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…

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

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…

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Unfortunately, the term "good guys" isn't very specific.

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…

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always remember the real people at the other end.

Data Digging Disappoints. Duh.

Billions of words and dollars have been spilled on the topic of Big Data and Marketing for credit unions and banks. But far too often, the quality of the offers, messaging and creative sent to those exquisitely preened, pruned, selected and targeted lists gets almost no attention. We see this in quite a few marketing…

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Start next year right now.

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…

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connect the dots between the things you are already doing

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…

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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…

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We don't just need help. We remember who helped us.

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…

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why is it so hard for you to get our attention?

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…

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get more done with fewer resources

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…

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