small CUs have a secret weapon

Small credit unions have a special set of marketing and brand challenges. Budget and time limitations are pretty obvious, and keeping up with technology is always challenging. If you’re a one-person marketing department, or even a part-time marketer wearing a few other hats, here’s how to start thinking about your growth strategy, marketing, and brand…

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Your message turns into a mealy mishmash of committee-speak.

Of course, every marketer knows “target marketing” is a good idea. After all, it just makes sense; get the right message in front of the right people, and success will rain down. But when it’s time to build a creative brief and develop the message, people seem to get cold feet. “We’re targeting left-handed Moms…

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What if your credit union could make digital moneyeasier and safer?

Just handing over paper money is sooooo 2010, and it’s honestly just a little icky these days. Like most modern humanoids, I live a more digital life. But it’s a little like speaking multiple languages; everyone needs more than one payment method on hand in order to have the best odds of aligning with another…

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There's a lot of power in understanding.

Sam’s superpower is speaking Spanish, but I can’t say I have the same gift. Five years of German classes didn’t leave a lasting impression, and besides, every German I’ve ever met already speaks impeccable English. But his tale did remind me that even if the language is English, there are still a lot of ways…

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working in a mental hospital gives you a lifetime of interesting stories.

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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The sludge you tolerate screams loud and clear

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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always remember the real people at the other end.

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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Google Search Console gives you data on search performance.

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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MSIE: an ancient, archaic,creaking pile of code that is absolutely infested

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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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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