of advice: full steam ahead.

1- http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/08/pf/credit_union_switch/?source=cnn_bin

Pinpoint Direct Marketing exclusively serves the U.S. creditunion market. We provide excellent, turnkey or a' la carte creative services ata great value. Click to learn more.

No fee? Still flee?

2011-11-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

by Margie Church

Bank of America's decision to drop its proposed debit carduser fee has me wondering how credit unions will respond. The tremendous amount ofnegative national press has given Bank of America a black eye, yet it's givencredit unions invaluable positive press. For free. Some credit unions rushed to the uniqueopportunities presented by the user fee boondoggle and the Bank Transfer Day. They'recommunicating with members and rattling the chains of banks in their communities.

Is your credit union going to take its "ball" andgo home now, feeling the game is over? Or will you keep the pressure on todeepen relationships with your members and increase rolls because you're abetter alternative?

The economy is slowly stabilizing. Consumers are cautiouslyspending, but they are spending. A new Bloomberg report stated this year, debitcard spending in the U.S. increased 23 percent to $97 billion, and worldwide,debit card spending increased 35 percent to $62 billion. Credit card spendingworldwide rose 21 percent to $469 billion from $389 billion a year earlier.* Holidaypromotions are everywhere. Auto manufacturers are offering fantastic incentivesto clear out 2011 inventories and they're promoting their luxury new models. Interestrates are rock-bottom low on auto loans. Many of you are promoting amazing new HELOC programs. These are all perfect ways to bring your relevant, timely, andpersonal messages to members and prospects alike. Email is an inexpensive, fast way to be in toucheven at year-end when budgets are spent or nearly so.

Some credit union officials have been fretting that thoseleaving big banks might be unprofitable members. Perhaps credit unionsshouldn't be too quick to embrace them. Huh? If these people really wereunprofitable, Bank of America, and others like them, would have found adifferent, quieter way to get rid of them long before now.** And we don'tperceive these banks as the good guys just because they decided not to stick itto their clients. They just cried "uncle." Their greed will drivethem to find another, less public, way to get the cash sooner or later.

Keep the heat on. Be the financial hero your community needs.

*http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-02/mastercard-profit-climbs-38-as-card-spending-increases.html?cmpid=bit

**http://thefinancialbrand.com/20268/thinking-bofa-debit-fee-refugees-are-unprofitable-is-a-mistake/

PinpointDirect Marketing exclusively serves the U.S. credit union market. We provide excellent, turnkeyor a' la carte creative services at a great value.

Email Marketing Effective, Inexpensive

2011-11-01T10:09:00.000-05:00

By Margie Church

Has your credit union abandoned or embraced email marketing?Since 2007, the number of retail email messages has grown 61%; it achieved a16% increase in 2010 alone. The economics of email marketing in a down economycould certainly be part of the reason for the jump. The advent of smartphonesand electronic tablets also could be contributors.

A July 2011, MailerMailer survey revealed that open rateshave increased in banking and marketing, while all the other surveyed industries declined.Open rates have climbed each year to a 12.8% open rate in these two industries, too.Banking also had a 2.9% overall click rate, some of the highest in theindustries surveyed. Plus, banking emails sent to 25-499 recipients, forexample, had the highest click rate of 14.8%.*

That last sentence is critically important.

We believe that using data modeling to target your messageis an important key to a campaign's success. Data modeling helps ensure therecipient is highly qualified and/or highly likely to respond the way you want.By using MCIF or Data Systems information, you may end up sending fewer piecesthan you expected, but if the recipients are the most qualified to accept/acton your offer, isn't that more worthwhile?

Use electronic marketingtools

Some credit unions say their members don't like emailmarketing, or electronic response tools such as PURLs and QR codes. We believethere will always be a portion of your membership that prefers print. It's onereason why we subscribe to a cross-channel marketing philosophy.

But we believe totally dismissing electronicmarketing is a mistake.

Revealing statistics

If members truly don't prefer electronic communications, thenwhy is mobile banking gaining such momentum and acceptance? In 2010,approximately 17.8 million customers used mobile banking, according to datafrom TowerGroup, a financial services research firm. That figure is expected tojump to 27.4 million customers in 2011. By 2013, it's predicted that 53.1million consumers will adopt mobile banking.

Electronic communication isn't coming. It's here and growing FAST.

• 91% of the U.S. population uses a mobile device.(CTIA, 2010)

• 420 million smartphones are expected to sell in2011. That's 28% of the mobile handset market. The figure is predicted to riseto over 1 billion in 2016, comprising half the market. (IMS Research, 2011)

• 23% of the U.S. population uses a smartphone.(Frank N. Magid Associates, 2010).

• 97% of U.S. households use email. (e-Dialog,2010)

• 82% of smartphone users check and send emailwith their device. (Google, April 2011)

• Mobile's share of all opened email was 16% inMarch 2011, an 81% rise from October 2010. (Return Path, March 2011)

Email Campaigns:Inexpensive, Excellent Reporting

By the time you've paid for your print collateral creative,the cost to convert a piece to email can literally be pennies per address.That's right. Pennies. One auto loan can easily cover the costs of the email campaign.

Hot and warm leads are so easy to capture with emailcampaigns. You'll have the email address of those who opened, clicked throughthe message, and you'll even know how many times they read. Choose a reportingsystem that manages unsubscribers for you, too. When email is combined with aPURL for responses, you're able to efficiently capture a lot of informationabout your membership's behavior. Over time, using email marketing repeatedlyprovides you a profile of your most receptive email users. There's a valuable marketingtool your credit union can use.

Gen X and Y are using their smartphones and tablets for email,banking, and so much more. Aren't these people the future of your credit union?Consumers are looking for better alternatives to big bank greed. We know thatbudgets are slim by this time of year. Email is an effective tactic you can useright now to keep your message in front of members.

*MailerMailer http://www.mailermailer.com/resources/metrics/2011/open-rates.rwp

PinpointDirect Marketing exclusively serves the U.S. credit union market. We provide excellent, turnkeyor a' la carte creative services at a great value.

Be Proactive with Checking Opportunities

2011-10-13T08:59:00.002-05:00

By Margie Church

The debit card user fee proposed by several of the largebanks has pushed Joe Public to take action. Angry consumers are leaving them inlarge numbers. Last December, The Financial Brand wrote an excellent articleabout the importance of free checking to the typical consumer. One valuablenugget: 57-percent of the checking account customers in America are highly atrisk to switch banks if their institution began to charge fees for what werepreviously free services for their checking accounts.¹

Inresponse to aggressive fees, a social uprising called Bank Transfer Day has emerged. The social movement started on Facebook, and encourages bankcustomers to take their cash out of big banks by November 5, and put it insmaller banks and credit unions instead.²Whether this movement willbe successful won't be known until after November 5, but grassroots movementshave been successful many times before.

Is your credit union waiting for these people to walk through yourdoors, or are you going after them?

Whether your competition is tacking on a specific new debitcard user fee or eliminating free checking, the fact is, credit unions are abetter value. They always have been.

A checking account is the perfect product to draw newmembers to your credit union and deepen your relationship with current memberswho don't have a checking account with you. You're providing a better solutionat a time when people are looking for one.

Even if your marketing budgets may be nearly spent, there are severalvery inexpensive, effective tools you can use to capture new members and theirbusiness right now. Here are a few great strategies and tactics to reach out tomembers and prospects.

First, use MCIF or DP data to identify memberswho don’t have a checking account. Sendthem a postcard or letter that states the benefits of your account. Keep yourmessage positive and explain how your credit union will make their transitionpain-free.
An email with a PURL for responses is a greattwist for follow-up or for members preferring email communications.
Canvas your entire membership with a statementstuffer and possibly offer a referral reward.
A web banner is a must to communicate toprospects.
Experience the effectiveness of multi-channelmarketing. Use in-branch posters, scrolling signs, drive-thru banners, andbuilding signs.
Consider a billboard in high-traffic areas.

This is absolutely the wrong time for credit unions to takea low profile approach. Consumers are shopping for value. Make sure they knowyour credit union is the best place to get it.

What's going on in your area of the country? Are you experiencing any backlash - positive or negative from the new debit card user fee issue?

1-The Financial Brand, 12/16/10. http://thefinancialbrand.com/16108/datahead-switching-credit-cards-social-media-channels-more/

2-Yahoo Finance, 10/13/11. http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/113658/bank-transfer-day-mainstreet?mod=bb-budgeting

About us:Pinpoint exclusively serves the credit union market. We provide excellent, turnkeyor a' la carte creative services at a great value.

Why Would You Skip a Skip?

2011-10-04T11:02:00.001-05:00

By Margie Church

Traditionally timed for the holiday season and summervacations, credit union members find skip-a-pay promotions as irresistible asfresh popcorn. They provide a service that members want and generate income forthe credit union. In other words, skip-a-pay promotions are gimmies.

You don't have to do anything extraordinary to have asuccessful campaign. Our clients who send a simple letter have seen 137% ROI.Those who use more than one channel – either a letter with a PURL or email witha PURL—see significantly higher returns. In fact, one client saw an ROI of over1,500%. While that number is atypical, many clients see 300% or more ROI. As you can see, the fee income is usually morethan enough to pay for the promotion (at least at our place), and the interestincome is an added bonus. Some clients have experienced such success withskip-a-pays that they promote them as part of the initial loan offer. There's awin-win for everyone involved.

Skip promotion also give you a relevant, timely reason tocontact your members. They boost your visibility at a time when home and autoloans are scarce, and credit card use has declined. Do you know the formula for creating top ofmind awareness? Contact the same person three times in seven nights sleep toremember your message. To have long term recall, you also need to have thatcontact on a regular basis. Long-term recall is critical to building brandawareness. Remember, when need meets awareness,you get a sale.

Even if your budget has been spent or nearly so, resist theurge to cut a promotion that's a sure thing. If you've never tried a skip-a-pay, isn't it time to add this effective tool to your marketing plan?

When you think about it, nothaving an annual or semi-annual skip-a-pay promotion actually costs your creditunion money in terms of lost income.

6 Ways to Bring in Black Friday Gold

2011-09-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

By Margie Church

Tie your next promotion to a current event to increase yourcredit union's year-end sales goals, membership, and visibility in thecommunities you serve. I'm sure you'vetried the following promotions before, but what if you remodeled one especiallyfor Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Depending on your promotion, you could starta few days prior to Thanksgiving and extend the offer until Christmas.

Put a new spin on one of these timely promos.

Auto loans are very hot right now. Offer a verycompetitive rate. Capitalize on any manufacturer incentives available for newcar loans. Consider offering discounted GAP insurance, holding a grand prizedrawing for a substantial gift card, making their first month's payment(including the interest), 90-days-no pay to get through the holidays, or somecombination of these.
Skip-a-Pay, personal loan, and credit cardpromotions. Help shoppers feel better about managing holiday expenses byoffering a skip promo. These are incredibly popular. Offer a special, lowerinterest rate on personal loans. Reward new credit card accounts with a cashincentive to transfer higher interest balances and save. Providepayment/savings examples for instant appeal on any loan products.
Increase the dividend rate on a CD or otherinvestment product. Have a gift tree or prize box members can select from whenthey take advantage of your offer.
Using QR codes, hold a website scavenger hunt toget members to try electronic banking services. Make sure landing pages are formatted for mobile viewing.
Hold a HelpOur Neighbors project. Invite community members to drop off an item or cashfor the local food shelf or other charitable organization your credit unionsupports. Provide materials to write holiday cards to deployed soldiers. Holdan adopt-a-family promo to help ease holiday/winter anxiety for a deservingfamily.
Hold a membership drive at the branches andonline. Treat new members right by waiving or matching the membership fee anddeposit the money into the new member's share account. Provide refreshments andplenty of enthusiasm to whoever comes by. Let children decorate ornaments orcookies while your staff talks to the adults.

Cross-channelmarketing: a must-do

A combination of electronic marketing tools with print isthe best way to get your brand and your offer in front of busy people. Werecommend this strategy all year long, for every campaign. Shoppers especiallylook for holiday bargains on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and during Christmasweek. Online sales sometimes eclipse onsite sales on Black Friday. In aSeptember 15, 2011 article, Google predicts 15% of Black Friday searches will tobe made using mobile devices (smartphones and electronic tablets). The bottomline is you can't ignore the preferred method of shopping andinformation-gathering for Gen X and Y: it's electronic. Whether your campaign runs for a few hours or longer, we canhelp you can turn Black Friday into gold.

Start your promotion with a personalized postcard, statementstuffer or letter. Include a QR code for mobile device users to respond. Followup with an email. Use PURLs/GURLS to capture responses fast. (Did you know thatwhen a person clicks on the PURL/GURL, their information is captured and youhave a lead, even if they don't submit their information?) Landing pages mustbe formatted for mobile viewing. Many website and blog hosts provide thisservice already and with a click of a button, everything is reformatted foryou.

At the branch, use banners, posters, counter cards, fliers, andbuttons to grab attention from members and prospects. Use website banners toalert online bankers to your promotion.

Do you have a great campaign success story or an epic failure toshare? We'd love to hear from you.

That New Car Smell

2011-09-21T08:36:00.001-05:00

By MargieChurch

The fourth quarteralways has that new car smell to it. Auto manufacturers ramp up their holiday advertisingschedules for luxury cars and then set their sites on Super Bowl mania. LastJanuary, a record number of auto manufacturers spent record amounts ofadvertising dollars on the "game of the year." They included socialmedia for a brilliant cross-channel mix that reached buyers of all ages andaffluence.

Manufacturersare demonstrating their confidence in bold strokes. American automakers andforeign-based firms in the U.S. are putting billions of dollars into buildingand refurbishing plants. Ninety-thousand auto manufacturing jobs have beenadded in the past two years. Dealers are making more money per sale this year thanthey have in years.*

The holidaysand the Super Bowl are going to arrive. Auto manufacturers are cuing up theirad schedules and offering incentives to clear out 2011 models to make room for2012 beauties. Some are offering 90 days no pay options that'll take buyersthrough the holidays' financial stresses. TrueCar.com estimates incentives willrise 5% through year-end.

But lowinterest rates and manufacturer incentives aren't going to be the only hooks toget fence-sitters into your credit union.

Try apackaged offer using:

Appended MCIF or DP information with othersources, such as NADA data, to target the offer.

We always recommend using data to make offers personal, relevant and timely. Considerreaching out to a slightly younger buyer, aged 25 through 45. These people arein their prime earning years, and new vehicles are necessary for their growingfamily. They want good value. A pre-approved offer will have better impact whencombined with a payment example, but pre-approved or pre-qualified offers don'thold the same appeal they did when the economy was stronger.

People older than this group are more inclined to resist adding new debt. Theirearning years are waning, and the economy makes them consider whether the new vehicleis a necessity or a luxury. Since they are more interested in reducing theirdebt, target them with refinancing offers first.
A very competitive rate with flexible terms.

The reality is that at any given time, a person could buy a car. They've beenputting it off for any number of reasons, and today is that day. According toBankRate.com, average loan rates nationally are under 5% for new or usedvehicles. Many credit unions are offering rates under 3%. A great rate for new,used, or refinanced from another lender, combined with excellent service willget their attention.
Offer additional discounts for automaticpayments or another time/money-saving service your credit union offers.
Use branch-coding. The younger portion of thisgroup may be buying a vehicle on their own for the first time. Reduce theiranxiety by providing a name and contact information at the credit union.

What elsecan you do to bring loans in?

1. Provide information they can use. Put it online.Remember this generation is Web-savvy and uses mobile devices - smartphones andelectronic tablets - with ease.

Online application
Electronic and mobile banking services
Highlight the benefits of pre-approval beforeshopping
Provide payment calculators
Describe the benefits of GAP insurance
If the credit union has a free car-buyingservice, promote that. These people are busy and if they can get a good deal ina stress-free way, that's appealing.
Explain and promote CUDL financing if you haveit.
Provide information on refinancing benefits andsavings.

2. Offer a free car-buying seminar.

3. Offer bi-weekly payments and show how muchfinance charges they could save.

4. Offer 90-days no payment.

5. Offer a prize or contest. Gas prices are stillvery high. If you decide to offer a gas gift card, it needs to be substantialand perhaps have only one winner. Consider a drawing for a payment holiday –the credit union makes the entire first payment.

We hope someof these ideas help you achieve your auto loan goals for Q4 and Q1.

*StarTribune, August 30, 2011.

Project Blueprints Work

2011-08-25T09:47:00.001-05:00

By Margie Church, copywriter/editor

One of our best practices is to gain understanding and agreement from the client before the project begins. A project blueprint is a simple tool we consistently use to achieve that.

After a project launch call, everything we've heard in that conversation gets sorted out and written into the blueprint template. Then it's sent to the client. I've sometimes been accused of being too thorough. I've had managers squint at my project blueprints and ask for the Reader's Digest version. And I've had some tell me I was making the reports they wrote look bad. The latter group always makes me laugh.

Gotta-have-it Information

Your blueprint doesn't have to be complicated, but it must have the salient points to get your project on track and keep it there. Here's a short list of basics:

Objective
Audience
Budget
Offer and/or primary message
Customer benefit
Call to action. I can't stress enough the importance of telling people what to do. It's often forgotten, along with adequate contact information.
Due date

Pinpoint is a creative resource, so we also ask our credit union clients questions such as these:

What is the overall tone of the piece? A phrase such as cutting-edge will have an explanation of what the client describes as cutting-edge.

What are the supporting copy points?

There will be several questions about design, including color and graphical preferences.

We add and subtract questions depending on the situation. The first time we speak with a new client, we'll spend all the time necessary learning about their credit union. We want to understand its membership demographics, and branding strategies.

We seek the client's opinions on all kinds of subjects, including what's going to work and what will get panned by management. We're interested in helping them be successful every time and in-depth questions help us achieve that goal. By the end of the conversation, our client knows their business is important to us.

If you're an internal marketing or communications manager, you can use a project blueprint to get agreement from your staff before you start working with your creative resources, aka spend money. You're much likelier to deliver on time and on budget by using a document such as this. It's also an excellent place to look for answers if things go awry.

Creative blueprints work smoothly for Pinpoint Direct Marketing's clients. Do you use creative blueprints at your CU? How have they been received? Are they a crucial element in your planning or an after-thought? Share your experiences so we can learn from each other.

Leads Left for Dead?

2011-08-18T11:59:00.000-05:00

by Margie Church, copywriter/editor

Does your member services department have what it needs to handle responses from your marketing activities? Best practices will have these issues identified during the campaign's project planning stages, and puts the response team in a proactive mode.

Start on a Positive Note

Make someone from member services part of your marketing team. Once the campaign is fleshed out, take them through the components so they're aware of everything involved. Provide copies of printed communications and links to electronic items for them to see before the campaign launches.

Don't rely on member services to read everything and determine what the action items are. Provide the salient points, including the campaign's goals and offers, launch and end dates, and any potential sticky points that may disqualify someone from taking advantage of the offer. If you need to, write a script.

Provide a specific guideline on how quickly respondents will be contacted so the lead doesn't go cold. Plus doing so cultivates the relationship you have or hope to build with any member. Armed with the right information, your member services department is prepared to handle questions correctly and close the deal.

Whether your credit union's tellers are the member services department or you have a dedicated team established for handling responses and inquiries, set them up for success. Your staff will be happier and it will be easier to determine your campaign's success.

At Pinpoint, we use a tool called Staff Notes to identify and address member services responses. At the project launch call, we'll talk about them and put your responses in writing. You'll also receive a creative blueprint of the project to use as a guide. This helps ensure we'll all be on the same page from concept through fulfillment. Does your agency do these things?

Maybe it's time for a better process. Give Pinpoint a call.

Targeting Gen Y?

2011-08-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

By Margie Church, copywriter/editor

I read recently that Gen Y is set to inherit $30 trillion dollars in the next two decades. Baby Boomers have done very well, indeed. I also continue reading about credit unions looking for ways to reach out to Gen Y members.

The tricky question is, how?

A credit union must understand the behaviors of its Gen Y population and cater to them. Also known as the Millennial Generation or Millennials, they have birthdates from roughly the mid-1970s to 2000. Read about their social and professional behaviors on the Internet and research them in your service area.

As a whole, they are a tech-dependent group that scours websites like bloodhounds on a scent trail. Creating web pages that appeal to their special interests and tastes is a good place to start. Mobile banking, Internet banking, email, QR Codes, Tag, podcasts, specially created videos, etc., are tools this group isn't afraid of. They talk to each other about finances. Could holding Gen Y chats on your website be a good idea? Having a blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages? Possibly, if you give them relevant reasons to interact with you. An app could be a very good thing since mobile banking use is skyrocketing. Use age-appealing graphics, copy, and offers. (If you're not doing this across the board, you need to start. Doing so makes you more personal and relevant with any member or prospect.)

While you're looking for ways to appeal to the Gen Y lifestyle, remember some of this is an investment in their future, but possibly not yours.

What, you say?

When you think of Gen Y, are you really imagining the older end of the spectrum (around 35 years-old) or are you thinking early 20s? Breaking things down in this manner might help you realize you're already marketing to portions of Gen Y.

The younger portion of this age group is likely years away from being a profitable member. They're in school or moving around, not settled in their careers or their lives. Do these people need financial services and education? Yes. Can your CU be a great source for those things? Again, yes. However, it's no surprise the majority of these people aren't in a financial position to qualify for credit cards and other loan products. Their lack of roots in your service area has obvious implications. You can retain some of these members over time. Others will move out of your service area. Ultimately, the greatest service you might provide is the knowledge that wherever they land, a credit union is the best place to bank.

The mid to upper end of this age group is likely to be settling down. Their income is stable enough to be better loan risks and they're buying cars and homes. In other words, they are moving into the most profitable years of membership. Your credit union needs to make them aware of the benefits of membership. That's not new news.

The market is ripe for a change in banking attitudes. Credit unions' lower interest rates and fees, coupled with outstanding services, make them an excellent choice over banks in many cases. Creating awareness among the younger portion of this group puts you in contention for their business when the opportunity arises.

Roll with the marketing challenges and opportunities to help you bring the next group of members to your credit union. Pinpoint Direct Marketing can help you do it successfully. Put us on your creative team and get started.

We're interested to learn whether you're marketing differently to Gen Y and how. What have you learned?

What Are You Selling?

2011-06-23T10:22:00.000-05:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor

Have you ever looked at an ad, and your eyes stalled on the page? If you took the time, you squinted and pondered. What are they selling? What's the point? The ad may have been such a visual mess you didn't know where to start, but you sure knew how to turn the page.

During my career in marketing communications, I've frequently started an ad or brochure with a succinct premise and watched it convolute into something quite muddy…for lack of a more polite term. Few of us work in a world where we make all the decisions, and few of us believe we actually have all the answers. Business doesn't work that way, and that egoistical position jeopardizes your sanity.

Run Amok?

I start each project with a creative brief that outlines at least the bare minimum of information. What's the objective? Who is the audience? What is the product or service being offered? Is there an incentive? What's the call to action? You'd be surprised how often that last tidbit is overlooked.

I've worked with clients who couldn't be bothered with answering even the most basic questions in detail. Can you guess the result?

It wasn't always bad.

It usually was, and I'll tell you why.

These clients weren't putting the customer needs first. Instead, they were usually thinking about how much this darn ad was going to cost them and by gosh, they were going to get their money's worth. They got that, but their ROI stunk. And they blamed the creative agency.

Instant Decisions

The average person will spend one-twentieth of a second looking at a product on a shelf. Billboards and large displays might get about six seconds—an eternity by comparison. Even the best written ad still requires that you send it with enough frequency to reach your audience. The formula remains, contact the same person three times within seven days. That's the magic number to create TOMA or top of mind awareness. Layering your message in different channels is the way to get the job done right. You also need regular frequency if you want long-term recall.

The Internet and social media challenge us to say it clearly—fast. People have never been busier or better able to ignore you. How fast can you click your mouse? My point is proven.

Graphics should amplify pithy headlines that draw readers in, and then the first paragraph nails them. You know, newspapers have been using the formula for eons. What you want the member to know is in the first paragraph. That doesn't give you permission to write run-on sentences that could achieve Guinness Book of World Records status. It means the first paragraph should state clearly why you're reaching out to me today. This is how my product/service is going to improve your life, and here's how to get it.

Simple, clean. Fall in love with white space. It's allowed, even encouraged. Save all the extras for the conversation you're going to have with your member when they call or stop by.

Share your creative nightmare with us. We can all identify and learn. And probably laugh a little, too.

You've Got Personality!

2011-05-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

By Margie Church, copywriter/editor

A majority of our clients are tickling their members' funny bones this year. They're interested in adding some humor to their messages instead of continuing their usual conservative approaches. There's something to be said for having successful, happy looking people in your ads, because after all, your credit union is going to make them happier, more financially successful people.

Tossing your branding strategy out the window isn't something we usually advocate, but we always look for ways to make campaigns stand out in the market. If you're competing against big banks, it's likely they're running hot and heavy on their corporate logo. It's pretty rare to see a pink flamingo on a big bank ad. But your credit union possibly could use flamingos. Changes in the economic climate may finally be giving some CUs the opportunity to break out of the shadow of their competition and go after market share. In a big way.

What's Your Personality?

Marketing innovation balances brand equity with creativity. When a client asks for a fun campaign and we delve into their concept of the word, there is always a broad spectrum of answers.

For a CU that usually uses iconic images with very straightforward, no-nonsense copy, using images of people having a good time and short, punchy sentences are dramatic, good changes. For others, we have the opportunity to pull out all the stops and use crazy animals, silly looking people, and a host of other concepts that deliver their messages in powerful, unique ways. Clever headlines make the reader smile or laugh out loud.

Talking with us in the planning stages gives insight to a winning personality and a winning campaign. We're keen on incorporating a positive, provocative graphic and headline with key brand elements. Members get a unique promotion that grabs their attention like new tires on asphalt, and still recognize the brand they trust and respect.

Fresh or Canned?

You might be tempted to go to a one-size-fits-all, online vendor and pick something from their canned templates. Doing so accomplishes your goals of fast and cheap, but do you have the ability to personalize the piece so it resonates with your members? Does using the canned approach help you succeed in the biggest goal of all: closing the sale? I'll wager the answer is not a resounding yes.

Fresh approaches don't have to be expensive or take months to develop. We believe the ROI for a fresh approach is going to be better because you made the offer personal, relevant, and timely, not imitation vanilla.

Geek is a Good Thing

What do you think about QR Codes and Microsoft® Tag? Yes, these are the latest electronic crazes using a smartphone. The applications aren't going away. They're being refined and new ways to use them are being identified daily. In fact, according to a recent study done by Mobio Identity Systems, QR scanning
traffic in North America has increased a dramatic 4549% since the first quarter of 2010. It's no wonder a growing number of our clients are alreadyincorporating QR Codes and Tags.

Smartphones enable members of all ages to use mobile banking, QR Codes, and Tags. People aged 25 to 54 comprise 70 percent of smartphone users. Wow. That's likely to be a big chunk of your membership. We can think of several easy, creative ways to incorporate QR Codes and Tags into your campaigns and strengthen your member relationships. That's bottom line talk. Being an early adapter could give your credit union a real boost in the perception of being on top of the latest changes—keeping ahead of the game. And when it comes to prospecting, that can't hurt at all. Your personality got a little more innovative and a lot more cool.

Freshening up your campaigns and going deeper with cross-channel marketing can help make you the kid everyone wants to be friends with. Then win them over with real value when you get them in the door.

Click here for more info and let us know how Pinpoint can bring a little more personality to your next campaign.

Social Media Takes On the Website

2011-04-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor

Years ago, when I first worked on websites, they were as stoic and devoid of humanity as could be. A company's website was the place to showcase your corporate wares. Personality be damned.

I am in the throes of revamping our company website, so I've been researching and thinking about the impact social media should have on the upgrade. I've concluded the "face" of Pinpoint Direct Marketing that friends and followers are experiencing in our blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages needs to better merge into our website. How to do it is the question, since the website is there to sell and the social media tools are there to engage.

The phrase "soft sell" comes to mind. It's not a new term, though a younger crowd might not be familiar with it. In essence, you're giving the reader credit for their intelligence by not hitting them over the head with the obvious, hard sell. And you provide solutions-based content. Resist the urge to have a brain dump and "talk at" the visitor. Make brevity a guide. Use a conversational tone similar to what you've been doing in social media conversations. Save some of your wisdom and experience for the conversation you expect to have with the member…where you're doing the listening.

Peak Their Interest

Convince them you've got something they need and you're the best source to get it. The easiest way to do this is by negative comparison to the competition. That's also the surest way to turn off the reader. Consider that the member or prospect may have accounts and loans at a bank. By using negative advertising, you may be insulting their choices, not the bank's credibility. Take the extra time to put a positive spin on your message.

Quality Not Quantity

I continue to be fascinated by people following us who don’t even speak English. They do nothing remotely related to our business or industry. I can only conclude they're playing the numbers game - following and friending everyone suggested, without vetting them first. The real danger of this practice is simple, but perhaps not obvious. Your members' voices are being drowned out by everything else going on in your social media. Your messages are being gobbled up by the noise as well.

What has numbers got to do with your website?

Testimonials are timeless. If you can get members excited about you, their endorsements are worth far more than any clever remarks you can write about yourself. If members can see you're focused on them and what's best for their interests, you'll engage them. They'll use your website to conduct business and communicate with you.

When your site is packaged with all your social media tools, it'll feel like one big happy family.

Have you made changes to your website to reflect social media's impact on your business?

Another Option for Electronic Marketing

2011-04-12T12:59:00.002-05:00

Microsoft® Tag is another bar code option for tying print advertising to your customers' mobile devices. With a click of a smartphone, the Tag provides a direct link to whatever landing page you choose. Like the QR Code, Tag eliminates the need for typing a URL or SMS message.

Choosing to use Tag instead of QR Codes is a personal choice. Tags perform the same way as QR Codes, but have a few differences.

Color can be used in the code design, which allows more creativity. Your logo or a photo, for example, could be incorporated in the Tag design. There are options to create highly-custom Tag; however you must weigh that against the ability to read the code reliably.

The free Tag Reader is the only application that can read a Tag. There are a number of applications that will read QR Codes.

Tag can be printed smaller in size than a QR Code, conserving space.

Tag scanning is less light-sensitive. The reflective qualities of paper can sometimes make scanning QR Codes fickle.

Reporting analytics for Tag are gathered at the click, whereas they are gathered at the landing page for a QR Code. Analytics at the click allows advertisers to know geographically, date, and/or time the Tag was scanned.

Global intelligence leader, the Nielson Company, says 25 to 54 year-olds comprise 70 percent of smartphone users. Many of the people in that age range have stable jobs and have put down community roots. In other words, they fit the profile of your credit union. Being an early adapter of these tools indicates your credit union is savvy about meeting customers on their turf.

Pinpoint Direct Marketing can generate the free Tag and QR Code for you, but more importantly, we develop the appropriately-formatted landing pages for them. The landing page can be changed without affecting the Tag or QR Code. We also can help you create new promotions around the codes and implement them in existing campaigns.

Which appeals to you more? Tags or QR Codes? We'll help you decide. Contact us.

Will free checking thrive or die at your credit union?

2011-03-28T12:47:00.000-05:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor

I spend a fair amount of my day reading about business practices, trends in the financial market, emerging technologies, and all kinds of other things that help us keep abreast of the credit union market and anticipate the next best move for our clients.

Some days are real head-scratchers, aren't they?

We have some great insights to national trends, but nothing beats feet on the street. The pulse of what's going on in your neighborhood credit union. We invite you to share some of your insights with us today.

Specifically, we're interested in your perspectives on free checking. We all know how bottom line-driven banks are. They're yanking free checking and debit card rewards programs, and fees are piling up. These days, there seems to be two options for bank customers– take it or leave it. More and more, it feels like even the threadbare "services" a bank provides are an inconvenience to them.

Who's taking it? Who's leaving it?

A recent study conducted by ACTON Marketing Intelligence, revealed approximately 93% of Americans have one or more checking accounts, and 94% of those are free. When asked the big question, how important is free checking to you?, a whopping, but not surprising, 85% said free checking is critically or very important. What's more, 92% of female respondents, and 79% of the males said free checking is critically or very important.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Digging deeper into the report, one learns that affluence or lack thereof doesn't matter either. Americans have a deep love affair with free checking and they're not going to give it up quietly. Fifty-seven percent said they'd switch banks or credit unions if free checking was eliminated or if fees were imposed on previously free services. The respondents would be willing to modify some banking behaviors to keep free checking, but they're clearly stating they want the choice.

Banks have revealed their Achilles heel once more, giving credit unions yet another chance to take market share. At least that's what we think.

But we're wondering what your credit union is doing. Are you keeping free checking come heck or high water? How is your credit union planning to cope with the inevitable loss of debit card transaction fees? Help us understand the neighborhood perspective. Because that's really where it matters. Leave a comment, please. We look forward to hearing from you.

"The mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work unless it’s open."

Cross-media strategies. Gotta have 'em.

2011-03-22T09:47:00.001-05:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor

Many times I've studied my marketing budget and compared it to my sales objectives. And groaned. How could I possibly achieve the aggressive sales goals with this tiny budget? I might take a five-minute trip to La-La Land where management would agree to a lower forecast, but reality awaited my return. Whether our budgets are tight or not, we all must be good stewards of the amount we're given. Creative, careful selection of the right cross-media tools is the only way to make the most of the budget and achieve objectives

Start Right: Data Modeling

Data modeling is the difference between buckshot and arrows. Using data modeling helps ensure the recipient is highly qualified and/or highly likely to respond the way you want. Append MCIF or Data Systems information to qualify recipients and you'll produce fewer pieces, and of those, fewer will be wasted efforts. This saves money and improves your ROI.

Give a Campaign Depth

Once you've paid for your design concept and copywriting for your primary piece, it's very inexpensive to resize logos, layouts, and shorten copy. The graphic and headline can easily be turned into all kinds of print and electronic banners. A letter can be remodeled into highlights for an ad, statement stuffer, or email for follow-up. Tweet about your newest campaign. Put a link on your Facebook page, blog about it, and don't forget your newsletter.

Switching Things Up or Same 'Ol, Same 'Ol?

As a marketer, we sometimes do things the same way because it's a habit. When our jobs are busy, it's fast. We understand how to do the work. But putting ourselves in the members' shoes makes us look at their needs and reminds us we want to keep members for life. We must try to keep up with these communications trends and find ways to use them to appeal to our current customers and the ones we're trying to acquire.

Communications tools are changing. FAST. Email campaigns remain highly effective. PURLs (personalized URLs) and GURLs (generalized URLs) for instant responses are very convenient. QR (quick response) Codes are the newest way to marry print and electronic communications. (If you need more information about what QR Codes are, click here.)

Some credit unions say their members don't like email marketing, or electronic response tools. If that's true, then why is mobile banking gaining such momentum and acceptance? In 2010, approximately 17.8 million customers used mobile banking, according to data from TowerGroup, a financial services research firm. That figure is expected to jump to 27.4 million customers in 2011. By 2013, it's predicted that 53.1 million consumers will adopt mobile banking.

Startling isn't it? What's driving the high adoption rate? According to TowerGroup, it can be attributed to:

High smartphone penetration (wireless subscribers represent a mobile phone penetration of 90 percent of adults age 20 or older). It's not only the young crowd with these tools in their hands. It's also your core market, your most profitable segment.

Consider that in the second quarter of 2010, smartphones represented 61.6 million (19%) of the 325.6 million mobile phones sold. This represents a sales increase of over 50% on the same time period in 2009. In addition, the Coda Research Consultancy predicts global smartphone sales of some 2.5 billion over the 2010-2015 period. This also suggests mobile Internet use via smartphones will increase 50 fold by the end of that same period.

Changing banking preferences. ATMs and online banking are popular self-service models of banking. Mobile banking goes even further to provide access anytime, anywhere. Do you know any credit union members who don't appreciate convenience services?
Faster networks, improved operating systems, and better interfaces add to the appeal of mobile banking services. Communications providers bombard consumers with the allure of high speed and reliable, time-saving connectivity. And it's cool. Judging by the number of smartphone sales and the ever-increasing speed of Internet connections, these providers are winning.

Repeated, Consistent Exposures are Crucial

Depending on which media you choose and your frequency, you might achieve awareness of your message in five to seven exposures. People might take action after 11 exposures. A combination of scheduling and media plays on the channel strengths, impacts your audience more effectively, and brings the highest response.

Confused? Let's say you sent a letter offering a fantastic auto loan rate. On the way through town, the member saw a billboard ad with the low rate. The next day, your CU's scrolling banner touted it again. A few days later, they received an email with the same fantastic offer. In this scenario, you've achieved multiple impressions in different channels. This is likely to be more memorable than if the member had simply gotten three letters/postcards from you over the course of a few weeks or heard the same three radio commercials during the week.

Your budgets may be tight, but by slicing and dicing the delivery tools, you can make your campaign look bigger and you are likely to deliver a better ROI to your Board. Cross-media marketing is the way to go.

Think about it and then talk to us. We understand cross-media marketing and can help you with budget-friendly solutions.

QR Codes: The Next Best Thing

2011-02-23T11:47:00.003-06:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor

QR (quick response) Codes are the best thing that has happened to print in a long while. While the world embraced the immediacy of smart technology, in some cases, print advertising became less popular. However, QR codes are a new way to re-strengthen the link between electronic and print marketing communications.

So what are QR codes?

They consist of modules arranged in a square pattern. Often the modules are black on a white background, but there are other options. The squiggly-looking box can even contain embedded images to reinforce your credit union brand. They act as a specific matrix barcode (two-dimensional code) and are readable by a dedicated QR barcode reader in a smartphone. Generating the code is free and takes seconds. It never expires.

The bottom line is a QR code is an information freeway.

With a click of a smartphone camera, a URL or text opens, packed with your message, formatted especially for mobile viewing. They provide convenient links to electronic tools your credit union already uses, such as PURLs (personalized URLs) or GURLs (general URLs). The link could open an application, coupon, prize, contest, video, newsletter or your credit union's home page. Your CU could create an entire campaign around QR Codes like a scavenger hunt. Wouldn't that make members get involved and position your CU as very cool? What an idea for new member onboarding! Plus, it's extremely affordable to add this component to a campaign and you'll be thinking it's a no-brainer once you have the details.

Consider this: In the second quarter of 2010, smartphones represented 61.6 million (19%) of the 325.6 million mobile phones sold. This represents a sales increase of over 50% on the same time period in 2009. In addition, the Coda Research Consultancy predicts global smartphone sales of some 2.5 billion over the 2010-2015 period and also suggests mobile Internet use via smartphones will increase 50 fold by the end of that period.

Your credit union leadership might say its membership isn't that tech savvy. That may be true, but statistics such as these, and the explosion of social media use by businesses, including credit unions, tells us QR Codes is just one more powerful tool CUs need to put in their playbook now.

Still need more convincing?

Global intelligence leader, the Nielson Company, says 25 to 54 year-olds comprise 70 percent of smartphone users. There are lots and lots of decision makers in that age range who have stable jobs and have put down community roots. In other words, they fit the profile of your credit union. Using QR Codes is one more easy way to reach them and help keep them as members.

Now get out there.

Print the QR Code on whatever you want, and take members to your destination of choice. Brochures, fliers, statement stuffers, posters, envelopes, newsletters, business cards, billboards, and banners are easy targets. Companies are silk screening codes on clothing and hats, stitching them into stadium blankets and scarves. Use the codes to subscribe to your newsletter and get a double-whammy – your e-mail list can also grow. Silkscreen it on your building. People can photograph the code while passing by and learn what you want them to know.

You can change the landing page or text message any time you wish without revising the code. Kind of exciting, isn't it? Kind of makes you anxious to smell ink again.

Our name, Pinpoint Direct Marketing, has never been more spot on. We're using QR codes for our own branding campaign and for our clients. Are you?

It's Time for a Better Auto Loan Strategy

2011-02-11T11:30:00.004-06:00

We're your pit crew for auto loan growth.

Automotive manufacturers have been advertising heavily since November. It's time to capitalize on this momentum and put your auto loan portfolio in overdrive.

How?

By appending your MCIF or DP information with other sources, such as NADA data, we'll develop a highly relevant, personal offer for members. We'll also position an offer to prospects for a well-rounded, irresistible campaign that brings in loans for purchases and refinancing.

Springtime is primetime for auto loan campaigns. Auto manufacturers are pouring on the ads. Sales are up, rates are down. Don't miss out. Click here to get started.

And after you've finished with making one of the smartest decisions of the first quarter, have a little fun with us, too. Here's one of our favorite Super Bowl commercials. And here's another. Enjoy!

Drivers, start your engines.

2011-01-27T09:40:00.001-06:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor

Is it time to test the water with a new car loan promotion? Possibly. Is it time for spring auto loan campaigns? Absolutely.

In January, Americans showed higher than anticipated confidence than the economy, though it's far from being pronounced "healthy." Plus, the average auto loan for new car purchases carried an interest rate of 4.16% in December. This was the lowest level since the automotive research site, Edmunds.com, began tracking data in 2002. Granted, luxury car sales dominated the market and the most qualified buyers got the lowest interest rates. However, deep incentives likely contributed to strong auto sales at the end of the year. Industry wide, U.S. auto sales rose 11% in December, capping the best quarter since the third quarter of 2008, according to sales tracker, Autodata.

Push this a little further, and consider that automotive manufacturers around the world, are throwing record levels of money against the Super Bowl. As many as nine of them are giving the traditional top ad spenders a real run for their money. GM is reappearing after a two-year absence. Hyundai and Kia are in the lineup. BMW slides in cue for the first time in a decade, while Mercedes-Benz makes its debut. In other words, positive things are happening in the automotive world and a renewed commitment to advertising in general signals optimism about our economy.

Even if your service area still seems a bit too wobbly to put strong effort against new car loans, what's to say an auto loan campaign isn't right for your CU? Why not ride the coattails of post-holiday and Super Bowl awareness, and blast out a great campaign that shows off your fantastic auto loan rates and terms? April is a traditional time for CUs to do this anyway. With the manufacturers already pumping up enthusiasm for a new car purchase, your credit union can benefit. Lots of times "new to you" is just as wonderful as brand new. And there's always that "new car scent" air freshener available if car buyers need a mental boost. Tell members and prospects to refinance to your credit union and save money. All good strategies.

We're creating auto loan campaigns all over the U.S. What's going on in your CU's service area? Can we help you formulate a great auto campaign? Tell me about it.

Pinpoint Direct Marketing: Grabbing Prime Targets

2011-01-12T10:16:00.000-06:00

Pinpoint Direct Marketing: Grabbing Prime Targets: "By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor Cost efficient, profitable marketing begins with understanding who your core customers are. That shou..."

Grabbing Prime Targets

2011-01-12T10:12:00.000-06:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor

Cost efficient, profitable marketing begins with understanding who your core customers are. That shouldn't be surprising news, but sometimes when things aren't working the way we expect, or the market feels more volatile, we need to reflect. Especially at the start of a new year, a fresh reminder provides an opportunity to check your thinking before too much time, money, and effort are spent on marketing that may deliver less than stellar results.

Reading your original charter should provide good information about your core customers. We all know that over time, credit unions, like the members they serve, change. Unforeseen growth opportunities arise. These issues can distract from your purpose, and cause frustration and wasted marketing expense. Using data modeling is the efficient way to refocus.

Honing in with Data Modeling

Every now and then, we'll ask a client to define their core market and they can't do it. You may be surprised to learn many businesses never take the time or make the investment to succinctly define their most profitable customer. Having this information helps ensure you're protecting your core, and spending appropriately for future growth.

Marketing Customer Information File (MCIF) data is a fantastic tool that many credit unions use. If your CU is one of them, we applaud you. By appending MCIF data, you'll get a very robust description of your optimal member. To get there, choose a combination of markers such as:

Credit score
Number of years of membership
Products currently used
Products/services previously used
Months before loan is satisfied
Deposits/investments
Proximity to branch
Property taxes
Age
Gender
Marital status
Homeownership status
Profession
Income

Your Data Processing (DP) system can also provide some reliable insights to who your best customers are. If you're using only your DP system, we recommend making a firm commitment to mine this information for common traits among your members and organize the information for direct marketing.

Once you have a clear definition of your most profitable customer, you can design communications that appeal specifically to their needs. We believe that relevant, personal, and timely communications will boost your success every day of the week. The recipient won't feel they're receiving junk mail or that you're out of touch with what's going on in their lives. You'll have greater confidence and gain credibility that the marketing you do will be more successful than a program based on assumptions that may be outdated or off base.

Three Components of a Target Market

1. Your core or primary market already has a strong affinity to your credit union's services. Consequently, appealing to them is the least expensive, easiest, and most profitable. By gleaning key attributes of this group, you'll be able to tell whether a second mortgage, or a second home could be in their sights. Are they trading in the sports car for a family vehicle or downsizing completely? You'll know whether they are approaching their peak of profitability with your CU, or moving out of it. You've got the information needed to provide timely, relevant, and personal communications to retain their membership and business.

2. The secondary target has many of the traits of the core target. These secondary members may be younger, single, and on the leading edge of financial stability and need. In time, and with focused effort, these people can mature into the profile of a core member. By staying true to your data-driven efforts, you'll know when they move into that sweet spot of profitability. Formulate an acquisition strategy promoting products and services they've never tried.

3. The tertiary target matches the fewest markers in your primary or secondary membership profile. Pursuing them isn't a complete shot in the dark, but this reactionary segment is easily the most expensive to reach and the hardest to hold on to. They may join through persuasive advertising, including word of mouth (testimonials), and enticing offers. They're likely to take advantage of an offer only if you happen to get their attention at the precise moment they need it. They may be shopping for the best deal on a vehicle purchase, or become fed up with their current financial service provider. Your goal is to create awareness, so your CU's name floats to top-of-mind at the magical moment.

A prospecting strategy is needed in the open market to attract those who might be well-served by your current offer. By keeping in regular contact with those who snap them up, you can urge these people into the secondary group. It'll take time. How successfully you communicate with them during the first six months of membership is likely to determine whether you've got a member for life, or a dormant account waiting to happen.

Pinpoint Direct Marketing believes highest success is achieved when retention, acquisition, and prospect offers are present in every campaign. If you've been investing money and effort in marketing, with poor returns, I challenge you to examine who you're marketing to and why.

We'd enjoy hearing whether you use data in your marketing efforts and how it's affected your marketing results. What do you recommend?

Colorful Impact

2010-12-14T10:34:00.002-06:00

A product has one-twentieth of a second to halt the customer’s attention on a shelf or display.¹ That’s a blink of an eye. Research conducted by the secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo in 2004, documented that 96.6 percent of respondents said visual factors were most important when deciding whether to purchase. Color evokes action.

Colorful Consistency

We’re big fans of consistency. In fact, we urge you to resist trendy fonts, colors, and layouts for your advertising materials. Think about the big brand names in the marketplace. You recognize their logos and advertising styles because they’re consistent. The company may change design elements—photos, banners, call-outs, etc., but their overall color scheme, layout, logo placement, font selection, and slogans—their brand identity—remains unchanged. A University of Loyola, Maryland, study determined that color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent. Color is powerful.

As employees, we get bored with what we think is “same old, same old” long before the member does. The threshold to memory is three views of printed material. If you’re communicating with your members on a monthly basis or even less frequently, it takes even longer for them to recognize the communication comes from My Credit Union. Dramatically changing colors and layouts destroys any brand equity you’ve built in terms of audience recognition. Essentially, you’re starting over. In a competitive marketplace, that’s a serious consideration. Color is memorable.

Colorful Conclusions

When you spread out your recent advertising materials on your desk and they don’t look like they all came from the same company, it’s time to talk to us. We can evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your current designs and recommend changes. We’ll create layouts that are flexible enough to accommodate changing messages but build brand identity for you. Doing this also takes the guesswork and cost out of your production process. If color can increase readership by 40 percent, and you bolster that with a consistent layout and branding scheme, you’re on your way to building a powerful, memorable market identity. Color has impact.

1. Color Matters, Jill Morton, 2005.

Improve Your Newsletter

2010-11-24T10:15:00.001-06:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor

You probably think of your newsletter as a worthy expense, but have you ever thought about generating a return on investment from it? Converting to an electronic newsletter can save money, and perhaps for the first time, generating income. How?

Green:
Be a good steward of our planet's natural resources.

ROI:
Saving printing and mailing costs is an obvious benefit, but there's more. E-newsletters allow you to embed hyperlinks in the copy. Readers can react instantly to your stories by clicking on direct links to pages on your website for more information, loan applications, sign-up for services, etc. Think of the income this could generate and the time it could save members!

Additionally, electronic communications indicate to members that you're efficiently managing your budget—their investments. Use the savings for other projects.

Efficient:
Your newsletter is packaged as a PDF or HTML document, whichever you prefer, and posted on your website. Delivery is instantaneous. Members read at their convenience and don't clutter their homes with paper copies.

Use a statement stuffer to alert members of your newsletter's availability. Create a banner or announcement on your home page with a hyperlink to the current issue. Add “newsletter available” to your customer electronic alerts. Create a library of previous issues for members' reference.

Electronic:
Have you ever wanted to add another page, but didn't because of the additional production, printing, and postage costs? If you're using electronic delivery, e-newsletters let you add pages with usually nominal production and copywriting charges.

Readers also have the ability to forward your newsletter with a click of the button, broadening your message exposure with no extra cost. Think of this as a personal endorsement. Forwards can increase membership and the success of whatever you're promoting.

Newsletter:
We'd like to hear what works in your newsletters and what your challenges are. How do your members react to your newsletter? If you had your druthers, what would your newsletter be like?

We look forward to hearing from you and perhaps even working together.

Concise and Clear Communication

2010-11-19T12:50:00.001-06:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter and Editor
Pinpoint Direct Marketing

We’ve all received writing assignments that make us nervous. Perhaps it’s the company newsletter or welcome letters to new members. Whatever the task, your first priority is to make your message concise and clear. Tell readers what you want them to know and provide enough information for them to act on it.

How can you make your communications concise and clear?

Write a brief goal statement at the top of the page (announce rate sale). Then list the most important message(s) you want to communicate. For example: X.XX% APR auto loan; $XXX to move your loan to us; new or used; apply online; fast answer; expires XX/XX/XXXX, etc. Prioritize your messages if necessary.
Write your letter. Don’t be concerned about the length or the right words at this point, just get the words down. Remember to ask for the business by telling them what they should do next: sign-up, apply on-line, visit, etc.
Review your goal statement and message(s).
Remove everything in the letter that doesn’t directly support the goal or help the recipient understand what to do next. If your letter is about online banking services, provide solid benefits (the “why they should care” statements) and not just features (Bill Pay, e-statements). It’s not necessary to get into great detail, but you want the reader to think, “I didn’t know that,” or “that’s a good idea, I’ll try it.”
Check for punctuation and spelling mistakes (beyond spell check). There are plenty of online tools available to help if you’re not sure.

The process seems straightforward, but we all know it can be difficult. Pinpoint Direct Marketing helps keep the “direct” in your direct marketing program. People are very busy these days and often won’t take the time to read a newsy communication. I always say, if you can say it in five words, don’t use 10. Pinpoint increases responses by delivering a concise, clear message in an easy-to-read way. Let us help you increase responses.

Embracing the Social Mentality

2010-11-11T09:23:00.001-06:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor
Pinpoint Direct Marketing

Social media is an opportunity for others to get to know the authentic you. Wow. You're brick and mortar. No, you're not. You're an organization of feeling, breathing human beings, working collectively for one purpose. Is your purpose to sell stuff? Probably, but if all you plan to do is plaster your advertising messages on my wall, you're going to get un-followed, un-friended, and un-linked faster than you can type the next 140 characters. Harsh but true in the social networking world.

More traditional advertising, including your company website, will blast out ads and explain products and services. Using social media means you're willing to engage your Tweeps, friends, blog subscribers, and LinkedIn associates on a different level.

Huh?

Think about social media like this. You walk into your favorite coffee shop and the person at the counter takes your order and asks about a piece of jewelry you're wearing or how your day is going. Then they wait for your answer.

In the business setting, does this mean you're going to learn the personal details of my life? Certainly not. But mixed in with the business messages, you find out friendly things about me. Examples could be what kind of pet I have; that I enjoy my coffee straight-up black; music is important to me; or that the office is having a potluck lunch.

My online friends who have similar interests might volunteer to "pour me another cup," tell me about their favorite pet or ask what time to come by with their empty lunch plates.

At that point, I have two options. Ignore or engage. Social media is about engaging.

I'll thank you for the refill as though you were standing next to me. I'll tell you to bring a pan of brownies at 11:30 (and you also learned I like brownies). Do I seriously expect readers to come by? That depends on who's doing the asking, but that's not the point. The online friend is getting a sense of who I am and ultimately what the company I work for is like. I become real to them as a human being, not just a credit union that handles their money or pay a bill to.

Creating your social identity indicates to the world that you're extending a level of transparency and a human quality to your company. The effort deserves serious consideration and a plan. Embracing the activity must start from the top down in your organization. If your President/CEO isn't convinced social media is important to your credit union's success, then I think it's going to be difficult to devote resources to it and be successful, especially when the results may not be immediately evident.

Ask anyone in sales and they'll tell you that unless the product you're hawking is something they can't live without, relationships are the most important element to success…to keeping a member for life.

Have I got your attention?

Fitting product promotion into social media

You wouldn't think of diving into your sales pitch before greeting a member. Social media has similar etiquette. Say hello when you enter the electronic arena for the day. Read through the messages on your wall or filter and respond to some of them. Yes, RESPOND. You are there to engage. There's nothing that makes a follower feel better than to know they were heard/read and responded to. The online exchanges that can occur can be enlightening and fun.

When you want to shout out a product or service, position your message so it answers a need. Instead of: Mortgage rates 4.5% get yours now. Try: Let us try to lower your mortgage payment. 4.5% sound good? Include a hyperlink to your website for more details or an application.

Prospecting

The explosion of electronic gadgetry to communicate has forever changed the way most companies do business. If you're prospecting to younger generations, social media has to be part of your strategy.

Baby Boomers are likely to be quite Internet savvy. Gen Y and Gen Xers grew up with computers. They are as comfortable with a laptop and an iPhone as you might be with reading the morning newspaper in print. If you want people to think about your credit union as a modern, cutting edge place to work, then consider a social media strategy. If you want them to do business with you, you're going to have to meet them on their turf. Create easy, fast, and relevant ways to communicate and work together.

What about negative posts?

Your online "office" is where corporate transparency is evident. Someone walks in with a complaint (posts on your wall). The lobby is full (your followers are present) and the member can easily be overheard (every one of your associates can read the comment). You have two choices. Ask them to leave (delete/hide the post) or engage. I choose engage.

Reply to the comment as soon as you see it. Even if you don't have the answer, acknowledge the writer. Proactively dealing with negativity lets your followers know you're really there, you care about their experiences with you, and you deal with issues in a straightforward way.

Double edged sword? You bet. But having or not having a social media strategy isn't going to change that. Whether you tell your employees they may use social media at work or not, they're going to use it at work or at home if it's something they enjoy. Their friends and followers are going to get tidbits about their life and experiences working for YOU. Will it always be rainbows and sunshine if you let employees use social media? Of course not. But open communication such as that present in social media, tells your employees, "Hey, we're trying to do a good thing here. We're trying to get customers to know us and build relationships with us that are important to our success and future."

Over time, the people and businesses that follow you form opinions about what it's like to work for you and do business with you. When the time is right to invest, buy, find a new job, get advice, or make a recommendation, will your credit union come to mind as a good solution to any of those needs? If you're handling your social media properly, the answer could be yes. Could be? Yes, could be. It's not a done deal. You need to talk, but you've engaged them enough to form some sort of a positive opinion. That makes the negotiation that comes next go much more smoothly. And your ROI is significantly lower.

Think it's not true? Do you shop on the Internet? Are you a fan of any Facebook pages? Network on LinkedIn? Why do you do those things? Because they have appealing information, products, and services.

Quality not quantity

Some folks determine their online success by the number of friends/followers/associates subscribing to their online persona. Does that truly make them successful? Not necessarily. If you are able to "see" who is following them, you might learn that a large portion of their online friends are not relevant to the kinds of business the company engages in. Like sharing personal bits and pieces of yourself, some of the folks and companies you might subscribe to help define your credit union's personality and make it more interesting for followers to visit you online. Some folks might follow celebrities, for example. Well, few celebrities have or make the time to actually engage online. There are exceptions, but likely these celebrities just beef up numbers. Is that authentic? Not so much.

Organizations related to credit unions are worth investigating and possibly following. Are there philanthropic activities your credit union participates in? Friend them and what's more…ask them to friend you back. If you're consistently ignored, you have to start to wonder if the company or person really understands the purpose of social media – and that is to be SOCIAL. Their strategy is flawed – they have a presence but don't engage. It's like creating a website but never updating it. Does that mean we're going to exchange holiday cards? Maybe, but you'd do it because you want to and that's what friends do. Some Tweeps have meet-ups…they actually have come to like each other so much online they meet as a group for a social one-on-one.

Instant success?

The only thing that's "instant" about social media is the posting part of your message. A friend of mine who is considered a social media expert, describes social media like farming and traditional advertising like hunting.

Traditional media pulses out there, waiting for the recipient to take action (apply for a loan, sign up for new services, call you, etc).

Social media cultivates the relationship the same way you would a friendship. The activity is embraced from the top down—your management team "gets" the importance of communicating in a new way. They find the work valuable and important to your credit union's success. Cultivating relationships via social media requires patience. Is it time consuming? It doesn't have to be, but it's an investment. Unless you're able to give away products and services left and right, cultivating a successful, loyal following is going to evolve over time.

Who should do the postings?

Good question. In a large organization, you may have a communications department. Someone in this group isn't necessarily a bad choice. They are, after all, the most connected to the credit union's brand and promotional activities. These employees tend to be aware of legal and corporate issues that should remain secret. Will they portray the organization's personality as stuffy and sanitized? You bet, unless you have developed some guidelines about what's acceptable social content.

How do you get around this? The same way you came up with a corporate slogan or positioning statement. You brainstorm to formulate written guidelines. Figure out what might be interesting to talk about that fits professional boundaries. Decide what isn't. Corporate secrets, strategies, legal issues, politics, religion, etc., obviously are never appropriate to talk about online in the business setting. Feeling crabby about something personal? Did your supervisor make you mad? Does a coworker have a really annoying habit? Zip it. Internet communications are highly traceable. The minute you think you can get away with a Tweet about the jerk you work for is the minute you could be fired.

And while you're on the subject of acceptable social content, decide about photos and video. Truthfully, people love to see these things on the Internet and it's really nice to put a face with the name. Use a critical eye to examine any photo or video you put on the Internet to make sure it meets a reasonable standard for respecting the person in the picture. If you wouldn't want your picture out there, don't send somebody else to the slaughter. First names only is probably a good idea, too.

Ready to go!

So, you have a strategy, some content guidelines, and you've figured out who might do the work—or is it to have the fun? I like to think it's both. Don't bite off more than you can chew. If you don't have time to participate in three or four different networks, don't sign up for them. Pick what you can reasonably manage and focus on regularly. Similar to your website, social media requires attention or people abandon ship.

What do you think?

Is your social media strategy working or not? Tell me the highs and lows; the battles and victories you've achieved as you brought your credit union to the social media arena. I bet your stories are fascinating.

Time to Reinvent Your Brand?

2010-11-09T10:26:00.001-06:00

By Margie Church, Copywriter/Editor
Pinpoint Direct Marketing

The economy has taken credit unions and banks to the mat, leaving some of them barely breathing for months. And now the oxygen mask is on—perhaps not turned on full blast, but at a steadier flow than the past few years. So, the opportunity to revitalize your credit union is here. Will it be business as usual or will you seize the chance to reach out to prospects who've had their fill of banks' exorbitant fees and hiked-up interest rates without provocation? What about to members who've postponed vehicle and home purchases, and refinancing because of uncertain jobs? The scenarios are countless as the chances to prove that your not-for-profit status works in their favor, not just yours.

A Couple of Strategies

With people feeling beat up and shaky because of economic woes, how about giving your credit union a face? A warm smile and a handshake should be part of your dress code.

In print, in person, and on the Web, make me feel like you care about my personal financial wellbeing. Convince me you can help me get out of a mess the economy might have unwittingly dragged me into. Help me see your staff has the compassion and the experience to help me prop up my sagging investments and start looking forward to retirement a little more positively.

It's never been more important to educate the public about the real benefits of credit union membership. The capitalistic face of banks has been well-publicized, yet many people continue doing business with them because they don't know you're different. Give me rock-solid benefits that demonstrate I'm better off at a credit union and convince me it's easy to make the financial switch.

Dispel the notion that credit unions are an exclusive club. We know nothing could be further from the truth, but the fact continues to be a well-kept secret. When was the last time you did a myth-busting prospecting campaign to new movers to come in and learn the secret handshake?

2011 Planning

Budgets and plans. Goals and numbers. They're floating around the office and our heads. We want to help you get back on track, too. We know your budgets have been squeezed and maybe you've lost some staff and your personal workload has increased. If you're looking for an affordable, efficient way to approach 2011 and deliver results, it's time to hunker down with a creative group that can get you there. Pinpoint Direct Marketing. Turnkey service or ala carte. From concept through production. We're Communicating to Markets of One. We want to communicate for you.

Let's get a jump on the competition together. Contact Kerry Blom, Pinpoint Direct Marketing Business Account Development, kblom@pdmkt.com