Bill Pay a Data Goldmine?

By John Blom and Margie Church

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

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

Short-term, you might compare the cost of quality leads against your budget. Perhaps you'd choose a few seasonal promotions versus a full-blown commitment. Long-term, we contend that if the data gives you a high level of confidence you'd reach a ripe-for-the-picking audience, and the cost to 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 and prospecting strategies. 

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

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

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

Email Marketing Effective, Inexpensive

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 a 16% increase in 2010 alone. The economics of email marketing in a down economy could certainly be part of the reason for the jump. The advent of smartphones and electronic tablets also could be contributors.

A July 2011, MailerMailer survey revealed that open rates have 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 the industries surveyed. Plus, banking emails sent to 25-499 recipients, for example, had the highest click rate of 14.8%.*

That last sentence is critically important.

We believe that using data modeling to target your message is an important key to a campaign's success. Data modeling helps ensure the recipient 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 pieces than you expected, but if the recipients are the most qualified to accept/act on your offer, isn't that more worthwhile? 

Use electronic marketing tools

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

But we believe totally dismissing electronic marketing is a mistake.

Revealing statistics

If members truly don't prefer electronic communications, 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. 

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 in 2011. That's 28% of the mobile handset market. The figure is predicted to rise to 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 email with their device. (Google, April 2011)

•        Mobile's share of all opened email was 16% in March 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 email campaigns. You'll have the email address of those who opened, clicked through the message, and you'll even know how many times they read. Choose a reporting system that manages unsubscribers for you, too. When email is combined with a PURL for responses, you're able to efficiently capture a lot of information about your membership's behavior. Over time, using email marketing repeatedly provides you a profile of your most receptive email users. There's a valuable marketing tool 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 that budgets are slim by this time of year. Email is an effective tactic you can use right now to keep your message in front of members.

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

 

Pinpoint Direct Marketing exclusively serves the U.S. credit union market. We provide excellent, turnkey or a' la carte creative services at a great value.

Why Would You Skip a Skip?

By Margie Church

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

You don't have to do anything extraordinary to have a successful 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 with a PURL—see significantly higher returns. In fact, one client saw an ROI of over 1,500%. While that number is atypical, many clients see 300% or more ROI.  As you can see, the fee income is usually more than enough to pay for the promotion (at least at our place), and the interest income is an added bonus. Some clients have experienced such success with skip-a-pays that they promote them as part of the initial loan offer. There's a win-win for everyone involved.

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

Even if your budget has been spent or nearly so, resist the urge 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, not having an annual or semi-annual skip-a-pay promotion actually costs your credit union money in terms of lost income.

That New Car Smell

By Margie Church

The fourth quarter always has that new car smell to it. Auto manufacturers ramp up their holiday advertising schedules for luxury cars and then set their sites on Super Bowl mania. Last January, a record number of auto manufacturers spent record amounts of advertising dollars on the "game of the year." They included social media for a brilliant cross-channel mix that reached buyers of all ages and affluence.

Manufacturers are demonstrating their confidence in bold strokes. American automakers and foreign-based firms in the U.S. are putting billions of dollars into building and refurbishing plants. Ninety-thousand auto manufacturing jobs have been added in the past two years. Dealers are making more money per sale this year than they have in years.*

The holidays and the Super Bowl are going to arrive. Auto manufacturers are cuing up their ad schedules and offering incentives to clear out 2011 models to make room for 2012 beauties. Some are offering 90 days no pay options that'll take buyers through the holidays' financial stresses. TrueCar.com estimates incentives will rise 5% through year-end.

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

Try a packaged offer using:

1. Appended MCIF or DP information with other sources, such as NADA data, to target the offer.
   
   We always recommend using data to make offers personal, relevant and timely. Consider reaching out to a slightly younger buyer, aged 25 through 45. These people are in their prime earning years, and new vehicles are necessary for their growing family. They want good value. A pre-approved offer will have better impact when combined with a payment example, but pre-approved or pre-qualified offers don't hold the same appeal they did when the economy was stronger.
   
   People older than this group are more inclined to resist adding new debt. Their earning years are waning, and the economy makes them consider whether the new vehicle is a necessity or a luxury. Since they are more interested in reducing their debt, target them with refinancing offers first.
2. A very competitive rate with flexible terms.
   
   The reality is that at any given time, a person could buy a car. They've been putting it off for any number of reasons, and today is that day. According to BankRate.com, average loan rates nationally are under 5% for new or used vehicles. Many credit unions are offering rates under 3%. A great rate for new, used, or refinanced from another lender, combined with excellent service will get their attention.
3. Offer additional discounts for automatic payments or another time/money-saving service your credit union offers.
4. Use branch-coding. The younger portion of this group may be buying a vehicle on their own for the first time. Reduce their anxiety by providing a name and contact information at the credit union. 

 What else can 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 and electronic tablets - with ease.

• Online application
• Electronic and mobile banking services
• Highlight the benefits of pre-approval before shopping
• Provide payment calculators
• Describe the benefits of GAP insurance
• If the credit union has a free car-buying service, promote that. These people are busy and if they can get a good deal in a stress-free way, that's appealing.
• Explain and promote CUDL financing if you have it.
• Provide information on refinancing benefits and savings.

2.       Offer a free car-buying seminar.

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

4.       Offer 90-days no payment.

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

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

*Star Tribune, August 30, 2011.

You've Got Personality!

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.

Another Option for Electronic Marketing

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.

Cross-media strategies. Gotta have 'em.

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:

1. 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.

2. 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?
   
   
3. 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.