Posts by Brian Wringer
The Double Jesus Day
Long ago, and not so far away, I worked in a mental hospital. I was working my way through college, which should give you an idea of how long ago this was. It paid about the same as burger-flipping, but it was infinitely more interesting, and of course I learned a lot of people skills.…
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Is your sludge unintentional or intentional?
Sludge in an organization is anything that gets in the way. Sludge creates friction and frustration, slows things down, and makes it harder to get things done. As I’ve said before, the Sludge Monster is a dangerous beast infesting far too many credit unions. Since I’m something of a sludge scholar, I was very interested…
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Data Digging Disappoints. Duh.
Billions of words and dollars have been spilled on the topic of Big Data and Marketing for credit unions and banks. But far too often, the quality of the offers, messaging and creative sent to those exquisitely preened, pruned, selected and targeted lists gets almost no attention. We see this in quite a few marketing…
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Credit Union Website Analytics: Google Search Console
As I’ve said many times, Credit Union websites are weird. They don’t follow the same sorts of rules as other types of websites, so it can be tough to interpret your data. What’s normal or abnormal? What should your goals be, and where can you make a difference? Fortunately, we’ve built lots of credit union…
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Why credit unions must kill off Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE)
As credit union website developers, one of the banes of our existence is the browser Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE). This ancient, archaic, creaking pile of code is absolutely infested with quirks, bugs, and inexplicable behavior. But this isn’t simply web developers whining about weird-looking websites. The biggest problem is that MSIE is absolutely infested with…
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Five reasons your website is a fright
In honor of spooky season, let’s talk about a few of the ways your credit union website might be causing horrible moaning and groaning, or even frightening members away. And, more importantly, what you can do about it. 1) It’s mummified and lifeless Does your website just sit there, creepily staring into space, with no…
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What’s your Mission?
I have quite a few tools from a company called iFixit. They sell parts and tools for fixing lots of things (mostly cell phones) you’re not supposed to fix. They don’t just sell teensy weird screwdrivers and spudgers, though; their mission is nothing less than “Teach the world to fix every single thing.” And part…
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Streaming ain’t radio.
If you’re running ads in audio streaming services like Pandora, Spotify, podcasts, etc., read the room. Tailor your message, offer, script, and production to the context. A commercial in a listener’s headphones while listening to a finely tuned personal playlist feels a lot more intrusive than listening to the radio. You’re in a space the listener…
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How your website can help members help themselves
Even though branches are still one of the primary avenues for member service, many credit union members still prefer to manage their money and get the answers they need online or by phone rather than in-person. After all, why not save a trip and save time? Which is why one of the consistent trends for…
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Five ways credit unions can put that deposit surge to work
From the national data, and what we’re hearing from our clients, credit unions have seen a deposit surge in the second quarter of 2020. Members are spending less, many are getting back to work, and everyone wants to build their emergency funds in a safe place. Driven by record low rates, mortgages and mortgage refis…
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