IDEAS WORTH SHARING
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In Case You Missed It – 12.11.2024
How members look at branches. The Hyundai/Amazon partnership. The continuing need for EV loans. Job satisfaction and water on Mars. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Is this a branch or a gym membership? This thought-provoking article on The Financial Brand from Rivel Banking Research, entitled “How Consumers Value – and Use…
OMG! The Overwhelmed Marketers Guide to Year-End
We’re only a few weeks from the end of the year, and the start of another. Here are five fast ways to make the most of the rest of this year and come out swinging in the new year! Make a list, check it twice This one’s pretty general, but overall review your list of…
Have you thanked your website lately?
Right around Thanksgiving there’s a lot of talk about what people are thankful for. The old standbys like Love, Family and Good Fortune are all well and good, but there’s something that a lot of credit union marketers might have forgotten to show their appreciation for. What I mean is, your website does a lot…
In Case You Missed It – 11.13.2024
All the fancy new and coming EVs. The undeniable power of tech security. A look at FedNow’s first year. Some new options for social media lovers. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: EV market maturing and expanding In a recent podcast, Ford CEO Jim Farley stated that he’s been daily driving a…
Start Credit Unions to Save Credit Unions
The CU De Novo Collective is a band of volunteers with two closely linked missions: help new credit unions get started, and help smaller credit unions survive and thrive. How did this get started, and how did we get to the point where the CU De Novo Collective Foundation is actually raising capital to start…
Five ways you’re scaring members away
Gather ‘round the campfire folks, pour your favorite pumpkin-flavored beverage, and get ready for five spine-tingling cautionary tales of ways credit unions might be making members go “EEK!” and run away. Do you have what it takes to face the horrors ahead? Come closer, closer, and hear our tales of dread… The Website of Fright…
Are you scared yet?
Halloween is just around the corner, so I started thinking about which scary novel to read this season. I thought about re-reading “The Shining” by Stephen King, but wasn’t sure I could keep Jack Nicholson’s face from invading my dreams. So I started thinking about even older classics like “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, or Mary…
In Case You Missed It – 10.16.24
Today we’re talking about where new credit unions come from, how a certain social media site might be a sinking ship for CUs, some rocket science, the will-they-won’t-they of branches, encouraging your members to vote and your fuzzy best friend’s fashion. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: CU De Novo Collective Foundation…
Five ways to make car loans interesting
Let’s face the facts: at most credit unions, car loans are kinda, well, boring. The old cliche is that auto loans are every credit union’s “bread and butter”, which is true. They’re pretty much all exactly the same, aside from “great rates” (which everyone says they have) and “fast approval” (which everyone offers). And that…
“Meatspace” is a CU superpower
We felt it was very appropriate to revive this article this week, as we are attending the Indiana Credit Union League (ICUL) conference the same day we send you this newsletter. See you there, Indiana Credit Unions! Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen a trend toward doing, well everything, online. There are a lot…
OMG! Who really IS our competition?!?
If we asked you about your competition, who would you have on your list? (Before you read further, try making a list. Once you have at least 5 names down, keep reading.) Did you start by listing other local CUs, and somehow ignore the large banks and local/regional banks that are competing for the same…
In Case You Missed It – 9.18.24
Prescient predictions, member service or doom loops, colors don’t exist, when Dad can’t draw, and Froot Loops. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Admiral Hopper’s long-lost lecture on the future of computing The NSA recently published video on YouTube of this positively prescient 1982 lecture from then-Captain Grace Hopper, an amazing (and…
OMG! Five Fast Fixes for Credit Union Homepages
No time for a complete, detailed, whole-site content review and SEO glow-up? Overwhelmed marketers can get a lot of bang in not very many minutes by paying close attention to just one page, your credit union website’s homepage. After all, it’s typical for the homepage on a credit union website to get 60-80% of the…
Do your members have the access they need?
With how laser-focused we are on credit union marketing and websites, our blog will often touch on topics such as SEO and creating a marketing flow. But today I’m not thinking about topics such as website accessibility, but about actual human access. And by “access” I mean, can people get to where they need to…
Do 5-star ratings really mean anything?
Amazon asks you to give a review for every product you buy and every delivery you receive. Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb reviews can influence a movie’s box office almost as soon as it comes out. Uber and Lyft drivers get passed over if they don’t have a 5-star rating, and get upset if you dare…
In Case You Missed It – 8.21.24
Remember to support good causes, keep AI expectations real, and give mortgage lenders a reality check. Too heavy? Check out clever ads and pick your fave Froot Loops color. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Help fight for the future of credit unions! The CU De Novo Collective has launched the Louise…
OMG! 5 tips to make video content your members will vibe with
Working in the marketing department means you know how to do video content, right? I mean, those kids on TikTok do it, so how hard can it be? Well, it’s true that it’s easier than ever to make content. But having access doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy. Those TikTok content creators? They make videos every…
OMG! Managing Your Google Business Profiles
Ever Google for driving directions, or a good burger joint on the way to Aunt Sally’s house? Of course you have. If there’s one thing that’s nearly universal in modern life, it’s the fact that no one has to ask for directions any more, and we pretty much know what to expect when we get…
OMG! Budget season is coming up!
You’re already juggling loan campaigns, maintaining a website, writing press releases, newsletters and emails, posting social media, designing posters and brochures, updating branch signage, planning your next community event, etc., etc. You know, those everyday expectations that keep you busily bouncing between tasks all day long. Then all of a sudden it’s Budget Season. As…
In Case You Missed It – 7.24.24
A CU for Freelancers! Student Loan Chaos! The Death of Cash! Credit Reports and Medical Debt! Get me off this crazy thing! Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Finally, a CU for the Gig Economy We’ve mentioned freelancers and the gig economy many times here in this blog. And finally, someone’s actually…
When it’s time to DIY and when it’s time to call a pro
Credit Union Website Best Practices #4 When we launch a new credit union website, we make sure our clients have the tools and training to handle pretty much everything themselves. Blogging, updating rates, adding and managing pages, updating promotions, managing navigation, and generally keeping their site looking good and the content up to date are…
10 things that need to be on your website (but probably aren’t)
We’ve built websites for credit unions for a long time, so we have a lot to say about them. One of our most-used talking points is, “Credit union websites are weird.” (In our line of business being weird is a good thing, so don’t overthink it.) People that visit a credit union website don’t have…
How to “do the right thing” without bragging
Credit unions are the perfect example of people banding together to solve a problem, and accomplishing more through cooperation. Since their beginnings in mid-1800s Europe, credit unions have embraced the values of “honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.” Today’s credit unions continue to “give back” to their communities everyday – which is a…
In Case You Missed It – 6.26.24
Direct mail lives! Why small CUs have tech woes. How to explain what you do. Why you should control your Google Business profiles. Why you need thick skin for honest feedback. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it. Can you explain what your Marketing Department does? If you can’t explain it, it’s no…
Credit Union Website Best Practices #2: Simplicity
Welcome to a new series from iDiz, Inc., “Credit Union Website Best Practices” where we’ll share up to the minute details of what we’ve learned and what we’re still learning about building credit union websites. Credit union websites are about utility, not entertainment – people visit your site to solve a problem, get information, or…
Credit Union Website Best Practices #1: Internal Search
Welcome to the first in a new series from iDiz, Inc., “Credit Union Website Best Practices” where we’ll share up to the minute details of what we’ve learned about building credit union websites. Today, we’re discussing internal search, the search engine built into your site (not external search engines like Google or Bing). A search…
4 marketing tips from a 4-month-old
As mentioned in a recent blog post, I became a father pretty recently. And, well, this baby has been growing and changing quite a bit in the past few months. It turns out that I’ve learned a lot about babies that resonates with what I know about credit union marketing, and members. I’m definitely not…
In Case You Missed It – 5.15.24
Surprising marketing missteps, why less delinquency is bad, some iDiz nostalgia, a WEE welcome, and a little bit of John Oliver. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: What happens when a good apple goes bad? Ever since their iconic 1984 spot, most of us have been huge fans of Apple’s marketing, created…
Why you should offer “Furry Friend Savings” and “Vetmergency Loans”
We REALLY love our pets. Now I know that no one will be surprised by that statement. But I was a bit surprised to learn that there are over 65 million dogs and 46 million cats (not to mention 45M fish, birds, reptiles, horses and other small animals) currently adopted by humans. In fact, pets…
Five fast free fabulous fixes for your credit union website – The Overwhelmed Marketer’s Guide (OMG!)
Spare time? What’s that? But even the busiest credit union marketer can (and should) make a little space to improve their credit union website’s usefulness and SEO, and head off future trouble. After all, your website leads the way for your brand – it’s your 24/7/365 shining outpost, and it’s well worth making sure it’s up…
Email Marketing – The Overwhelmed Marketer’s Guide (OMG!)
If marketing is part of your job, it’s almost a guarantee that you’re working with some kind of email marketing software. There’s also a good chance that someone other than yourself decided which platform to use, and at best you received a crash course in how it works. Let’s try to fix that. MailChimp, Constant…
In Case You Missed It – 4.17.24
Emotionally-intelligent email. The value of negative feedback. Blue-collar Gen-Z. Free Fin-Ed content. How to describe your job, and some friendly advice about your eX. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Emotional Intelligence… in Email? You know how you just delete some promotional emails without even reading them? I recently got an email…
It’s hard not to get caught up in a buzz that surrounds you.
The 2024 total solar eclipse happens Monday, and my hometown happens to be in the right place to see it all. It’s a big deal around here. Supposedly a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience* that we’ve been hearing about for the last few months now. Since this week was my turn to write a post for Shared iDiz,…
CU Numbers Need Marketing Love, Too
Quick, what’s your CU’s current Net Worth/Total Assets ratio? How about Total Loans/Total Shares? What percentage of your members are borrowers? How do these compare to other CUs like yours? Where do you even find these numbers? Now go deeper… WHY are these numbers what they are? Where does your CEO want them to go?…
How do you get new members to Google you?
Note: this post isn’t going to be about the “secrets” of SEO (although that probably would make a good topic for another post.) We aren’t going to spend time talking about keywords, inside and outside links, etc. It also isn’t going to be a post about what might be wrong with your website. This post…
In Case You Missed It – 3.20.24
We’re here with some FRESH takes from this week’s marketing conference! It literally just ended! We have insights about Financial education, marketing with data, using AI, setting a good marketing pace, junk fees and a surprisingly large fruit. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Junk fees are no joke The Biden administration…
3 big money questions from a new father
2024 has already been a crazy year, or maybe that’s just because I’ve spent most of it as a brand-new, first-time-ever Dad. Yes, parenthood is wonderful, watching my daughter grow and change is breathtaking, and I really, REALLY miss getting a full night of sleep. But this article isn’t about that. Instead of talking about…
Turn your staff into an Idea Factory.
Your credit union’s biggest assets are not on the books, but in the heads of the people who work there. Their experience has given them very specific insights, that when combined with some creative thinking become invaluable to your credit union’s future. So how do you turn those assets into something tangible? Turn your staff…
In Case You Missed It – 2.21.24
FAFSA fumbles, understanding the unbanked, paying for priority privilege, pricy pet ownership, astonishing AI advancements, and auto prices are almost normal. No one has time to catch all the news, so here’s what we’ve seen lately, in case you missed it: FAFSA frustrations flummox families For millions of college-bound students, filling out the FAFSA is…
Will it blend? The only CU fintech question that matters.
Quick, go search for something on your site. Now check online banking. Try opening an account. Set an appointment. Pay a bill. Ask the chatbot a question. Now apply for a loan. Take a look at the last few emails you got from your credit union. Do these systems all look and feel and function…
Move with the future or get left behind
My job has had a learning curve since Day 1, and I hope it continues. Because I’d rather move with the future than get left behind. It has been a powerful evolution I’ve been a graphic designer for over 40 years. My profession has transformed from markers, drafting tables and T-squares all the way up…
In Case You Missed It – 1.24.24
Boomers and booms, brands that x-ed out, a different type of Visa, and why you might be able to afford your very own influencer after all. Oh, and a tiny bit of bragging on our part. Here’s what we’ve seen lately, in case you missed it: Congrats, it’s a bouncing baby website! We don’t usually…
Solving the CU marketing “now what?” problem
“Now that we have this spiffy new software/system/service/device, our troubles are over! With the click of a mouse, I’m a one-person data-driven automated digital marketing powerhouse. Let’s make it rain, baby!” Click… “Upload Content?” Now what? Sound familiar? This is what I call the “now what” problem. We all know that digital transformation, digital marketing,…
Four ways CU marketers can kick-start 2024
The holidays are finally behind us, and so it’s time for credit union marketers to relax and settle right back into that comfortable post-holiday routine, right? Well… sort of. Here’s how to kick off the new year in style – and make sure you get a head start on blowing those 2024 project goals out…
In Case You Missed It (v36)
We’re putting the personal in personal loans. We’re looking into the financial future. We’ve got a possible DLT credit union, the straight dope about Tech and all the stats on 2023. While you’re home for the holidays, we’re… also home for the holidays. Here’s what we’ve noticed, in case you missed it: The American Zeitgeist…
24 Tips for Monster Results in 2024 (Part 2)
The holidays are incredibly close, and many of us are finding out we just don’t have enough time! Me included, but I made you a promise last week and I plan to keep it. So, amidst the flurry of activity that everyone is dealing with this week, I bring you the second half of iDiz,…
24 Tips for Monster Results in 2024 (Part 1)
The holidays are almost upon us and if you’re like me, you don’t have time to write – I mean, uh, READ a long think-piece article today. You just want to work on your end-of-year projects between intense online gift-shopping sessions. Or maybe the other way around. Well worry not! I’m here to provide you…
5 short, sweet ways to avoid CommitteeThink
The rationale for allowing committees to make big decisions sounds good – a small group of stakeholders with diverse backgrounds combine their experiences to solve a problem as a team, efficiently and quickly, in order to benefit the most people. So why doesn’t it seem to work that way? Why do some people see committees…
Real SEO for credit union websites starts with real people
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most mysterious and misunderstood terms in the world of credit union websites. The standard “SEO tactics” that might work for sites selling shoes or smoothie recipes (stuff like excessive repetition, rephrasing, padding, keyword stuffing, title and meta tag blather, even more repetition, etc.) will probably just annoy…
Help us pick the biggest turkey
Hey, it’s a holiday week, so we decided to focus on the one thing that everyone seems to be worried about. How big of a turkey do you really need, and which of these are the biggest? Leave a comment to vote on your favorite! Is over-optimized SEO the biggest turkey? There’s something ironic about…
How to make your credit union’s Board of Directors cool
We’ve seen a lot of conversation in the past few years about the member aging problem and its impact on the future of the credit union movement. Yes, it’s undeniably an obstacle, but more than a few credit unions could benefit from examining themselves, particularly the Board of Directors, along with their membership. To put…
Why are our Board Members so Old?
Now that I’m on two Boards, I finally understand why there is so much gray hair on so many Board Member’s heads. They’re old. Like me. Not that gray hair is a negative. Because of my Dad’s mostly shiny dome, I’m just happy to have some hair up there, regardless of color. And there are…
Candid Conference Conversations
In the last month, I’ve been to two state credit union league conferences (the Virginia CU League‘s Growth Conference, and the Indiana CU League‘s Convention right here in Indianapolis). Wondering what’s on the minds of CU leaders right now? Fresh from the schmooze-a-thons, here’s a quick recap of some of the problems and solutions we…
In Case You Missed It – 10.25.23
There are credit union monsters running amok! Monstrous mortgage payments, brainless budgeting, dreadful data sharing, hairy hacks and scary scams. For all things creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky, here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: We’re Haunting the ICUL convention this week! Stop by our booth at the Indiana Credit Union League’s Annual…
The creepy side of web-crawling critters
‘Tis the season to be spooky, but don’t worry, this article doesn’t contain any actual spiders. Sorry to any arachnophile readers that got their hopes up. Big data is a monumental and plentiful resource to be found among the mountains of the Internet, and there’s plenty of gold in them there hills if you’ve got…
How to break out of a loan rut
Deposits may be hot right now, but loans are still the primary income generators, not to mention membership and asset grow-ers, for credit unions. Plus, loans are a chance to be a part of your members’ significant life events. So loans are still worth talking about. Unfortunately, credit unions have mostly been marketing the same…
How credit unions fit into the digital marketplace
Most credit unions have a heartwarming story about putting cash into the communal cigar box. That mental image is great, and it resonates with people who want to be community-focused. But how many people under the age of 35 remember the last time they paid for something with cash? We’re living in a world where finance…
In Case You Missed It (v34)
The power of local, how to use AI, the state of the Metaverse, getting samples of space rocks, fluctuating gravity and most unbelievable of all, annual reports can actually be interesting. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: The extraordinary advantage of local In this article on the value of local institutions (financial…
Why credit union websites must be flexy and stretchy
When it’s time to build a new website for your credit union, what are you looking for? The longest list of features? An all-in-one, all-singing, all-dancing set of solutions to all your problems forever? Set it and forget it? Write a check and walk away? Or are you looking for a long-term relationship, a basis…
Why you need fewer members who look like me
The median age in the US is 38.5. The average age of a credit union member is 53. That’s already a big gap. But when you realize that 68% of their “most loyal” CU members are older than 65, suddenly that age gap feels even bigger. (No wonder so many credit unions are beginning to…
3 steps to change what people say about your CU
We know credit unions to be helpful, community-oriented and compassionate. We know they keep their members’ financial interests close to their hearts. But what do people really say about your CU? A lot of people (and I mean A LOT) have largely experienced financial services as punishment, as trauma. And they feel this way for the…
In Case You Missed It (v33)
In this edition, we take a look at showing off your real values, the way real-world costs are rising, some big moves from NCUA, a fancier ChatGPT, the current state of remote work, and more. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it. Lip service vs. real values Chip Filson’s “Just a Member” blog…
Five ways you’re losing deposits
After years in the basement, loan and deposit rates have been rising for a while, and at many credit unions, the deposit pendulum has swung from “Yikes! Deposits are spiking! We need to make loans!” to “Eek, we need deposits!” again. To help you tune up your deposit-fu, here are five ways you might be…
How to decide when to stop or push ahead
Marketing is an inexact process that sometimes takes a long time to pay dividends. Which might be why so many CFOs aren’t sure it’s worth the cost. Numbers People usually prefer to track a quick return on a specific investment, with digits they can show on a spreadsheet. But marketing isn’t accounting. That’s not to…
How to get started with Google Ads
Google offers you some excellent tools for tracking your site traffic and bidding on keywords. But let’s be honest, these interfaces aren’t the most user-friendly. In fact, at first glance they can be overwhelming and incomprehensible. The good news is you don’t have to be a tech guru to get started. Trust me, I’ve helped…
In Case You Missed It (v32)
BIG NEWS in the credit union world! Plus, 4-day work weeks, a call for transparency, Student Loan confusion, Apple Pay Later, and the Erie Canal. We’ve got something to say about all of these, and more. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Remember the 4-day work week? Surprise, surprise, it seems like…
Fixing the Top Five Accessibility Mistakes on Social Media
Sure, your website has great Accessibility, and you check up on it regularly to keep your site up to snuff. But what about the rest of your online presence? The bad news is, a lot of credit unions aren’t paying attention to Accessibility on Social Media, and routinely post content that a significant portion of…
Making content to attract younger members
Whenever the question of how to reach new, young members comes up, you’ll see recommendations like, “Make relevant, valuable and authentic content that displays your values,” and you have to wonder what the writer thinks it actually means. Now, this is actually good advice, but it can feel incredibly generic. I know this because I’m…
Enduring brands: What we can learn from Barbie
Get ready to see bubblegum pink everywhere you look this Summer! Margot Robbie is starring in a new live action Barbie movie, and Mattel has already signed licensing deals with over 100 brands. Not only can you dress like her, but you can also dress your dog to match (courtesy of Gap.) You can wear…
In Case You Missed It (v31)
What do rising interest rates have to do with Marketing? Is Pride only a June thing? Are you helping your members with student loans? Is getting advice from social media ever a good idea? Oh, and we hired a cat. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Welcoming the newest iDiz staff member!…
Is AI a good fit for credit union marketing?
AI (and AI marketing) is the brand-spanking-new tool that everyone seems to be excited about. If the internet is to be believed, it’s either a miraculous new tool that will save corporations BIG $$$, the end of artistic integrity and creativity as we know it, or both. But that’s kind of par for the course…
In Case You Missed It (v30)
CU numbers, a social media post idea, Gmail tricks, EDDM options, ancient tweezers, and who knew pickleball was so noisy? Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: New Age Direct Mail Sure, email, websites, social media, video, and all the rest are getting most of the attention these days, but good old direct…
CU Conference Shout-Outs
The “sixth principle” of credit unions is cooperation among cooperatives. And we feel a similar spirit should apply to those of us who serve the credit union movement. Here are just a few quick shout-outs to just a few of the innovative companies and CUSOs we’ve seen at NACUSO in Las Vegas in April, and…
Nurture young leaders to get more young credit union members
One of the most common long-term strategic challenges facing credit unions is the member aging monster. It’s a topic we’ve covered quite a bit right here in this very blog. Of course, there’s no one magic bullet for attracting and retaining younger members, but there are a lot of possible ways to give younger members…
In Case You Missed It (v29)
Misinformation and bots are everywhere, but at least there’s one baseball team with a lot of heart. Should you hop on the AI train, or wait until it’s a smoother ride? Who actually gets the tip when you order out? Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Join the fight against misinformation Students…
3 superpowers of the Friendly Neighborhood Credit Union
When you think of ‘credit unions’, you might not immediately think of ‘superheroes.’ It might be difficult to imagine a superhero that would convincingly represent something like a credit union. People tend to be interested in superheroes that defeat supervillains and repel alien invasions, not ones that save people from high interest rates. But why…
Why are you hiding your true talents?
You know you are pretty amazing at some things. But you also know you are not amazing at every thing. And when you try to do everything, not all of it matches the quality of the things you are amazing at. Rest assured that you aren’t the only one like that. We all have our…
Strategic inspiration to help credit unions mix things up
Have you heard the saying about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? There’s a lot of power in good branding, authentic messaging and a creative loan campaign, but sometimes you should be looking elsewhere for inspiration. You might be surprised at how many fresh new ideas you can find when…
The big value in small credit unions
Here’s my bold prediction for the near future: small and de novo (new) credit unions will play a key part in revitalizing and re-energizing the entire credit union movement. Small credit unions (or call them “boutique” or “specialty” credit unions if you prefer) obviously have tremendous value to their members. But we’re only just beginning…
In Case You Missed It – NACUSO 2023
CUSOs are becoming more and more important to the credit union industry because they focus on solving specific problems. Which is basically what iDiz does. So we headed to Las Vegas for the 2023 NACUSO Network (why does every conference end up in Vegas, anyway?), and here’s what we think you might be interested in,…
3 ways to earn your members’ trust
There’s an old saying, “May you live in interesting times,” which supposedly refers back to an old curse. If you’ve not heard of it before, the gist is that it’s better to live in a “boring” time of peace and prosperity instead of an “interesting” time of conflict and change. And when it comes to…
In Case You Missed It (v28)
Step right up ladies and gentlemen, CUs of all sizes! We’ve got all sorts of wacky and wonderful things here today! For starters there’s an honest-to-goodness brand-new credit union getting started. The CU-world-famous Chip Filson gives his take on recent bank failures. Is artificial intelligence your new CEO? Can you get your paycheck before it’s…
New CU tech needs Marketing love, too
Woohoo! Your shiny brand-new website, online banking, mobile banking app, P2P payments platform, fribbert cromulator, or all the above is ready to rock! All your need to do is shut down the old one, flip a few switches here and there, and your members will love it! They’ll flock to download the apps, and no…
Work with me here.
A few years ago I got involved with a local non-profit, because they pulled together and did something positive and real for the community, instead of just talking about it. They bought land in midtown Indy and built a park – complete with a playground, picnic shelter, and baseball field. It’s not a huge park,…
Is AI going to steal my job?
According to the internet, ChatGPT is the newest hot-topic artificial intelligence that’s apparently going to steal my job and take over the world! ARGH! I wanted to know more about this scourge upon humanity, so I turned to every millennial’s secret work weapon: Looking it up on Google. Despite the doomsayers, ChatGPT is just a…
In Case You Missed It (v27)
What do Super Bowl ads have to do with 40K menus? Does it matter what you do on LinkedIn? Looking for generational FinEd content? You want it, we’ve got it. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it. Six things to stop doing on LinkedIn This is a wonderfully direct discussion of some of…
Why love needs CU marketing love, too.
When you think about it, credit unions and the whole credit union movement are pure love in action. I’m serious. Sure, the eight cooperative principles use fancier language, but when you get down to it, these core principles of the credit union movement are all just practical ways humans make the world a better place…
How to hire marketers that get-stuff-done
You aren’t the only one having problems finding people with the right skills to fill open positions. Especially when you are trying to hire a marketing person. Which makes it even more frustrating when, for every new hire you finally land, someone else decides to leave. It feels like a never-ending battle to get-positions-filled in…
3 ways to get BIG results from your tiny social media budget
It seems like budget is the Achilles’ heel of social media managers, regardless of industry. In my experience, this is equally true at credit unions. The reality is that your social media budget has to compete with the rest of your marketing goals, and might get ignored as a result. The good news is that…
Cruft check: fast, easy credit union website cleanup
Hey, I get it; housekeeping is hard. But it’s still an important part of keeping your credit union’s website running smoothly. Every so often, it’s worth taking a few minutes to clean up link rot, scrub that scruffy, crusty old content, and throw out last year’s leftover rates. Here’s our easy, fun checklist to get…
In case you missed it (v26)
Want to see how Gen Z-ers become CMOs? Or the update on Open Banking Standard? What about EV loans that aren’t just for cars, how to start your second career in PR, or how CU’s can be a financial side-piece? You want it, we’ve got it. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it.…
5 ways to get better social media results next year
We all know the way social media goes. In January you pull out your brand new social media strategy, you know, the one you were so excited to implement. You’re certain that this is the year… Then it’s suddenly April, and things have gotten so busy. As the year goes on, you tend to fall back…
In case you missed it (v25)
What in the world is a “Fractional CMO?” Are you following the Sixth Principle? Do we all need to get back to the office? Is it 1969 again? Everything from mapping boneyards to unusual job descriptions, here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: The “Fractional CMO” Search Story There’s an interesting turn of…
Five things CU marketers can get done before 2023
2023 is right around the corner! Everyone’s putting down their hot chocolate and getting out of the holiday mood, and so it’s time for credit union marketers to relax a bit, right? Well… sort of. With just a little time and effort before we hit January whirlwind, you can get a fresh start on 2023,…
You deserve a promotion, not more work.
Marketers at credit unions have always been asked to handle a lot of different things at once. Sometimes they’ve been asked to do more than one job. It kind of comes with the territory. Especially at smaller CUs. But that doesn’t make it a good idea. To keep piling on responsibilities, regardless of someone’s strengths,…
In case you missed it (v24)
This week, we’re pondering whether “unbanked” is out, feeling wary about Twitter, wondering why interchange legislation keeps coming back, finding tranquility, riding golf carts, and going green. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Time to ditch the whole “unbanked” and “underbanked” idea? Yes. This article on Financial Brand lays out the details…
Five ways credit unions can get the most out of Google Analytics
Any way you slice it, Google Analytics is a huge, confusing beast. The price ($0.00) is certainly right, and it’s an amazing resource, but Analytics can also be pretty bewildering, with lots of dead ends, rabbit holes, and red herrings galore. Plus, all the advice you find online is oriented toward websites selling shoes, games,…
In case you missed it (v23)
This installment of ICYMI is staying mobile, looking into the future, heating up, assessing risks and changing the world. Oh, and a little birdwatching along the way. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Mobile branches are the future I’ve been a big fan of mobile branches for a long time. I was…
What good is a marketing budget that never changes?
It’s budget season once again. Time to dust off last year’s marketing budget, tweak the product promotions to match what lending wants to focus on this year, push the numbers as much as you think you can get away with, turn it in and hope that it doesn’t get trimmed too far back. Sound about…
In Case You Missed It (v22)
Calling out crypto clumsiness. An anxiety-inducing accounting of ants. Necessarily nuanced nudging. A realistic range of representation. The sale and safeguarding of Stonehenge. Vader’s voice virtualized. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Calling out the elephants in the crypto room… Even for the most dedicated fan of cryptocurrencies, there are some enormous…
Let’s get unapologetically, radically transparent
No, I don’t mean transparent as in “invisible” or “see-through,” and I certainly don’t mean “difficult-to-find.” The word transparency could refer to a lot of things inside a credit union, but for our purposes we just have to ask one question: Do people know how a credit union works? We know that people see “credit…
Five tips for credit union deposit marketing
Things are, well, pretty wacky out there in the US and world economy. Loan growth has been strong this year, surprisingly strong, and at many credit unions loans are starting to outgrow deposits for the first time in a few years. And so now, with inflation, general uncertainty, and rising rates on people’s minds, some credit unions are…
Is it time for Credit Unions to go Virtual?
The labor market has had 20 consecutive months of sustained job growth. The unemployment rate has been hovering around a 50-year low. It’s really no wonder that employers are having to boost hourly and salaried pay just to compete for workers. Credit unions are in the same boat. It’s harder-than-ever to find new, qualified personnel.…
In Case You Missed It (v21)
We’ve got student loans and a new breed of scam. Millions of disease-fighting mosquitoes. A cost-of-living comparison, the rise of mobile banking and a whole lot of real-life experience. What’s on your bingo card? Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: The great Student Loan debate By now you probably have heard that…
We need Financial Education for those not-so-happy times
When members come to your credit union for a mortgage or a car loan, it often feels amazing. Helping someone start a retirement account feels smart and safe. But there are a lot of life events that don’t give us those warm-fuzzies. If you spend any time on the r/personalfinance subreddit, you’ll see a lot…
What credit unions can do when the aliens land
Let’s face it – “disaster planning” is kind of, well, depressing. The last few decades have been a little too full of “once in a lifetime” events. So how can a CU marketer stay flexible, stay loose, and plan for the unplanned? Aliens, that’s how. No, seriously. Aliens. Bear with me — there are some…
Do you have website blindness?
Is your website actually usable, or are you just used to it? If you’re working with your website frequently or even daily, you might feel like your website is truly, actually user-friendly. But the problem is, you’re too close to it. You might have website blindness. It’s easy for you to navigate a website when…
In Case You Missed It (v20)
We’ve got free student loan financial education. Checking account sign-on bribes are a bust. Starbucks supports Deaf-REACH. Webb and Hubble compare telescope sizes. Big brands are creating RBG IPs. And that’s not all. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: Student Loan Sense videos launched, free for CUs! We’re incredibly proud of this…
How credit unions can be much more than loan retailers
Lots of people make bad decisions about their money simply because they were never taught how to make good ones. Which often gets blamed on their parents, since 83% of US adults say that parents are the most responsible for teaching their kids about finances. Yet 40% of parents claim they talk to their kids…
Compliance needs marketing love, too
Wait, isn’t that weird? Aren’t Compliance Officers the credit union marketing buzzkills? I mean, every time we come up with a brilliant marketing idea, those mean ol’ meanies want to cover it in fine print, or just take all the fun out of it. Aren’t we natural enemies? Well, no. Here’s why Compliance and Marketing…
3 questions to help you maximize your social media marketing
A lot of people are treating social media marketing exactly like every other type of marketing. They think that if they put an ad on a social media platform, people will just show up. “If you build it, they will come” and all that. But you’re not Kevin Costner, and this ain’t your granny’s marketing.…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 19)
GA4 deadline, crypto crisis, risk management, e-bike deliveries, Mars samples, Nerf rockets, CU opportunities. We didn’t start the fire…. Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it: NCUA Streamlining Underserved Area application process One of the best solutions for solving the “banking desert” problem is credit unions that expand their fields of membership with…
Make your CU website pay: getting to know your members
Your credit union’s website isn’t just a glowing brochure; it should be the hub of your marketing, an engine for growth, and a no-brainer investment, that makes a big difference in the bottom line. But how do you actually make that happen? This is the first post in a “Make your CU website pay” series…
Huge credit union opportunities in the news
Here’s a recap of a few recent news stories that also set off that little light in my brain labeled “You know, credit unions have opportunities to really think big here”. Closing the Black homeownership gap Ponder a statistic from this article from SWBC: “In 2021, Black homeownership rates were at 44%, while 74% of…
Don’t be like an airline
You might not think that an airline has a lot in common with a credit union. But when you think about it, people come to both airlines and CUs because they want to do something else. No one I know rides commercial airlines or takes out loans because they enjoy doing those things. Both airlines…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 18)
Get out your Buzzword Bingo cards! This week we’ve got “green”, “FinEd”, “pizza”, “crypto”, “carbon”, “Lego”, “Pride”, and, uh, “glue”. Here’s what we’ve noticed, in case you missed it: Considering Green Loans? The time could be now Reuters recently reported the President will announce new executive actions to increase the production of solar panels and…
Mission is your credit union’s not-so-secret weapon
“Why are you here?” It’s a small question. And it’s a big question, too – the biggest, really. The answer, and more importantly the truth of that answer, will determine whether a credit union thrives and survives. “No, why are you really here?” We’re not talking about a slogan, a tag line, or the boring,…
Legends don’t just happen, they’re built.
Despite its name, New College (part of Oxford University) isn’t exactly new, having been built in the late 1300s. And with that kind of history, it isn’t surprising that even some of its buildings have their own stories and legends. Take the New College dining hall, known for the enormous oak beams that span across…
Your Granny’s on TikTok. Oh my!
When TikTok got started, it was generally a kid’s platform. It was the home of lip-syncing, dancing, and general antics. As a result, most of its user base was in the under 20 demographic. Fast forward to 2022, and things have changed. Pew Research Center’s survey of adults from 2012-to 2021 showed that 40% of the…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 17)
True facts you won’t believe. Great ideas and voltage drops. Provocative lip balms, why we need small CUs, and a disgusting political party quiz. Here are the items that caught our eye, in case you missed it: Powering through the “voltage drop” when you have a great idea I subscribe to Behavioral Scientist, and you…
A second look at CU science fiction
Many years ago we wrote a post called “Credit Union Science Fiction” as an attempt at looking into the future. It was a fun, funky mental exercise that let us flex those precognitive muscles a little bit. After all, making predictions and planning for the future is an important part of every marketing strategy. We…
What GA4 means to CUs
If you deal with your credit union’s website Analytics, you’ve probably heard some buzz about Google Analytics 4, known as “GA4” by all the cool kids. GA4 is certainly an improvement over the older versions of Google Analytics in many ways, but it is very different. Here are some of the things credit unions need…
Finally, a little clarity on credit union website Accessibility and ADA compliance
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released their guidance on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites. Despite thousands of lawsuits from ADA trolls, the issue muddled along for years without “official” clarification on the actual rules of the road. This article from NAFCU’s Compliance Blog is a great summary of…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 16)
Why you should look into becoming a Juntos Avanzamos CU. How Fortnite and an author are raising millions. How you really need to use that NCUA logo, and why I now want to earn my black belt in Verbal Aikido. Here are the items that caught our eye, in case you missed it: Does your…
Five Ways You’re Losing Car Loans
I don’t need a crystal ball to predict that your credit union needs to make more loans. And of course that means good ol’ auto loans, mostly used car loans. Free of charge, we’ll share five things you’re probably doing wrong with your car loan products, your member experience, and your auto loan marketing (just…
Hey CUs, young people need your help
I’ve written at length about how credit unions can get noticed by Millennials. But sometimes it feels like people forget how time just keeps passing us by. Not to make anyone feel old, but as of 2022 millennials are now between the ages of 26 and 41. This means the vast majority of college grads…
Monster Problem: How can I get more out of my Marketing Department?
Regardless of the credit union’s size, someone always seems to be asking this question. This is often because Marketing is too-often seen as an expense rather than an investment, and numbers people tend to worry about costs more than growth. But that doesn’t mean the question isn’t worth asking. So how do you get more…
In Case You Missed It (v15)
Young professionals aren’t the only ones job-hopping more often. Actual proof that marketing actually works. E-Z SEO and cookie-less analytics. Plus a brilliant name for a sperm collection company! Here are the items that caught our eye, in case you missed it: The non-stop job-hop bebop Young professionals are job-hopping at an ever-increasing rate. According…
CUDE training and my credit union adventure
I’m an avid motorcyclist, and like anything involving high level skill, part of the fun is constant improvement. Whether I’m riding the same old seven miles to the office, romping through the curvy roads in southern Indiana and Kentucky, or seeking out the most primitive dirt roads I can find, there’s something to learn from…
Student loans are crucial for making credit unions relevant to young people
Student loans continue to plague our youngest generations. This debt is keeping us from buying cars, buying houses, having kids, and generally moving on with our lives. Need proof? When the U.S. Department of Education offered to freeze student loan payments during the COVID-19 pandemic borrowers collectively agreed wholeheartedly. So much so that more than…
Fun facts for TWOsday
Today is TWOsday, February 22nd 2022 (2-22-22) and that’s the most 2s we’ve had in a date since February 22nd, 1922. There’s only a handful of these dates every century, and two of them happened this month (2-2-22)! We wanted to take a moment to recognize today’s date, because chances are that none of us…
Five marketing automations credit unions should try
Marketing automation can help credit unions find members and improve loan growth. For example, automation can create and manage email campaigns, help you manage member feedback, or target content based on where members are in their personal needs. But how do you find out which tools work best? Do you need to jump right into…
In Case You Missed It (v14)
Why GA4 is worth learning about. What science can teach us about emotional intelligence. Plus plastic that is stronger than steel, and FREE resources! Here are the items that caught our eye, in case you missed it: How a CU can live up to its true purpose “Someone’s financial well-being is as much about how…
3 reasons why your CU should be promoting sustainability
For an unfortunate number of people, sustainability is just another buzzword. Like “Organic” or “Eco-Friendly,” it’s just a bit of hippie dippy hooey that businesses pay lip-service to for PR reasons. In other words, it’s just a Marketing thing. Well I think that attitude is not just sad, but frustrating. It’s outright bogus and not…
Why you should offer Loans for Oddballs
Loan season is right around the corner, i.e., your credit union’s bread and butter. So if you haven’t already started working on your spring and summer auto, boat, home equity and mortgage loan campaigns, then you better get in gear. If you can get excited about one more loan campaign, that is.* I mean, I…
Soft impacts and hard numbers
You’ve probably seen this quote from Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou It’s a simple, but powerful truth. And it’s why credit unions at their best pay careful attention to those “soft…
In case you missed it (v13)
Green loans and the potential harm of AI decisions. Faux holidays and the end of the 40-hour work week. Here are the items that caught our eye, in case you missed it: Not Just a Nerd Fight Timnit Gebru is an AI researcher delving into the issue of the harm AI can do to marginalized…
Core conversions need Marketing love, too
Technology moves fast, and credit unions need to move faster. Or at least keep up. If changing or upgrading your core processor is on the table, here’s why Marketing needs to be sitting at that table. Be there from the beginning No one embarks on a core conversion for fun. It’s a monster project, and…
Fresh, never frozen lessons from Wendy’s marketing
Wendy’s digital marketing team has always been impressively in-tune with what the internet likes. They’ve long since become well-known for roasting people on Twitter, and to top it off? They’re actually funny. More recently they’ve launched their “Super Wendy’s World” campaign to target gamers, and with the size of the industry it’s easy to see…
Wishing you a happy holiday with some festive cookie recipes!
We hope you and yours have a well-earned, relaxing holiday weekend, uninterrupted by Marketing Monsters and other stress. To celebrate, we’re sharing some of our favorite cookie recipes to help everyone get into the holiday spirit! Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies From Jon Cooper These cookies have the perfect blend of sweet and salty while also…
How to keep those winter Marketing Monsters from getting ABOMINABLE
During the winter months, it gets really easy to let things slide as you plan for warmer weather. Unfortunately, those Marketing Monsters aren’t waiting until spring comes to cause you problems. In fact, winter is usually when those problem monsters become Abominable. When I say Abominable, I mean big, hairy, and out of control. While…
In Case You Missed It (v12)
An overdue moon reunion, a VISA-less Amazon, a potentially huge new CU, why Bankthink is destroying credit unions, yet more overdraft news, and drones that look alive. Here’s what we’ve seen lately, in case you missed it: It’s been 50 years since we last visited the moon. Back in 1972, Apollo 17 launched from NASA’s…
Five Fun Winter Website Projects for CU Marketers
I’m a dedicated motorcyclist, so winters are the time when I catch up on all the home and garage projects I neglected in warmer weather. As it turns out, I’m out of moto-projects right now. My bikes are all running great, and I organized all my tools and spare parts last winter. So this winter…
Quick wins CUs can get done NOW
There are times when you need a few quick wins. Whether it’s budget season, or there’s another review with your boss and you just need to get some results and look good. Maybe you still haven’t gotten that list of To-Dos done, much less hit all those goals! OMG! It’s okay. Don’t panic. Simply take…
Giving thanks and sharing some Monstrously Munchy Recipes
This week, instead of delivering another deep dive into a new marketing topic, we wanted to come up for air and just say: Thanks. Thank you for being you, for working so hard and for doing your best to make our world a better place. In celebration of the holiday weekend, we’ve included some of…
In case you missed it (v11)
How much time do you waste commuting to work? Did you have “The Money Talk” before you committed to your partner? Do you suffer from Electile Dysfunction? Here’s what we’ve seen lately, in case you missed it: Electile Dysfunction: what we can learn from a political ad done right No, that’s not a typo. It’s…
Why we need to help start more new credit unions
It seems that while we and everyone else in the credit union movement were busy growing existing credit unions, it slowly became incredibly difficult to start a new credit union. At the same time, it has also become easier and far more common for credit unions to disappear via mergers. The stats are staggering: over…
Why good credit union branding is never done
Just like people, every credit union wants to be well-known and popular. They want to portray an image or persona that everyone knows, understands, and likes. Kind of like my brother. When my brother was in high school, he always wanted to be like the “cool kids.” Because the “in-crowd” seemed to have all the…
Get face-to-face with the Financial Education Monster
This pesky pain-in-the-neck likes to sit in the periphery. The Financial Education monster lurks just out of view, a persistent reminder of a mostly unfulfilled promise you made to your members. And even worse, your members can see the scruffy, generic, little rascal, too. Here’s how to brush up the Financial Education Monster, give him…
Wrestling the Member Onboarding Monster
This slippery, sly critter is a regular Houdini. Without constant attention and communication, the Member Onboarding Monster slips overboard the instant your back is turned, taking hundreds of members with him. Here’s how to turn this beastie into your member retention bestie, and transform single-service and indirect members into lifelong super-fans: Automate onboarding This one’s…
Feeding the Social Media Content Beast
It’s always hungry, always screaming for more, MORE MORE! The Social Media Beast craves a constant stream of tasty snack-size content, and it’s insatiable. Here’s how harried credit union marketers can keep this ravenous critter happy while keeping their sanity. Repurpose, recycle, and repeat The first rule of content cookery is to make the most…
GoodiDiz Podcast: Drag Queens, Credit Unions, Inclusion, and Love with Dan Marquez
The GoodiDiz concept is simple. Credit unions do a lot of good in the world — and they’re also a strong and sustainable business model. So we’re exploring the good ideas, both inside and outside the CU world, that can do a lot of good while also being good business. In this episode, I’m talking…
In case you missed it (v10)
The secrets of top designers. What drives millennials and gen-z away. Some really ugly logos. Here’s what we’ve seen recently that you may have missed: Everything is made up (and 29 other designer secrets.) Be a sponge. Emotions matter. Embrace your harshest critics. Everything is made up: “Every language ever spoken…Olympic games…Smart phones…Pizza…Ice cream…Google! Everything…
GoodiDiz Podcast: Financial inclusion and de novo credit unions with Denise Wymore
The GoodiDiz concept is simple. Credit unions do a lot of good in the world — and they’re also a strong and sustainable business model. So we’re exploring the good ideas, both inside and outside the CU world, that can do a lot of good while also being good business. In this episode, I’m talking…
Learn to love your haters
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… not everyone is five stars, A++++, bonkers crazy in love with your credit union. No matter how awesome you are, not everyone will agree. But here’s the good news: that’s OK. Really. There’s a lot you can learn from the haters, the not-so-greaters, and the…
In case you missed it (Vol 9)
Mysterious FICO scores, a spam & hacker tools company on Facebook – which is building a new universe – and apparently millennials have attitudes. Go figure. Here’s what we’ve seen recently that you may have missed: FICO Fuss Why FICO Scores are up by Dinny Lechman, has some interesting news detailing why the average FICO…
The best websites are never done
Once your credit union’s spiffy, super-fresh new website goes live, you can raise a toast and cross website stuff off your to-do list for a few years, right? Not so fast. A new website is only fresh for a brief moment in time. The world, your members, and what they want and need are constantly…
In case you missed it (Vol 8)
ICYMI: CUs either merging or buying banks, transparency that builds trust, and ideas you need to borrow. Here’s what we’ve seen recently that you may have missed: According to the media, CUs are crazily merging… So far there have been 74 mergers of CUs in 2021, which if it continues at that pace will break…
To become a CEO, think like a CEO
For most of us there is a process to career success. First we need to establish our footing, then learn the ropes, demonstrate our talents, and gradually move up the corporate ladder until we reach the very top. After all, becoming CEO is the ultimate goal, isn’t it? But only so many people can make…
GoodiDiz: How to get good data to make good decisions
A conversation with Rich Jones on data integrity for credit unions of all sizes We’re kicking off a brand new series of video/audio podcasts with a bang, with our first guest, CU strategy superstar Rich Jones! The GoodiDiz concept is simple. Credit unions do a lot of good in the world — and they’re also…
Bracing yourself for CU budget season
All across the land, credit union marketers are polishing up their crystal balls, sharpening their pencils, and gearing up to face the most fearsome beast of all: next year. Following are a few tips for balancing strategy with resources to get the biggest bang for your members’ hard-earned bucks — and your time and energy.…
In case you missed it (Vol 7)
RTO Mortgages, UPLs, AIO for EVs, and the beginning of the end of NSF fees? ICYMI is our way of sharing “Did you see this?!” news and tidbits, just in case you missed it. (And yes, we do try to spell out the acronyms.) Branches still matter Alaska USA FCU’s new branch is in North…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 6)
Mergers are up. Good guys crashed a non-profit’s website. CUs that are actually serving the underserved and cutting back on NSF fees. ICYMI is our way of sharing the best of those “Did you see this?!” news and tidbits that we usually send to each other, and here’s what we’ve seen lately: A great start…
HR needs marketing and brand love, too.
Obviously your job as a Masterful Marketing Maven and Boffo Brand Boss is to bring in those new members and pump up those loan and deposit numbers. Staffing isn’t anywhere near your wheelhouse, so it’s best to leave all of that up to those Human Resources folks at the other end of the hall –…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 5)
ICYMI is our way of sharing the best of those “Did you see this?!” news and tidbits that we usually send to each other. If you like this kind of thing (or don’t), feel free to let us know or join the conversation. In the meantime, here’s what we’ve seen lately: CEOs are getting younger every year Cross a lemonade…
Boats Aren’t Motorcycles
As a marketer, you can slap an image of a car or a house on your ad for an auto loan or a home loan and most people will get it. But what if you want to offer loans for boats, RVs, ATVs and UTVs, electric bikes, snowmobiles or jet skis? And what do you…
CUSOs need marketing love, too
CUSOs (Credit Union Service Organizations) can be a fantastic way for credit unions and groups of credit unions to better serve members and nonmembers, generate income, collaborate with and serve other credit unions, and meet all sorts of needs. There’s an endless variety of CUSOs out there, and the number is growing, even as credit…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 4)
In Case You Missed It is our way of cutting down on those “Did you see this?!” emails that we kept sending each other. Instead, we’re sharing the best of these tidbits and insights with all of you. If you like this kind of thing (or don’t), feel free to let us know or join the conversation. In the meantime,…
Word-of-mouth referrals are the best marketing tool.
My dad wasn’t exactly all that handy in the area of home projects when I was younger. In his defense, though, he had no internet, YouTube, or Google to lean on back then. So, when he started a home project, there was a high degree of probability that he’d need help to finish the job…
Data Cooperative: Big Crazy or Not-So-Crazy Idea for CUs?
While many credit union boards and C-Level staff still appear stuck in traditional ways of thinking about who they are and what they offer, at least a few CUs seem to be in an all-out sprint toward a new digital future. My only concern is that this particular race to the future is going to…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 3)
We recently decided to stop sending each other “Did you see this?!” emails, and start sharing them with all of you, just ICYMI. If you like this kind of thing (or don’t), feel free to let us know or join the conversation. In the meantime, here’s what we’ve seen lately: Want an honest, if inebriated, opinion of your…
CU mergers need marketing love, too
Even the smoothest credit union merger is a whirlwind of details. Of course, making sure the accounts transition smoothly is job #1, but merger partners also have to pay close attention to personnel, cultures, regulatory requirements and all the rest. No wonder it’s so easy to forget something very important – your members. Communicating with…
In Case You Missed It (Vol 2)
A couple of weeks ago we decided to stop sending each other “Did you see this?!” emails, and start sharing these opinions and reactions with all of you. If you like this kind of thing (or don’t), feel free to let us know or join the conversation. In the meantime, here’s what we’ve seen: Renters now pay less than homeowners; what does…
Indirect auto loans need CU marketing love, too
Indirect auto loans are a sticky issue at a lot of credit unions. Folks you might not ever see in person get their car loan, pay it off in a few years, and then leave without opening a checking account, a credit card, or even stopping by a branch to try your custom roasted coffee.…
Website accessibility and translation go hand-in-hand
For some people, website translation (and other forms of web accessibility) seem like more of a compliance issue than anything else. They only want to do what’s necessary to avoid any accusations or complications, and no more. Once done, the translations and other changes will likely sit there. They’ll be untouched by future updates, because…
ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
We all have opinions. About a lot of things. And especially about things we see that may affect you, our friends and clients. So instead of simply filling up our co-workers’ inboxes with “did you see this?!” emails, we thought you might want to join in. So here is our inaugural post of ICYMI (In…
Easy wins to improve page speed and convert more customers
Many marketers and website managers have no idea how to make their website faster, even though they may be responsible for its content and general upkeep. That brand-spankin’ new website might have that fresh site smell now, but it only takes a few months of lackluster care to spoil your visitors’ website experience. In this…
Why clarity is King for marketing to English language learners
Many a Marketing 101 student in has heard the tales of the Chevy Nova and Colgate. In these stories, a lack of diversity or language research led to embarrassment and abysmal sales in Latin American markets. A great first lesson in international marketing, or marketing to English language learners, right? Well, it turns out that…
The Gig Economy and how credit unions can help
As a millennial it’s weird that I get to say this, but here it goes: the economy and the workforce don’t work the same way they used to. A significant portion of adults are now a part of the Gig Economy and we’re seeing a decline in full-time, salaried positions with benefits as we navigate…
Why should I care about social responsibility?
Every time you turn around it seems that another company is taking a stand on social issues, or using part of their profits to support charitable groups and causes. Doesn’t that divert attention away from making more money? After all, isn’t that the true purpose of capitalism? It’s all about the common good. Social responsibility is…
Credit Union CEOs need CMOs ASAP & PDQ
One of the great things about working with credit unions of every size all over the country is that they’re all so different. Every CU has its own interesting culture and unique way of doing things. And one of those very telling differences is the role of marketing in the organizational chart. What’s the title…
What your credit union needs to know about Facebook
If your credit union has been just kind of existing on Facebook, here's how to turn your page into a Facebook engagement phenomenon.
5 reasons to fix your “mostly sorta OK-ish” credit union website
If your credit union’s website is a real dumpster fire, then the reasons to upgrade ASAP and pronto are pretty obvious. But what if it’s just… a little lame? Sorta… meh. Just, you know, not awful, but not great. What’s your motivation if it’s not TOO painful? Here’s why now is exactly the right time…
Rebranding: why it’s all about your “why”
It’s human nature to name things to make them easier to understand. We name things in order to identify what they are, organize them into some sort of system, and describe them to others. And once named, that thing then becomes a bit more real to us; we start to feel ownership, more of a…
The car loan we didn’t get at our credit union
Deposits are climbing and credit unions need to make loans. Mortgages are in high demand, but you need consumer lending to stay in balance. And that means car loans. New, and (mostly) used car loans. So why are credit unions, even large CUs, still throwing away so many car loans? Here’s my real-world, real-life, 100%…
What young people actually want (part 2)
A few weeks ago I started asking the young people I know about the things they want from a financial institution. I received a flood of opinions and wrote up some of their main ideas, but now it’s time to get specific: Credit unions have an awareness problem, particularly with young people. Credit unions and…
Is your credit union trustworthy?
Building trust helps business. In fact, many consumers will overlook higher costs if they think they can trust you. With large tech companies’ identity theft and data breaches uncomfortably too common lately, faith in online business has taken a beating. Savvy credit unions should see this as an opportunity to stand out. By taking the…
It’s never too soon to think about your legacy.
In life, there seems to be an innate human desire to make a lasting impact. Sure, your ego wants to be remembered, but you also want to accomplish things that will truly help others in the future. It’s both selfish and unselfish. And that’s OK. Legacy thinking is one way to think longer term. While…
How small credit unions can start thinking big
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…
What young people actually want (part 1)
If you don’t want to talk to young people, I get it. Their memes are confusing and their fashion choices can be scary. But you can’t grow younger if you aren’t really sure what these folks want. The good news is that I went out and talked to the youths for you, and they had…
If you’re targeting everyone, you’re targeting no one.
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…
Big Brand Updates: Fix or Fail?
Most brand updates happen for a reason. Something has changed that needs to be fixed for the brand to grow in the future. Recently, several major companies have updated their brands, and of course everyone had an opinion. Some were applauded, while others were panned. Some were a strong Fix, while others were a surprising…
Free product idea: Digital Life Accounts
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…
5 Ways to Make Your Website Personalization less Creepy
Website personalization continues to be one of the hottest marketing trends because it can improve user experience and sales conversions. Most people appreciate when content is tailored. It’s quick, intuitive, and convenient. However, many consumers are also more privacy-aware and suspicious of marketers trying to collect their data. When personalization gets too intrusive, people start to…
Speaking the same language
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…
Speaking Spanish is my superpower
You wouldn’t know it from my current curmudgeonly outlook, but I was not a particularly shy kid. To hear my family tell it, I could have held a conversation with a brick wall as long as it nodded in the right places. I had this deep-seated need to make friends and be liked. I wanted…
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.…
Give a gift card. Save the world.
During the holiday season, life can get pretty hectic. Throw in an economic recession or pandemic, and you probably feel like you’re just surviving. Finding the right gift for the right person is exhausting, and this year it’s doubly easy to fall behind. So what are you supposed to do when you’re behind on holiday…
Good iDiz (v5): Security CU
Last month we realized everyone would appreciate hearing a little more good news, so we’re continuing our pleasant positivity publications with a look at the good people over at Security Credit Union! They’ve got community spirit AND holiday spirit! Security CU literally walks the walk These peppy pedestrians were recognized back in November for their…
Would YOU buy from you?
Online shopping has exploded this year, for obvious reasons. But because people have more time available, they are also doing a lot of online research, making sure they buy products from companies they like. They also apply that same process to other decisions – such as deciding where to get a loan, or determining which…
How to Fight Professional Burnout during a Pandemic
Burnout is one of the most debilitating disorders professionals can face. It’s a sneak attack on your mental health that slowly creeps up on you. It can strike anyone in the workplace and can be a challenging condition to treat. And adding the reality of a global pandemic only amplifies the damage. Know the signs.…
3 millennial misconceptions that I’m going to kill, right now
There are a lot of think pieces, blog posts and even news articles out there about millennials and how different we are. Some are more successful than others, but an unfortunate number of them are just plain wrong. I call these millennial misconceptions, mostly for the alliteration. But why do people seem to care about…
What do you mean by “the good guys?”
Who are “the good guys?” How do you know if someone is good? It might be even more difficult to be able to say that about a company. We know that people like to support companies and organizations that make them feel good. They want to know they’re doing the right then when they buy…
Good iDiz (v4): IHCU
In November we decided we’d had enough gloom & doom, so we started something new. Good iDiz is the way we keep our focus on well, good ideas. We’re on the lookout for people offering a helping hand. This week we’re highlighting the helpful folks at IH Credit Union! IH Credit Union extends a helping…
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…
Will Robots Take My Job?
In the movies, robots are sometimes pictured as benevolent assistants to help humans in futuristic settings. After all, they tend to perform specific tasks faster and more accurately than their human counterparts. But will they take over everyone’s jobs? Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne published a report titled “The Future of Employment: How…
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…
Tell us WHY you exist
It is, at worst, an open secret that younger consumers like purpose-driven companies. Values-based organizations. Conscious Capitalism. You get the idea. People view companies more favorably when they have clear goals that are not just “make a profit.” This works particularly well with Millennials and Gen-Z, but it’s pretty strong across the board. But, what’s…
Good iDiz (v3): cPort CU
Last week, we started touting some of the folks we know have deep ties to their local community. This week we’re continuing the trend with another classy community-building credit union: cPort Credit Union! Got some positivity you’d like to share? Help us keep this newsletter going! Let us know about other CUs and organizations helping…
Social media content isn’t one-size-fits-all
Creating good social media content across different platforms can be difficult. It isn’t just about creating images in different sizes, or figuring out how to fit three paragraphs from Facebook into a single tweet. Not all social media platforms were created equally. For one thing, not all social media platforms have the same functionality. There…
Your silence speaks volumes.
Social media has created a unique space online where your presence says as much about you as your absence. In other words, your members pay attention to what you don’t say. Millennials and Gen-Z are more and more important with each passing year, and they care deeply about your values. What do you stand for…
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…
Good iDiz (v2): WSFCU
Last week we decided to start focusing on positivity. We’re started looking for examples of community building, charity, and things that generally put a smile on our faces. We hope you’ll help us keep it going. This week, we reached out to some folks we know have deep ties to their local communities. They told…
Good iDiz (v1): Alloya
We’re all about good ideas. However, the world isn’t going to be very normal this week, so we’re doing something different. This Shared iDiz is going to be all about positivity. We’re sharing good news and good vibes, and we hope you’ll help us keep it going. We reached out to our friends and clients…
2020 has been bonkers. Start next year right now.
We know. This year has been absolutely crazy, and you are done with it. All you want to do now is hide behind various screens all day and hope for it all to be over. But there’s still a couple of months to go this year. And things may not return to normal for a…
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…
Your marketing flow starts with your website
Your website has never been more valuable. If nothing else, the last few months have proven how important your website is to your credit union. It’s the one branch that never closes, the public face that everyone sees. The source of information and access that your members need on a daily basis. It can also…
De-Mummify your Marketing
Is your marketing groaning, moaning, and shuffling its way out to your members? Are you feeling cursed? Forever doomed to create and recreate calcified content? Don’t plague your members with soul-sucking, reanimated marketing campaigns. Here’s a few ideas on how to reinvigorate your marketing and shake off bad voodoo. Quit worshiping the past You can’t…
You want more Millennials? (Part 2)
In my last article, I shared a not-so-secret insight: Millennials are often hard to reach because we just don’t see any reason to get invested in a brand. And most brands aren’t giving us one, so we don’t care. We all know the traditional marketing approaches often don’t work for Millennials. Heck, we’ve been known…
You want more Millennials? (Part 1)
CUs would seem to be in a perfect position to attract Millennials. The foundational concept of people helping people. Banding together to create something where everyone benefits. No shareholders to satisfy, with their just-give-me-that-dividend mindset. CUs literally exist to help their members and their communities. Which is something Millennials can appreciate. So why is it…
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…
AI video might be the answer to your problems
When experts demonstrate applications for artificial intelligence (AI), the potential looks amazing. But, the application has always fallen a bit short. AI’s Rough Start One of the problems with AI-created interactions in the past has been it’s lack of “human-ness.” Robotic voice synthesizers and response algorithms created rigid, machine-like experiences. Early AI wasn’t able to…
Give your members a break.
We’re all a little stressed out right now. Our friends and family are stressed. Our bosses and coworkers are stressed. Heck, even our dogs are stressed. Whether it’s being overworked, or overexposed to the news cycle and politics, a lot of us just need a breather. But, hot take, you can look at this burnout…
5 Easy Ways to Generate Email Content Ideas
Email marketing newsletters are still an effective marketing tool. But how do you keep your audience coming back for more? You’d think the process would be easier over time, but it’s actually more challenging. Each new article seems to overlap content written in the past. Below is a short list of easy wins for e-newsletter…
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…
Sex, Brands, and Rock & Roll
Don’t you just love to see marketing that’s, you know, good? There were a couple of examples of fun, interesting, and ultimately effective marketing that we picked up on this past week. The first was a bottled-water alternative called Liquid Death. The second was a racy, definitely cheeky (excuse my dad pun), and likely NSFW…
Don’t forget to listen to your followers.
There are plenty of ways to get member feedback: take a poll, distribute surveys, and ask your call center for a list of FAQs. But the place where a lot of CUs are missing the mark, however, is social listening. Social listening is an important part of your social media strategy and integral to guiding…
FREE ICON: 100% Member Owned
Last week I saw a semi-trailer emblazoned with a company logo and the words “100% Employee Owned” underneath, and I thought it was a great way to differentiate their company from all of the others. Then I started wondering why credit unions don’t say something similar. After all, CU members are the owners of their…
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…
You need to be social to grow Social Media
You’ve done it. You created accounts for your Credit Union on every social media platform, picked your social media management tool, and started planting some custom content. You post at the recommended times, and answer your followers’ and fans’ messages. In short, you’ve planted your social media garden. Congrats! Good job! But your engagement, the…
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…
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…
Your best social media marketing tool
Social media is based on people sharing ideas and information, creating online communities and conversations. We’ve already told you about a few of the social media management systems we’ve tested, and the importance of maintaining your presence on social media. But, to let you in on a little trade secret, you already have access to…
I went Social Media Management Speed Dating
Recently I wrote an article about how important it is to include social media in your digital strategy, but of course someone still has to make it happen. For a few of our clients that someone was me. So, I decided to “date” a few different social media management systems to see which ones might…
Right now, your digital presence is who you are.
With everything happening these days, your digital presence is either your most prominent asset or your most obviously-neglected marketing liability for the foreseeable future. People have now been stuck at home or afraid to come see you for months. Many are planning on staying home for a long time. That makes your digital presence more…
What if we turned branches inside-out?
In an earlier SharediDiz article, I just had to admit that I’ve always been a branch hater. When I need to get something done, visiting a branch has always been the absolute last resort. But maybe I was being a little harsh. A lot of people still like branches. They can make people feel more…
Ten fast video content ideas for credit unions
Everyone knows that video content is the most engaging by far on websites and social media. That goes double when branch access is restricted, and people are depending heavily on online access. Of course, credit union products and services are a little abstract, so it can be hard to figure what’s interesting and engaging. Here…
I hate branches
I’m a branch hater. There, I said it. When I need to get something done with money, visiting a credit union branch has been the absolute last resort for, well, for pretty much my whole life. Branches are time-consuming, inconvenient, and never open when I need them. How many of your members feel the same way? How many…
When opportunity pops up
Marketers with experience know that you can’t reach every demographic with a single campaign. They also know that when you have a limited budget, it’s better to focus on key target audiences in order to get the results that are needed. But sometimes a larger marketing opportunity pops up that is too good to ignore.…
Don’t merge without your members
If you have been part of the credit union world for any length of time, you know there have been a lot of mergers, even while greatly increasing membership and offering expanded benefits. And it looks like those merger trends will continue. Over the years, we’ve had the honor of helping several credit unions navigate these mergers. And we’ve…
How is a credit union supposed to respond to current events?
How is a credit union supposed to respond to current events? Now, I know that most credit union CEOs and Boards typically don't respond to current events. But these issues are not going away any time soon, and how you respond today will affect how your credit union is perceived by the members you need to stay viable in the future.
Three ways credit unions can boost loans in weird times
Everything is downside-up and frontwards-back right now, and probably will be for a while. Still, life goes on for your members and CU marketers need to do their part to keep interest income flowing and make sure the lights stay on. And what we’re hearing from our credit union clients lately is loud and clear:…
How credit unions can avoid Analysis Paralysis
Have you ever been part of a group that has come up with so many options that the only decision has been to not make a decision? Or where someone is so convinced that there is a perfect solution still out there, that the fear of making the wrong decision has everyone overanalyzing and overthinking…
How to add financial calculators to your credit union website
Financial calculators are a great way to make your credit union’s website more useful and interactive for your members. Credit union websites are a little different than most; one way to look at it is that your website is primarily a tool, not a destination: members visit your website to get things done. Good financial…
How to add secure forms to your credit union website
One of the more common questions we get from our credit union website clients is “how can we put secure forms on our website?” Credit unions can be far more efficient if they replace paper forms and processes with online forms. And of course, no-contact member service is a lot safer all around if you…
How credit unions could help the helpers
What with all this… let’s just call it “stuff” going on in the world right now, credit unions all over are leading the response in a lot of innovative ways. After all, “people helping people” is part of every credit union’s DNA. Much of what we’ve seen so far are CUs offering flexibility to their…
What to do NEXT
NOW that you have had the chance to rethink, reorganize and re-prioritize, the next step to take is to decide what to do NEXT. Of course, what you do next will depend a lot on what the economy does. Depending upon which “expert” you listen to, the economy will likely mimic one of two classic…
What you can do NOW
LimboLand. The never-ending CoronaVirus Vocation Vacation. Whatever you call it, we’ve all had to do a lot of adjusting to our shared New Reality. Some of us have adapted well. Others, well, not so much. But if you look at it in a certain way, you just may start to see this as an amazing…
What part of your brain are you listening to these days?
The last few weeks have been rough on some people, while others seem to be taking it stride. For every person that is reasonably keeping a social distance, wearing a mask while out in public, or having their groceries delivered, there’s another person flouting the guidelines and loudly complaining that they can’t go out to…
How do you market checking when no one writes checks?
Paper checks may be fading, but checking will likely be with us for years to come. And I suspect that the term “checking” will linger long past the time payments are telepathic and humans have stopped chopping up trees to make paper. After all, that amazing all-purpose portable computer, navigator, and communicator sitting on your…
So is it OK for credit unions to start marketing again?
Credit unions all over the country have been rising to the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis with all kinds of creative solutions for keeping members and staff healthy and coping with the economic fallout. But as CU marketers look forward through the crisis and the recovery, they’re starting to wonder… when is it going to…
How COVID-19 has changed credit union website stats
A few days ago, I saw some very interesting stats from Google on how profoundly movement patterns have changed in recent weeks. The data comes from anonymized location data from Android users who have Location History turned on: https://www.google.com/covid19/mobility/ And I started wondering… what effects can we see by comparing the last few weeks of…
Turn your CU website into a virus fighter
Now that we’re here in the new normal, your credit union’s website is the focal point of contact with your members. With everyone hunkered down and branches mostly closed, now is the time to beef up your website to make sure your members get what they need to weather the storm. Here’s what we’ve been…
How to navigate the New Normal
We hope everyone is doing OK in…well, what should we call these times? The Coronazone? The New Normal? In order to help everyone navigate recent challenges, we’d like to share a few tips to hopefully make your life and work a little easier in the coming weeks. Working remotely takes practice Working remotely has always…
Taming the Weird Times Monster
The Weird Times monster is hairy, scary, and totally unpredictable, constantly sprouting freaky new tentacles to worry about. Whatever your personal, political, or economic beliefs, we can all agree on one thing: the Weird Times monster has been tromping all over the place for the last few years, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be…
Do you know where your ideas are?
It’s time for a new loan promotion, and you need A Big Idea. A Better Idea, a capital-I IDEA that gets better results than last time. Something new, something fresh, that gets members’ attention. Something that helps them think about possibilities, then take action. So why is your notepad still mostly blank except for a…
You might be surprised by what a toddler can teach you
There are certain things that bum me out. Gray skies. Drizzly rain that can’t quite make up its mind to turn to snow. The end of football season. Add in the realization that election year posturing and partisanship is just getting started, and I find myself wanting to go to my happy place. Which is…
The Department of Missing-The-Boat
Today we have so many different topics to talk about, (okay, rant about), that we chose to share them all instead. Big thanks (I think) to the sources linked for the extra grey hairs over the last few weeks. Where are the CUs on automatic savings? This is one of the planet’s biggest no-brainers for member…
What will lenders do when people stop owning cars?
This jelly-bean-looking EV is already signing people up for a waitlist while it goes through testing. Because electric motors and batteries take up less space, the inside of a Canoo is “as big as a Suburban, with a smaller footprint than a Prius.” The interior has sofa-like seating, and “enough room to easily fit a…
Dot org, dot com, dot what? How to keep your domain names safe.
Every website needs a domain name so that human beings can find it. In fact, your domain name is one of the most valuable assets you own. And of course, email doesn’t work without a domain name. That’s why it’s vitally important to make sure your domain names are always protected, and that you have…
Why are you paying attention to everything but MX?
For an industry based on the idea of People Helping People, why aren’t more credit unions laser-focused on Member Experience (MX)? Don’t they know that all those little annoyances add up? Aren’t fewer hassles supposed to be a CU advantage over banks? For example, my CU apparently decided to switch service providers that track whether…
20 Monster Ideas for a Monster 2020: Part 1
It’s a new decade, and it’s time for some new ways of thinking. We sat down and made a list of 20 Monster Ideas we’d like credit union marketers to ponder as we head into 2020. Here are the first ten ways to pump up differentiation, connect with the next generation, break out of your…
20 Monster Ideas for a Monster 2020: Part 2
It’s a new decade, and it’s time for some new ways of thinking. We sat down and made a list of 20 Monster Ideas we’d like credit union marketers to ponder as we head into 2020. Last week, we shared the first ten ways to pump up differentiation, connect with the next generation, break out…
Don’t just hit the bullseye. Obliterate it.
Every marketing promotion has a built-in bullseye, a number you’re supposed to meet or beat. And that’s not surprising. Credit unions are jam-packed with Numbers People. Maybe that’s why most of the attention in credit union marketing these days is on Big Data. Numbers People love Big Data. because Big Data is all about “who”…
It’s a Tech Takeover! Everybody panic!
Google is doing checking accounts! Apple has a credit card! Walmart has both! It’s a Tech Takeover!! (Cue EVERYBODY-PANIC.gif) Everyone has been predicting a tech/retail giant takeover of personal banking, specifically checking or “transaction” accounts, for a while, but… is it really time to panic? Or can we panic later? What’s the right level of…
Too bad all your monsters aren’t this fuzzy.
‘Tis the season of spooky, so it’s the perfect time to talk about credit union monsters – and find new homes for a few more of our snuggly, fuzzy, freaky friends! Here on the Shared iDiz blog, we’ve helped credit union marketers all over the country tame all kinds of scary credit union monsters. Everything…
A better way to build a credit union website RFP
We’ve built a lot of credit union websites and we’ve seen and responded to a lot of website RFPs (Requests for Proposals). And let’s be honest here: most RFPs and RFP processes… aren’t that great. Most CU website RFPs tend to be based on generic “fill in the blank” templates that focus on technology, laundry…
How to buy a new credit union website
Before you begin a credit union website project or start writing an RFP (Request For Proposals), there are three main questions to think over: “why”, “how”, and “who”? Why? Make sure you’re clear on your strategic and long-term reasons for updating your credit union’s website. Technology moves fast, and the world changes even faster. Focus…
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…
CU Budgeting for Weird Times: Double Down on Different
It’s budget season for credit unions, but it’s also silly season in politics and wacky times in finance. Even the weather is off-the-charts odd, and strange growth-eating monsters are creeping over the horizon in every direction. In times like these, how do you even begin to make your plans for the strange and stranger times…
CU Budgets in Strange Days: Put Your Money Where Your Monsters Are
You can’t just build a CU budget for your marketing and website based on “oh, whatever we did last year“, and that goes double when times are getting Strange.* *(In last week’s article, we pointed out that strange days and weird times are here, and things are only going to get Weirder in 2020.) Fortunately,…
Tinker, tweak, and try | CU website best practices
What can you do right now to start getting more out of your CU website? It’s simple: tinker, tweak, and try. Try stuff. Experiment. Maybe even twiddle. Make some tweaks and see what happens. Poke around for things you can fix or improve. A credit union website is sort of a living thing. It’s never…
The truth will set you free
Some of our favorite “shop talk” with fellow credit union marketers over relaxing beverages are tales of losing clients because we told them the truth. You might say that one of our traits as a company (and, honestly, as individuals) is bluntness; we’ll say and ask about things that make people uncomfortable. It’s a gift.…
A credit union? How do you expect me to market THAT?!
You’re a world-class marketer (even if still waiting on the world to recognize that fact), and a new client walks in your door. You ask how you can help, and they start talking about their business. Seems they’ve been around for over 60 years, with a decent customer base. Unfortunately that base is starting to…
Building a Killer CU Landing Page | Digital Marketing Best Practices
You’ve built the perfect marketing campaign, a perfectly orchestrated symphony of traditional and digital media, targeted to a nice juicy list of hot prospects. People are clicking and tapping, but without a great landing page, you might faceplant at the finish line. Here’s how to build a credit union landing page that turns a list…
Why you’re crazy if your head marketer isn’t a VP
I’m just going to come right out and say it for all the credit union CEOs and Boards out there: If the person in charge of Marketing and Brand is not at least a Vice President level executive reporting directly to the CEO, you’re doing it wrong. We’ve worked with hundreds of credit unions over…
Remember your past. Build on your present. Brand for your future.
Rebranding a credit union is tough. Everyone has an opinion, and most aren’t afraid to state it. For every member that identifies with their shared history, there are others that see a need to update their brand for the future. And both have a point. But time keeps moving, and credit unions have had to…
Culture vs. cost: how to find the right CU partners
A good fit between your credit union’s culture and your agency’s culture is the single biggest factor in success – far more than pricing. In fact, compatible cultures will minimize your costs and maximize marketing and brand effectiveness. There are lots of good companies out there doing great work for credit unions. While none of…
How many seconds to get a human?
Two extraordinary things just happened to me: An actual human picked up the phone when I called a large corporation with a technical problem. The human quickly resolved my problem. A few days ago, I found myself locked out of my Square account. (Among other things, Square allows regular folks to accept credit cards.) I…
Why credit unions should simplify absolutely everything
We already know that you should pay attention to simplifying copy to lower the reading level on your credit union’s website. It’ll make your site more understandable to everyone, not just brainiacs, and could even give your site an SEO boost. But that’s just a start. Simplifying the language you use shouldn’t begin and end…
Slaying the Sludge Monster
He’s covered in sticky tentacles of frustration, endless inescapable globs of pointless paperwork, ridiculous rules, and cruel barbs of rejection and fees. The Sludge Monster is clogging up your membership growth, and he’s costing your credit union members and money left and right. So what is sludge, anyway? Sludge is anything that creates friction, frustration,…
Four things to try when you have no idea what to do next.
Staring at a blank piece of paper. Stuttering to a stop halfway into a project, not knowing how to keep it moving. Hitting a dead end that you didn’t see coming. We’ve all experienced that stomach knot of panic when you have no idea what to do next. Lucky for us there are at least…
Why you should stop marketing to Millennials
Now wait a minute! Aren’t Millennials where all of us are supposed to be focusing our marketing? Why would I stop marketing to Millennials? After all, there are 80 million of them, with $200 billion in annual buying power. They’re obviously the hottest generation to target because they will need multiple auto loans, credit cards,…
Bringing people together in a No Front Porch World
Front porches used to be the ideal gathering places. People used to sit outside to cool off, greeting neighbors walking by and inviting them up for a face-to-face chat. It was a great way to bring people together, catch up on community news, and share some iced tea. Then air conditioning killed the front porch.…
CU Website Best Practices: Be Nice to Bookmarkers
One odd trait we’ve seen on the credit union websites we build is that most have quite a few – sometimes thousands of – visitors who repeatedly arrive via bookmarks. Obviously, you want to be very, very nice to frequent visitors, especially ones who care enough to bookmark something on your site and return regularly.…
Your members want more shortcuts
Your credit union needs to become a shortcut. A life hack. A pro tip. People love that feeling of skipping the line, of getting the most out of minimum effort. And credit unions are perfectly positioned to deliver. Words like “convenience” or “24-hour access” don’t mean much any more. They’re cheesy, misused, and tired. But…
Maybe you just need to reboot your CU?
A credit union is kind of like a computer. Multiple components interfacing with processes that all have to work together to get anything done. Competing demands for limited resources that are trying to do too many things at once. Lots and lots of data to process, that everyone wants immediately, if not sooner. With all…
Digital Marketing Best Practices: Landing page or Microsite?
When you’re creating and planning digital marketing, one of the simplest but most important questions is, “What, exactly, are we asking people to do? And what’s the best way to get them to do it?” There are tons of possibilities, and the right answer depends on your goals. We’ll discuss two very different directions: landing…
Where do you get great content for great content marketing?
Content marketing is a great way to move away from interruption marketing and build relationships and trust. But where does all the content come from?
How to build the credit union you’ve always wanted
Bricks, mortar, steel and glass are okay. They just aren’t the right materials to build the credit union you’ve always wanted. One-of-a-kind CUs are built on more fundamental components. Elements that give your credit union the rock-solid foundation it needs. A strong, but flexible space that provides a base for everything you want to do.…
Career lessons from the funny farm
I’ve had an unusual career. After the watermelon farm, and while I was in college and playing in a classic rock band, I also worked full time at a psychiatric hospital for four and a half years. (I didn’t get much sleep, either…) Like anyone who’s worked in a hospital, I also have an endless…
Why daily details matter
I recently read an article about the rise of cupholders in cars. It turns out to be a more interesting and important topic than you might think. And there are lessons every marketer can learn from the Great Cupholder Revolution. In a nutshell, cupholders in American cars started entering the mainstream in the 1960s, as…
Is your website written for brainiacs?
Did you realize that a high reading level on your website might be hurting your search results and making your site less useful? If Google’s algorithm thinks you’re writing for brainiacs instead of the average person, it could be showing up in your search results. Which makes sense, since search engines are looking for websites…
Should you: Stay in your Lane, or Think like a Human?
If we have learned anything in this era of ‘woke’ advertising, it’s that companies need to think like a human instead of a corporation. Whether you agree or not, most people believe that businesses have a social responsibility in the marketing they present. Ads and images that show rigid gender roles and sexual stereotypes, unrealistic…
Five fast intranet benefits for HR
An intranet is an internal website used by staff to share information and resources and to communicate with each other. Here are the top five ways your HR department can benefit from a better, faster, easier intranet!
Five fast intranet benefits for Operations
When staff can easily share information, resources and communicate with each other, everything goes smoother. Here are the top five ways Operations can benefit from a better, faster, easier intranet: More service consistency By sharing information across locations and departments, you’ll create more consistency in decisions, expectations, and service standards. Fewer errors With a wide…
Five fast intranet benefits for CEOs
An intranet is a great way to make sure everyone is on the same page, even if they're scattered across multiple locations. Here are the top five ways a CEO can benefit from a better, faster, easier intranet!
Five fast intranet benefits for Marketing
Most people think of an intranet as an internal website used by staff to share information and resources and to communicate with each other. But did you know an intranet is also an amazing Marketing tool?
All I Want for my CU Marketing Christmas
Dear Santa: I’ve been a very good little credit union marketer this year. I kept my desk clean, tracked ROI faithfully, surfed the mobile wave, and leveraged channel preferences to optimize KPIs across key brand value concepts. But there are just a few little, teensy-weensy things I’d like to see under the tree this year…
Fees need marketing love, too
For credit union marketers, fees can be a real pain in the patoot. There are all those pesky clouds of fine print we have to stuff in somewhere, not to mention all those negative vibes. But fees are a necessary part of keeping the lights on at every credit union. Fees make up most of…
The fun and easy way to dip a toe into digital marketing
We understand that every credit union is at a different place in their digital marketing journey. Not everyone is ready to saddle up the digital marketing monster and thunder off into the e-sunset. Especially if your time is limited and your budget is even more limited. But if you ARE interested in knowing a bit…
How to Nuke the Numb Numbers Monster
The Numb Numbers Monster has two heads facing different directions; one that makes all kinds of brand promises, and one that actually does the opposite. Fortunately, you can train the Numb Numbers Monster so that both faces sing the same song, but first you have to answer one big question: Do your CU’s numbers match…
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 monster 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,…
Grounding the Static Strategy Monster
Usually forgotten and unloved, this dusty demon of the desk drawer can guide you to incredible results if you know how to harness its power. But ignore it at your peril, because the Static Strategy Monster can easily short-circuit lofty goals and send your results crashing back down to reality. Of course, that assumes you…
Dumping the Doubt Monster
It’s back there, sneaking around and lurking in the back of your head. Playing on your fears. Whispering in your ear why you shouldn’t do this, why that isn’t going to work, that no one cares what you do (except when you <inevitably> screw things up). It’s the Doubt Monster! Sneaky, insidious and ever-present, slowly gnawing…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Brand? Website? Why not both?
We’ve built lots of credit union websites. And we started noticing something interesting: many of our CU website projects took a slight detour to fix or update branding as well. Sometimes it was just a little visual cleanup – fixing little graphic or type inconsistencies, or updating an awkward symbol. At other times, the process…
You’re not allowed to separate digital, branding, and marketing anymore.
It would help if everyone just agreed that digital, branding, and marketing have been merged into one big multi-dimensional entity. I mean, can you really imagine working on one without connecting it to the others? In fact, all the components of digital, branding, and marketing are so tightly woven together that any CEO that tries…
Oh, how adorable! They don’t know how to use the internet.
Have you ever noticed a disconnect between what one person thinks is normal and what someone else thinks is? My son and his wife (age 31) are expecting our first grandchild. My sister-in-law, co-hosting a baby shower for them, asked where they were registered. My daughter-in-law replied, “Amazon” and sent a link about 50-60 characters long. My…
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…
What the Jeep Wave can teach credit unions
Until this past weekend, I had never heard of The Jeep Wave. Of course, that may be because no one in my family has ever owned a Jeep, but apparently it comes as standard equipment with most models, according to my good buddy Mike, who proudly drives an ’04 TJ. What is the Jeep Wave,…
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…
Where do ideas come from?
Did you know that everyone was once a creative genius? As infants we had twice as many connections between the neurons in our brain. And without knowing any language, just by watching and listening, we were able to figure out how to get whatever we wanted from those big goofy people around us...
Five reasons meetspace matters
Ideally, your credit union’s in-person and virtual experiences complement and reinforce each other; they’re different sides of the same brand. “Meatspace” (or should we call it “meetspace”?) connections cement a brand in a member’s mind, and create important lifelong connections in ways that “screenspace” can’t. We build a lot of websites for credit unions, but…
Five trends in credit union websites that you need to know
If you’re considering a redesign of your website, here are five trends in credit union websites that you need to know in order to make your credit union’s next website work better for you and your members. The slider must die. Sorry, it’s been a fixture of home page design for years, but the animated…
Is it time to panic about alternate financial providers?
As Kent mentioned last week in his post-Financial-Brand-Forum recap, there seems to be a certain amount of indecision about whether it’s time to panic, and exactly what we should panic about. Should credit unions panic about Walmart sticking their very large toes into our personal financial services turf? Or Amazon, Apple, or Costco? All the…
I went to the Financial Brand Forum so you didn’t have to.
In just a few years the Financial Brand Forum in Vegas has developed quite a following, so I decided to check it out. What I found most interesting was that there seemed to be two competing schools of thought espoused throughout the event, and it wasn’t credit unions v. banks. It was more like a…
Do what the competition won’t
Walmart recently unveiled a new website, built around online shopping. Probably not earth-shattering news, but what’s interesting is that the site is designed and built specifically to be the anti-Amazon. Every aspect of the look, the interface, the processes, and the entire experience is carefully massaged to be different than Amazon. (And hopefully better from…
Why credit union websites are weird
Let’s face it: credit union websites are just plain weird. They don’t follow the rules of normal websites doing normal stuff like selling zombie coffee mugs. We’ve built lots of credit union websites, so we’re sort of used to the oddities. But if you’re trying to make sense of the “usual” advice and rules for…
Stop grandpa marketing
In order to keep the new member pipeline flowing, credit unions have to start doing a better job of targeting people 16-21 and even younger. This is when financial habits are established that will last a lifetime, and turn them into your core members in the future. Of course, that’s easier said than done. How…
Give young members a CU to believe in
Young members are on everyone’s mind; they’re essential for every credit union’s long-term survival, yet the average age of CU members creeps up every year. But how do you bring in these mysterious millennials, and their even more mysterious younger siblings? A snarky blog and a shiny online banking app are only part of the…
How to Brainstorm for Results (and get something good)
It’s time to bring in the troops for a brainstorming session. Because you need ideas. You might need ways to solve a big ugly problem or keep a small problem from growing. Or maybe you need a dose of fresh, deep thinking about long-term strategy. Ordinary, obvious ideas won’t do. You need so-good-they’ll-instantly-be- recognized-as-amazing ideas.…
Stuck at OK? Push for Amazing.
So there you are, doing… OK. Marketing is ticking along like a well-oiled machine, same budget as last year, you’re a little under budget, and you’re on track to pretty much meet your modest growth goals for the year, just like you did last year, and the year before that, with the same old familiar…
How to make sure your domain name (and your website) stays yours
Every website needs a domain name so human beings can find it. However, things like domain name registration, DNS, and logins sometimes get lost or forgotten over time. Here’s how you can take a few moments right now to make sure your domain name (and your website) stays yours. WHOIS the boss of your domain name?…
Why your brainstorm sessions need to work like your brain.
If you’ve ever been part of a brainstorm session that boomeranged from over-the-top-zany ideas to more-practical-but-not-quite-boring concepts, then you have a pretty good idea how your brain works. Which isn’t how everyone thought brains worked, not that long ago. Everyone used to think there were two sides to a brain, and two types of people,…
Ammo for a website upgrade
Are you a credit union marketer suffering from a case of budgetus minimus with a website that positively reeks of 2009? We’re happy to help you pry open those purse strings and get the resources you need to revitalize and relaunch your website. Here are five good signs it’s past time for a website upgrade.…
Say just one thing to make your marketing more effective
Say one thing. Say it well. There. That’s most of what you need to know to be an effective credit union marketer. The more focused your message, the better it’s going to work. “Simplicate, and add lightness” – Ed Heinemann, famed Aircraft Designer Of course, like everything that’s simple in theory, adding lightness in real…
First you have to know what you don’t know
What you don’t know can hurt your credit union’s future. Because the world has been changing even if you haven’t. Your 3-car garage in the suburbs isn’t even on the radar of young, potential members that prefer to live in a city where they won’t ever need a car, not to mention a space to…
Think screenspace, not meatspace
For most credit unions, each member drops by your website an average at least four or five times a month. It’s open 24/7/365, and you can do things with color, interaction, and motion on a screen you just can’t do with a postcard or in a branch. Add in mobile app usage, and, well, you…
SEO4CUs: Making Friends with Google
Google’s approach to online search helped position them as a leader, which has also led to companies trying to figure out how to get to the top of their page rankings. Today, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a critical component of having an online presence...
Why CU Marketers should quit their jobs in 2018
Quick, what would you say you do? If one of the first few words out of your mouth is “marketing”, you likely need to quit your job in 2018 — and immediately start your new career as “VP of Member Experience”. Or maybe even “Chief Experience Officer” (CXO). The title “Experience Officer” may be new,…
Career lessons from the watermelon farm
I had a strange career before getting mixed up with credit unions, including a few years working at a mental hospital and 12 years in a busy rock band. But the one thing that makes people stop and ask questions is my time as a watermelon farmer in southern Indiana. I spent every summer when…
How to buy a credit union website (part 2): Choosing the right CMS
In our last post, “How to buy a credit union website“, we discussed how to start figuring out what you need in a website, and we provided a simple wish list you can download. In this installment, we’ll delve deeper into how to choose the right CMS (Content Management System) underneath your site and what factors…
How to buy a credit union website
If your current website is more than two or three years old, it’s already time to start planning its replacement. Technology moves fast, and time on the internet moves even faster. Plus, your members, your brand, and your credit union continue to grow and evolve. What you need your site to do today is much…
Are your potential members afraid of financial commitment?
If your membership growth numbers are a little tepid, maybe you can spice things up by reducing the fears that go along with financial commitment. We marketers tend to focus on the positives, but it’s well worth thinking about the negatives that might be creating barriers. What are people afraid of? What’s scary or unknown…
What to do when a lawyer is about to pop up and go “BOO!”
ADA lawsuits on website accessibility have become a big, scary topic lately in the credit union world. We’ve fielded so many calls and questions from credit unions that we’ve ended up writing multiple blog posts and giving free webinars on the topic. But with the right mindset, improving accessibility is actually an opportunity to make your…
Before trying “latest and greatest” in marketing tech…
Credit union marketers are being bombarded with so many options for the “latest and greatest” in marketing tech (marketing automation, AI, personalization, big data, chatbots, biometrics and more), that it’s hard to keep up. But we certainly pay attention. After all, the “next big thing” is always fascinating, isn’t it? Especially when it is wrapped in shiny…
Web Accessibility: Fixing Contrast Conundrums
One of the more common website accessibility/ADA issues we see is contrast — when there’s not enough contrast between type and the background color, people with certain visual problems might have trouble reading the text. Fixing the problem is pretty straightforward from a technical standpoint, but it can lead to some tough decisions about brand…
Making the world a better place, one tomato at a time
We’re big on making the world a better place, and we’re even bigger fans of those that actually do it. A few days ago, we ran across this link to a fascinating National Geographic article on how the Netherlands, a country with 1/270th the area of the US, has become the world’s #2 exporter of food. (Take…
How does anyone expect to be heard, when everyone is talking?
Why does everyone seem to be talking all of the time? And how does anyone expect to be heard, when everyone is talking? Thanks to the web and social media, everyone who wants to share their thoughts with the world can do so, using a constantly changing array of platforms. The lines between creators, media,…
This isn’t working, and I have no idea why.
Would you ever say “this isn’t working, and I have no idea why” to your boss? Never. To your friends and coworkers? Probably not. After all, most of us are programmed that failure is not an option. Which is crazy. Lots of good ideas with great potential have failed. Even a few of ours: •…
Negative space isn’t just for logos.
Artists have used negative space in compositions for eons, and graphic designers have made good use of the technique in logo design. But negative space isn’t just for logos; it may be an even better way to define your brand. Okay, you might not have followed that if you aren’t a graphic designer, so let…
Three fast ways to rev up your website
Let’s assume you’ve got an awesome credit union website with all the bells and whistles. It’s mobile-friendly, accessible, touchable, and downright gorgeous. Plus, you’re in the driver’s seat of a killer content management system like WordPress that can take you just about anywhere. But what if your budget for gas money is a little limited,…
Want someone to remember your marketing? Open a gap
If you really want someone to remember your marketing, open a gap. Don’t believe me? Try singing “Happy Birthday” without singing the last few words. Go ahead. Try it. Hum it to yourself if you are too embarrassed to sing out loud. Did you find it tough not to sing (or hum) those last few…
Are you ready to electrify your car loans?
Car loans are every CU’s bread and butter, but the recipe is changing. Any way you slice it, we’re going to see more and more electric cars on the road. Are you ready to electrify your car loans to match? Electric vehicles (EVs) are going to drastically change the car market Last week, Tesla delivered…
CU website accessibility problems and solutions
If website accessibility is on your mind, you’re not alone. Over the last several months, we’ve fielded more and more questions, and we’ve already been working with several of our credit union clients to help them evaluate and update their websites. Obviously, website accessibility is a complex topic. This article I posted a little while…
Just one of these obstacles is enough to keep you from growing
Ignorance, inertia, and inattention. Just one of these obstacles is enough to keep your credit union from growing. And your credit union needs to overcome all three if you are ever going to thrive. IGNORANCE As CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle told attendees at the Southeast Credit Union Conference, credit unions have a perception problem, which…
Peace, love, and credit unions
“Hippie” values are back, and it’s time for credit unions to dig out those old tie-dyed tees and headbands and get ready to group-hug a whole new generation. I can already see the signs: Peace, love, and credit unions. Credit unions have every right to claim and own this message in the financial world. While Millennials…
Your brand reputation should make your Mom proud.
The life lessons your Mom imparted hold as true for brand reputation as they do for you, which means you need to share her wisdom with everyone. Wait a minute, what’s my Mom got to do with our brand? Your Mom wanted you to grow up to be happy and healthy, with plenty of friends…
Bread and butter car loans don’t have to be boring
Here’s a product idea for car loans I’ve had kicking around my head for years. It’s yours, free of charge. (Of course we’d certainly love to help with marketing strategy and creative.) The plain old car loan is every credit union’s bread and butter. It’s also kind of boring. No wonder your members look at your…
8 AHA! Moments from Austin | #CUatMAC
Those AHA! moments — quotable lines by interesting and unique speakers — that make a conference worth attending. Add in smiling, friendly marketers, vendors that actually get along, and a city that is known for its live music, a social conscience and being a bit weird, and you might just have the perfect combination for a credit union marketing conference.…
Your vague and squishy brand is hurting membership
A vague and squishy brand makes it almost impossible for a credit union to bring in new members. Without a solid reason to notice or care, no one other than your most involved members will know who you are, or what makes you different. Yes, it probably doesn’t help that the generic tagline next to your credit union logo would probably…
Does your website play nice with others?
Wouldn’t it be a better world if everyone could just get along? That simple idea, interoperability, is one of our guiding principles for building credit union websites. Everything online should work together smoothly with everything else. Your online banking login should look like it belongs on your site, and when members log in, they should know…
What to do when there’s never enough time to get anything done.
There’s never enough time to get anything done. Between meetings and coffee breaks, conversations with co-workers and email distractions, the day seems to fly by and you never quite accomplish what you want to. Well, you’re not alone. And that may be part of the problem. In theory, bringing employees together for 8 hours a day, 5 days…
Answering the Indirect Question
One of the more intriguing credit union marketing problems we encounter is “what should we do with all these indirect members”? To be clear, we’re talking about members who have joined the CU by getting a car loan at a car dealer. Many times, they have only the base savings account and the car loan,…
Unintended consequences can be damaging
When Marketers don’t pay enough attention, unintended consequences can be especially damaging. If you don’t believe me, look at the public relations fiasco United Airlines has been experiencing lately. Those standardized terms probably looked reasonable to those in charge of herding passengers at United, especially since all the major airlines use similar wording in the fine print that accompany ticket sales.…
Credit Union Science Fiction
Forget next year’s media budget or your five-year strategy. Let’s gaze deeper into that CU crystal ball than we ever have before. What’s the distant future of finance? What are credit unions going to be doing 25, 50, or 100 years from now? Virtual CUs Correct me if this has already happened, but is there…
Eating the Elephant: Economic Upheavals
There’s a silly old joke that goes something like this: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” In this series, we’re talking about taking a bite out of some of the “elephants in the room” – big, obvious, uncomfortable problems that everyone’s trying to ignore. We’re hoping to inspire credit union people to…
Eating the Elephant: Health Care Costs
We all know the expression “the elephant in the room”. It’s a big, obvious, uncomfortable problem that everyone’s trying to ignore. In our “Eating the Elephant” series, we’ll take a good hard look at some of the elephants jostling credit unions and their members. We’ll also discuss some ways credit unions could play a role in taking…
Minimalism: Love people. Use things.
Last summer my wife and I were partially successful at simplifying our lives. We moved from a 3000 sf home in suburbia to a 1700 sf condo in the middle of town, cut out 40 minutes of drive time and replaced it with a 10 minute walk to work along a fitness trail surrounded by a…
What CUs can learn from Sarah Silverman
If you haven’t seen the latest Sarah Silverman video about moving her money to a credit union, you might be living under a rock. I’ve seen almost as many social media posts and reposts about #bankexit as political posts. Okay, that might be an exaggeration. There’s still far more political posts in my social media. And of course the video…
What I’d like to know about blockchain
Like everyone else in the credit union world, I’m a little tingly these days about Blockchain technology. It’s also, and possibly more properly, known as Distributed Ledger, but I suspect the short punchy term “blockchain” has already won. I’ll skip yet another explanation of what blockchain/distributed ledger is — there are many definitions and imaginative…
Web Accessibility? It’s Not So Scary.
Accessibility is on everyone’s mind lately — we’ve fielded a lot of questions recently from our credit union clients about web site accessibility and ADA compliance. It’s a big and technical topic, but where do you start getting a handle on it? Check your Attitude Accessibility is not a “yes” or “no” question, a switch…
What will your next website look like?
Several trends in website design are drastically shaping how sites are experienced by users. It’s no wonder why so many Credit Unions are updating their sites – even those that are only 2-3 years old. And if yours is older than 5, well, you probably already know how out-of-date it feels. What IS the fashionable website wearing these days? Or, for…
Thank you for the marketing!
What if people wanted to see marketing? Seriously. What if the state of the art in creating and targeting online marketing messages was so good that people would turn off their ad blockers, and eagerly await the flood of fresh, funny, interesting, valuable, relevant, educational, and informative content? What if your mailbox contained stuff you actually…
In order to show that it can be done.
My guess is that the prof needed an example of someone that survived a graphic design career. You know, in order to show that it can be done. At least I assume that is why I was invited back to my old college last week, to chat with a class of Juniors. It was an interesting process…
Five Ways to Squeeze the Most Out of Your Marketing Agency
If your marketing budget is like those at most credit unions, we know you have to pinch every marketing penny until it screams. That’s why, as a service to our clients and potential clients, as well as to our colleagues in the creative biz, we’ve put together a few tips on how to squeeze every precious drop…
Snap decisions may only be worth the time they take
We’ve all heard that more and more consumers will abandon your website if it takes too long to load. Depending upon who you ask, a one second delay can result in 11% fewer page views, and every second it takes encourages more visitors to bail. Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking“ explores the idea that snap decisions may…
The Call of the Mild: What introverts can do that extroverts don’t
Let’s say it’s your task to hire someone to lead a team of professionals doing challenging work. All else being equal, are you going to pick the extroverted “people person” or the quiet, thoughtful introvert? Extroverts never seem to be at a loss for words, and always have a story to tell. They’re relaxed and comfortable…
What’s next in CU web design
Every once in a while, I like to polish up the ol’ crystal ball, put on my shiny prognostication hat, and peer into the mists of the future. When we build a new credit union web site, we always try to look ahead and build the site for what’s coming next. It’s a Mostly Mobile World…
Most of the world has no idea who you are.
Credit unions, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but most of the world has no idea who you are. That may be a surprise to you since you live in the CUniverse. When immersed in the credit union culture, when you deal with the same coworkers and members most of the time, it’s too easy to…
New Year’s Resolution: Kick Some “BUTS”
You have an amazing idea that gets you feeling so pumped that you have to tell someone else before you explode. Everyone you tell gets so excited they tell others, and suddenly everyone is buzzing, brainstorming, and building on the possibilities until they begin to feel probable. At least until a great big “BUT” pops up. “What if our web site DIDN’T look like…
Free Shared iDiz Books
Back when we started Shared iDiz in 2007, our concept was simply to chat with those working in credit union marketing. We wanted to provide insights, share expertise, challenge unproductive thinking, celebrate fresh viewpoints, and hopefully keep it interesting and fun to read. It’s apparently a long conversation, since we are headed into our 10th year of Shared…
Year end web site checklist
Before you launch into all the exciting stuff you have planned for 2017, it’s worth taking a few minutes to make sure your web site is ready for the new year. Do you know where your domain names are? Make sure you have a list of all the domain names your CU owns and that…
When you see a bubble, pop it.
If nothing else, the 2016 election has made one thing very obvious: many of us live in a “information bubble”, where we only pay attention to information that reinforces what we already believe. These bubbles, together with the speed and reach of social media, created an unprecedented opportunity for fake news — just create a…
The CU vault of horrors
Stuck trying to come up with a costume idea for the credit union office party? Here are a few grisly ghouls you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark and lonely branch hallway. Grumpy Gertie the Zombie Member She’s not a ghost just yet, but she is often seen shuffling through the branch, making horrible…
If you work in marketing, are you being paid to lie?
I believe in honesty. Not just in my personal life, but in business too. Of course that might be difficult for some people to believe since I work in marketing. After all, it’s a business I’ve heard described as “being paid to lie.” And, I know it’s hard to believe, we’ve had clients who wanted us…
Don’t forget to breathe.
It’s October, and the world seems to ripen around you. Reds, oranges and yellows pop out overnight against the darker green leaves of trees that aren’t in such a big hurry, while squirrels try to get a little fatter with every walnut they crack open. It’s the best time of the year in the Midwest.* The air is a…
Choose to be worth it.
They say that in the race to the bottom only one person wins, but I’m not convinced that anyone actually does. We still see credit unions claiming they “do everything a bank does, only cheaper.” Okay, they don’t normally say “cheaper” in their marketing, but they do usually brag about their lower loan / higher savings rates. They also…
Thinking big. Really big.
Every so often, I think it’s a good idea to think big. Really big, like on a macroeconomic level. What’s our species up to, anyway? I’m not always sure where I fit in or even where credit unions fit in, but here are a few of the big, fundamental things I’ve been thinking about lately.…
If Big Blue can pivot, so can you.
When asked to think of an agile, design-focused business, Apple or maybe Tesla probably come to mind. IBM probably won’t – but maybe they should. Having invented everything from mag stripe cards and the ATM, to floppy disks and disk drives, UPC barcodes and SQL programming, IBM has been the prototype Big American Corporation almost since it…
Are you an Amazonian or a Walmartian?
It’s always interesting to compare credit unions to well-known “disruption” companies to see if there’s anything we can learn from their examples. Walmart and Amazon have massively disrupted retail, along with entire industries and communities. Love them or hate them (or both), their effect on the world has been huge. In addition, they are direct competitors…
Rebranding: partial polish or total transformation?
Once the Board is on board with rebranding, the question soon becomes “how far should we take it?” For some, a rebranding should be more about refinement than reinvention, a partial polish over a total transformation. Others would prefer the more extreme approach, looking for a new name and a new beginning in order to create something fresh and amazing. How do you…
Helping the not-so-ideal credit union marketer
In my last article, I outlined the attributes of the Ideal Credit Union Marketer — an empowered, invaluable, brand-savvy communication dynamo coordinating a turbocharged marketing engine that powers record growth. Let’s face it — that kind of perfection could be kind of annoying. And out here in the real world, the Ideal CU Marketer doesn’t…
Fitting in is the future of financial tech
Pardon me just a moment while I don my wizard hat and polish the ol’ crystal ball… yes, the swirling images are getting clearer, the clouds of possibility coalesce… I see… an average, mild-mannered credit union member. She glances at the flexible holo-phone wrapped around her wrist, smiles, taps twice, and continues with what she was doing.…
Rebranding: throwing Baby out with the bathwater?
Rebranding is all about getting to the core of who you are. When you strip away all the products, branches and systems, the underlying purpose, heart and soul of the credit union is an optimist’s belief in people helping other people, making the world a better place. There is an emotional connection there that other businesses just…
There is an option to The Slow Fade.
Day after day after day, too many credit unions have kept doing the exact same thing they always have, for members they have always had. As a result, too many end up focused on trying to stay afloat with an aging membership and rising overhead costs, spending less and less money and effort on anything that can improve their future…
Where’s your Master Plan?
Elon Musk, best known as the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has a very interesting document on his company’s blog — the second half of his “Master Plan”. He’s achieved or is close to achieving the goals he laid out in the first half of his Master Plan, and he’s now working on the rest.…
Explaining the CU Difference. Again.
Every time I begin to think that people understand the difference between credit unions and banks, I keep getting reminded that it isn’t as obvious to the average person. Of course you know why CUs are great — you’re soaking in CU goodness. But you simply can’t assume that consumers have any idea what a credit…
Disruption tattletales
You generally see one of two reactions to any disruption: people who want to find out more and maybe get on board, and what I call "tattletales" -- people who want to find any reason the disruption violates some principle or law, and they just want it to go away.
Widgets, wearables, watches, and things
We're only in the very early stages of a flood of interesting and cool capabilities enabled by "IoT" devices. Credit unions can be a vital part of the IoT revolution and develop even closer connections to members by making smart choices and sticking to their core principles.
Five Big Ideas for transforming your CU
It’s a tough time to be on the smallish side as a credit union. It’s getting harder to compete with larger FIs of all stripes, and it’s tougher to stay in the black while offering the same things everyone else does. Maybe THAT’s the problem. You don’t need to offer everything to everybody, especially what…
Drop your pants and dance
After the MAC conference in Las Vegas, my wife and I decided to stay an extra day and see the sights. Among many other weird and wonderful things and people, one of the sights we saw on Fremont Street was this magnificent rendition of cupid. Some people just sit there with a sign and beg, but this…
Your approach to problems: Caddyshack? Or Whack-a-Mole?
Some days you have one problem that just won’t go away. No matter how hard you try, how determined your approach, the problem always slips away at the last moment, which can leave you as crazy as Bill Murray’s character in Caddyshack. Other days, problems seem to come up one after the other, another popping up immediately…
What happened in Vegas
Last week, I attended the 2015 MAC Conference in Las Vegas. As always, it was an incredible experience, as you would expect from gathering the best and brightest of the CU marketing field under one roof. The highlight, of course, was collecting two MAC Awards for logos we designed for Park View Federal Credit Union in Harrisonburg,…
Always pleasantly surprised
One of the great things about working with so many different clients all over the country is the variety. I am always pleasantly surprised by the talents of new clients, mostly because I never know what to expect. Some are very outgoing people, others not so much. She is very logical and analytical, he is…
Stop making things so gosh-darn hard
Why were these tasks so onerous? Last night (and early this morning) I helped my wife activate a new cell phone. A couple of weeks ago, I finally signed up for BlueIndy, an electric car sharing service. Last year, we refinanced our mortgage to take advantage of a lower rate. I tried to order a pizza…
Collaborate to reinvigorate
White Sands Federal Credit Union (based in Las Cruces NM) was planning to launch a new logo in a few months. Their internal design staff had designed their new logo and brand colors, but they wanted help translating the new look into the real world with an updated website and print materials. It was also an opportunity to…
Sometimes shorter is better.
International Harvester Employees Credit Union faced a problem many credit unions have; their founding SEG no longer existed under the same name. SOLUTION: iDiz was hired to research staff and member feelings on the existing name and collect suggestions for new names via an online survey. Even with favorable survey results and name suggestions, many…
Five ways to make a small CU roar
According to this article by Glenn Christensen on CU Insight, small credit unions are notably less efficient with their marketing dollars. The numbers are gloomy, but not all that surprising. After all, the cards are stacked against the pipsqueaks in many ways, not just limited budgets — marketing time, attention, money and (dare we say it?) talent are all…
Everyone has an opinion
Ask for an opinion and most of the time you’ll get one. As a creative person, you are probably used to getting opinions all of the time — from your boss, coworkers, possibly even clients. Sometimes you’ll get useful, constructive insight that gives you the chance to improve, that helps you turn what you are…
Think big. Now think bigger.
If there’s one thing I wish I could shout into every credit union marketer’s ear, it’s this: “THINK BIGGER!” With every project. Every product, every campaign, every thing you do, every step of the way. It will make all the difference in your results, your experience, and your success. Think about the biggest possible picture…
Have a confession to make?
Confession of your sins is good for the soul, and an important part of Catholic tradition. And confession of your financial “sins” is a great way to start a conversation, learn from mistakes, and become more financially savvy. Catholic Federal Credit Union, based in Saginaw, Michigan, decided to have a little fun with this tradition. We created a…
Innnntroducing…Rent-a-Brain!
Are you responsible for too many initiatives, an overabundance of priorities, an excess of tasks at hand with way too few fingers to get it done? Are you a slam-packed, schedule-smacked, shell-shocked, docket-pocked shell of your former self, trying your best to appease particularly pesky purveyors of arbitrarily outrageous deadlines? In short, has the fun…
How to spot a silo
Departmental silos are still one of the biggest problems at credit unions, and I am always surprised when a CEO is unaware of them. Maybe it is because I grew up around small rural midwestern towns. Every day you would see silos outlined against the sky, dwarfing the other farm buildings. It was common knowledge that these tall, windowless tubes…
Not your Grandma’s Credit Union
PROBLEM: Harvester Financial is a small credit union that needs to grow. The manufacturing plant where they started had been closed years ago by their original SEG, which itself had been sold and merged into another company. Even with mergers membership was aging, and the credit union wanted to update their image in order to bring in younger members. While their…
Content Marketing is all about the conversation
Everyone loves a good story. Numerous studies have even shown that our brains respond more to stories than cold, hard facts. That’s probably why stories have been a primary Branding & Marketing tool since, well, forever, and why they became a priority once content marketing and social media took off. After all, someone has to fill all that space. It’s not…
Consuming life, one chunk at a time.
Our life is fragmented. Our attention span is short. Our phones have become permanently attached, which means we are always accessible to the world, with tech (Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and email) just a tap away. Life keeps us moving, pulling us this direction one minute, another direction the next, only leaving time to consume…
When it comes to budgeting for web sites, you’re doing it wrong.
When it comes to budgeting for web sites, you’re doing it wrong. Here’s why: Your website is more visible than your branches. Your website gets 10 times more traffic in a month than any branch, with members logging in multiple times to pay bills, check balances, and transfer between accounts. Even non-members check your site before coming in…
What ad agencies and credit unions have in common
Ad agencies have a real problem; they don’t like being called ad agencies. For most of the people working in the industry today that term should have been left behind, maybe as far back as in the ’60’s (especially once it was overly-romanticized by the TV series “Mad Men”). But if nothing else, that show has shown the enormous changes…
Video is eating the internet (and how to get on the menu)
There are 300 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute. Cisco tells us that by 2019, video will be 80% of all consumer internet traffic, up from 64% in 2014. Video on demand will double by 2019, with over 70% of that HD. Thankfully broadband speeds are supposed to double in that same time…
Does your marketing calendar pass the Google test?
It’s human nature to keep doing the same thing year after year, and Credit Union marketers are no different. CUs tend to push home equity loans in the Spring, car loans in the Fall*, and Visa cards right before the holidays – because they always have. Now if that sounds like your entire Marketing Plan, then you should probably bring in some outside help. In…
More Bang for the Buck: Bricks or Clicks?
Brick and mortar branches certainly aren’t going away. You’ll always need face-to-face interaction with members. But in-person service isn’t cheap – in 2014, the average credit union branch cost over $2 million to build and equip. Even buying and refurbishing a closed branch of a competitor won’t save a lot of that cost. Sure, you…
It’s hard to read the label from inside the jar.
It’s obvious you’re different. You have the best staff, the best products, the best rates, and no one else is so completely devoted to their members. Absolutely no one can compare to you, and, frankly, you should have members willing to pay extra just to get in. Of course, you’re on the inside, looking out. When everyone else reads…
A great web site is a process, not a project
Your new, fantabulous, mobile-friendly website is launched, the accolades are pouring in, and your CEO is beaming like a proud parent. Time to relax with a few margaritas, declare victory, and move on to something else, right? Wellllll… sort of. With a brochure or newspaper ad, you know there’s an end point. Once the ink…
How to manage creatives without crushing them
Creative people are some of the most frustrating, talented, nerve-wracking, and amazingly wonderful people I know. And I should know, having worked with, hired and managed a whole bunch of them over my career. So when a CEO recently asked me how I was able to get them to do such great work over so many…
I’d rather have the dirt shower
If you’re a motorcycle enthusiast, MotoGP weekend is a great time to be in Indy. In case you didn’t know, MotoGP is the premier international motorcycle race series, similar to Formula 1 for cars. MotoGP means the absolute best riders in the world and the absolute latest and greatest in motorcycle technology. And since 2008, one of…
Everyone wants my opinion, but no one respects my time.
I understand why a “please review our services” approach has become the norm for customer service departments. Generally, any chance of opening up a conversation with a customer is a good thing. But not when it feels preprogrammed, a meaningless step in a never-ending sales cycle. Just look at my yesterday: I bought some clothes at the store and the…
CUs: people are searching for you, not your products
Here’s a remarkable little fact about organic search that is specific to credit union websites: Well over 99% of the clicks coming from organic search are simply variations on the credit union’s name. (For example, “ABC Credit Union”, “ABCFCU”, or “ABC CU”.) In other words, people who find credit union web sites via search are very consistently searching specifically…
Four facts that may rock your world
Plenty of CEOs and Boards act as if nothing has changed in the 70+ years since their credit union was founded, and that it will probably continue along as it has for another 70+ years. (Insert mental pic here of CEO with feet up on desk, eyes half closed.) I’d tell them they might not want to get too comfortable,…
Those pesky misbehaving humans
I’m currently reading a very interesting new book called Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard Thaler. Thaler is an economics professor who became inordinately interested in those curious, messy, illogical, maddening creatures called “Humans” sometime in the ’70s. Economists then – and now – prefer to deal with the far more predictable actions of rational, logical beings.…
What if you weren’t allowed to buy what they were selling?
Have you ever felt like you weren’t allowed to buy what they were selling? About a week ago my wife and I were wandering around downtown Asheville with our NC friends. One of our group was excited to see that a small “Scottish” shop was open, since she had tracked some of her ancestry to…
Language lessons
In many parts of the US, a significant portion of the people speak another language. Even if these folks are also fluent in English, using a “native” language can be a great way to connect and build trust. Here are a few recommendations for developing and maintaining multilingual marketing materials and websites: Use professional translators,…
Emotional escalation
Long ago (but not so far away) I worked at a mental hospital while I was finishing college. And I loved it – the job was incredibly interesting and challenging. Endless variety every day, and a lifetime of great stories. Of course, I learned a lot of things doing that job that I still use today, one…
Marketing is too important to be left to Marketers
Marketing has traditionally been the domain of a few creative people in your organization, whose work is sometimes appreciated (and sometimes tolerated) by the rest of the staff who tend to have no idea what marketing really does all day. Well, nothing against your Marketing Department, but marketing is too important to be left up to just them. And, by the…
Your brand deserves more than Not Horrible.
As a Creative, you brainstorm, write, rewrite, design, rework, and generally put your heart and soul into your work. You fixate on building your brand to be one-of-a-kind, and have probably spent the last several years telling people how different you are from your competition. You’ve likely spent hours and hours searching for just the right stock photos, and in the end…
How to choose and work with a pro photographer
For those of you that have been stuck in StockPhotoLand for most of your career, here’s a nuts and bolts lesson in how to choose and work with a pro photographer, what to expect, and how to get the results you need: 1. Build a plan. Get a good sense of what you want and need before…
InfiniBudget 9000 to revolutionize marketing as we know it
Time and time again, we hear the same laments from our clients: “We just don’t have the budget!” “I’d love to do more marketing, but the CFO doesn’t believe in ads.” “My nephew’s class said they’ll build our web site for three large pizzas.” “The CEO says we need to work smarter not harder, pull ourselves up…
The future of credit union website design
Credit union websites are a breed apart. You’re not selling widgets, you’re not providing entertainment or news, and you’re not collecting clicks for cash. Your site is a place busy members go to get things done. So how do the latest trends in website design and technology affect credit union websites? Touch devices make scrolling easier than ever…
In-house, or outsource? 3 ways to tell.
Credit unions, like many companies, go through times of tightening budgets and cutting back on outside expenses. Marketing is often the department that feels the biggest pinch. Occasionally some interesting management logic occurs, and more personnel can be added because the HR budget is a different line item than Marketing. (I never have figured that one out.) But…
Brainstorming brainstorming
It’s time for yet another loan promo and you’re stuck looking at a blank piece of paper. You’ve got nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. You could really use the collective input of multiple minds, riffing on anything that pops in their heads, all focused on a single subject. You need a brainstorming session. But everyone else around the office seems…
Maybe it’s time to ditch the RFP
Let’s say you have a big, important project, like a website redesign or a brand refresh, and you need to hire a vendor partner. So the thing to do is send out a Request For Proposals (RFP) to every company that you can find, then just sit back, wait for the responses, and pick the…
One million seconds is HOW long?
Most people are lousy with numbers. Especially big ones. Numbers like millions, billions or trillions are simply hazy notions of REALLY big numbers for most people. Add a dollar sign in front and you may actually see their eyes glaze over. Unless you put those numbers in terms they understand. For example, everybody knows that a minute is 60 seconds,…
Millennials: No Car, No House, No CU Income?
My youngest son sort-of-hates cars. Sure, Grandma’s-hand-me-down-Buick helps him get around town when he comes back to visit family. But that’s also a big reason why he plans to always live in a city with a decent mass transit system. He doesn’t want to own any car, or make monthly payments for it, much less pay for the gas, insurance, and upkeep.…
How will you change the world in only 5 years?
I’ve always been amazed at how the Beatles completely changed America’s taste for music in just 5 short years. It was a culture shift that hasn’t been equalled since. Now, I admit I’m a huge Beatles nerd. I was just a kid when they were in their heyday, but I discovered their music in college and still listen to them…
Take an active role in member security
When we build a credit union web site, we get a lot of security questions related to compatibility with older browsers. Depending on who you ask and what numbers you believe, somewhere between 2% to 8% of the general public is still using very old versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Naturally, credit unions don’t want to leave…
Big decisions are more successful when everyone understands WHY.
When it comes to big decisions, some people seem to know what to do. They understand the need for a change, and they take it as their personal responsibility. They take the lead, build consensus, and make it happen. What I don’t understand are people that let others decide for them. Especially on big decisions, the type that could mean…
Money isn’t everything – budget time and attention too
What’s your total marketing resources? No, not just the number of dollars you spend on media, services, and clicky pens. I’m talking about the other parts of the equation: time and attention. Time + attention + money = total resources. Time, of course, is a combination of staff time (how much time can and should you…
5 New Year’s Resolutions we dare you to make
Every New Year we make resolutions to improve our future; go to the gym, lose weight, get a raise, take that dream vacation, finally pay off the credit card…you know the drill. Lists are written and promises are made (mostly to ourselves, and mostly forgotten within a few days.) But what if your department did it as a group? What if everyone resolves to…
Here’s a stat for your CFO at budget time
We’ve been preaching for years that Marketing should drive the bus, not just go for a ride in the back. Now there’s a statistic that may actually get your CFO and CEO to pay attention: Ten years ago, if you had invested $10K in design-centric corporations you would have outperformed the S&P Index by 228%. That’s right. According to the Harvard…
Name Change Step #1: Getting the CEO on Board
Whenever an organization thinks about a name change, there are lots of emotions and memories that surface. Sometimes those emotions and memories can even become obstacles. Some are relatively minor and are easy to get around, but others can turn out to be insurmountable — especially when they occur at the highest levels. That’s why one of the first questions we ask our clients…
Meh boss? Maybe it’s you.
You may actually have a lousy boss and work in a toxic environment. If so, then you should run, not walk, to the nearest job exit. But if your Boss is basically okay, yet your job seems to be going nowhere and you don’t seem to get the opportunities you say you want, then it may not be the…
Five things no one will tell you about web site security
Security sells, so there’s no shortage of security advice, products, and scares out there. I’ve noticed that most articles on the topic of web site security seem to leave out a few important points as they clamor for clicks. So here are five things no one will tell you about website security: Having the right team…
Does your marketing department deserve more respect?
Your in-house marketing department is likely made up of capable, well-qualified and talented people, yet it may feel that you never get any respect from management or the rest of the company. You seem to get stuck doing all the small, tedious jobs while outsiders are brought in for the big, important projects. You obviously…
Five uncommon reasons to rebuild your web site
It’s sad to say, but nothing lasts forever – especially not web sites. Even if nothing is particularly wrong or broken, changes in technology and usage make it worthwhile to revisit your online “front door” every few years. In our experience, web sites need to be refreshed every three to five years. You can probably think…
Does Marketing drive or go along for the ride?
There are two types of marketing departments: those that drive and those that are passengers. Those that drive understand that Marketing revs the growth engine. Those that simply ride along only go where the driver takes them. Unfortunately, most marketing departments seem to fit in the second category. How about yours? Where do you sit? If you aren’t sure, see if…
Invisible excellence
Last week, I spent a few days motorcycling with some good friends in the beautiful hills of southern Missouri. The Ozarks contain some of the finest riding on the planet — this area is absolutely stuffed with thousands of deliciously sinuous roads. If you’re not a rider, this next bit may seem odd… What impressed us above all else…
Five signs I might actually be growing up
Does anyone really think of themselves as a grownup? I’m definitely an adult, but I still see myself as a kid. I still make dumb mistakes, I still say stupid stuff, and I still wish I had more social finesse. I sometimes wonder out loud what I’m going to be when I grow up. And…
Too many home banking sites, too little time
Between the business, our personal accounts, my mother’s finances, and another organization, I work with accounts at 2 credit unions, 3 large banks, and one regional bank. Which means I have the pleasure (?) of bouncing between SIX different Online Banking websites. I’m a graphic designer by background, not an accountant, so I’ve found the experience challenging,…
If everyone hates stock photos, why do we see so many of them?
I see three reasons why “shiny, happy people” stock photos are so prevalent: 1. Because they solve a problem quickly. You need a visual image that helps to communicate an idea, there seem to be mass quantities of them available, and if you ignore the time it takes to find the “right” one, they are a speedy way to complete your layout…
Why is the destination more important than the journey?
I spent part of last weekend walking the Freedom Trail in Boston. It’s a double wide red brick trail that leads tourists through many of the highlights of historical Boston where our national history was made, including the site of the balcony where they read the Declaration of Independence to the townsfolk (as well as…
Dare to be human
Go take a look at the web sites or marketing materials for a few extremely large companies. Take your pick — banks, car makers, restaurants, retailers, or manufacturing. Check out their social media postings. Where are the people? The real people, not the retouched unrelated models portraying the Perfect American Family. With very few exceptions, you won’t…