Posts by Brian Wringer
Saddle up the Digital Marketing Monster
Digital Marketing is a huge, slippery, multi-armed beast, with tentacles reaching out in every direction. But if you can manage to grab hold and hang on, this powerful critter can take you for the ROI ride of a lifetime. But how do you rope this beast? There’s no place to put a saddle! Whoa there,…
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Beating the Blah Brand Blob
The Blah Brand Blob is a close cousin to the Bankthink Behemoth and the Monster of Meh. Huge, fuzzy, and sprawling, this gelatinous glob tries to be everything to everyone and slowly smothers growth under a flood of ignorable messaging, lukewarm shades of boring blue, and halfhearted, tedious mission statements. But you can turn your…
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Beating the Bankthink Behemoth
Ever lying in wait for credit union adventurers, the horrible Bankthink Behemoth lures victims with the sweet siren call of pure profit and mindless, strictly-by-the-numbers management. If you fall into its clutches, the Bankthink Behemoth will slowly digest your credit union’s heart, soul, and uniqueness, leaving nothing but a cold, hard shriveled mini-bank. It takes…
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Beefing Up the Wimpy Website Monster
Scrawny, misshapen, and horribly behind the times, this chronically malnourished and neglected little freak can do enormous damage as he gnaws away at your brand and member growth. The Wimpy Website Monster does his work in those dusty, dark, forgotten corners of code, slashing SEO results, catering to long-dead browsers, driving away members, and generally…
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Taming the Member Aging Monster
It’s big, it’s wrinkly, and it’s screaming for higher certificate rates. And before you know it, one dark and stormy night you’ll wake up and realize that the average age of your members is creeping toward the 50s. That’s right, it’s the Member Aging Monster, and even though it’s slow, it’s one of your credit…
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Squishing the Monster of Meh
Quick, what’s your biggest Marketing monster? I bet you said something like “Budget and resources! I need more money and power! And a time machine!” You’re not alone. In every survey of CU Marketers I’ve seen, “resources” is the top concern or obstacle. But I think we’ve slightly mislabeled this monster. Or maybe the real…
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Brand? Website? Why not both?
We’ve built lots of credit union websites. And a while back we started noticing something interesting: many of our CU website projects took a slight detour to fix or update some sort of branding issue. Sometimes it was just a little visual cleanup – fixing little graphic or type inconsistencies, or updating an awkward symbol.…
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What’s your best crazy CU idea?
Crazy ideas are a great way to stretch your thinking for any project or problem. When we’re building a shiny new credit union website, my favorite question to ask is something like this: “What’s your biggest, craziest, blue-sky, out-of-left-field idea for your credit union’s new website?” Sure, sometimes you get some tacky ideas, like a…
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Five ways a lame website bleeds members and money
When a credit union is considering a shiny new website with all the bells and whistles, they’re naturally concerned about what it’s going to cost.* Sure, you have to be careful with your members’ money, but it’s also important to factor in what that lame old website might be costing you every day: 1. A…
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Five ways marketing can spread that CU infection
Members and employees who understand, believe in, and can live out your brand and your mission are pure gold. Part of your job as a marketer is to attract these people and make sure they catch the CU bug. It’s not just an HR or membership thing; it’s being a good brand steward. Wear your…
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