7 must-haves for CU marketing campaign

Liz Garster, a marketing expert with Two Score and Gira{ph} has tips for the best tactics in putting together a successful marketing campaign:

When people think of marketing campaigns, they often jump to the flashy advertisement at the very end of the process.In reality, putting together a successful promotion at your credit union can feel more like solving a Rubik’s Cube puzzle, with each step carefully calculated and in a precise order. One missing piece or wrong turn could cause dramatically different results.

If you recently wrapped up a campaign at your credit union that fell short of expectations, it’s a great idea to revisit your marketing campaign strategy to make sure you’re not missing crucial steps in the process. Here are 7 must-haves for your next marketing campaign:

1. Staff Buy-In and Excitement
   Think of the last time you procrastinated on a project or didn’t give your best effort to an assignment. Was it because you didn’t feel empowered or armed with enough knowledge to perform the task? Make sure you aren’t putting your employees in a similar situation by keeping them in the dark about a campaign. Want to take it to the next level? Get them excited to talk to members about your marketing!Staff communication works best when you combine numbers and heart; in addition to communicating goals and the fine print, share with them the emotional benefits members will receive when they take advantage of the promotion. Storytelling is a powerful motivator, so share real-life member stories with them as part of the processor create your own!
2. Established Campaign Goals
   Imagine hopping in a car and driving until your tank runs out of gas. If you don’t know whereyou’re going, you have no idea of knowing if you’ve arrived or not. Set campaign goals by evaluating the volume needed to help your credit union achieve its established lending or membership goals, as well as historical volume for the same period in years past. Make sure the established are SMART ones (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely).
3. An Identified Target Audience
   No matter how visually impactful your pieces are, they’ll fall flat if they’re not created with a target audience in mind. Leverage as much available data as possible to hone in on who is most likely to respond to your offer. Go a step further by developing member personas and tailoring your communication to them. Hubspot, in particular, is a great resource for how to introduce personas into your marketing.
4. A Firm Understanding Of Your Traffic Sources
   Review your last campaign to see where a majority of applicants came from; this will help you decide what channels will yield the best results and allow you to put more resources towards them. This is also a great time to consider additional sources you’ve not yet tried that may make your top-of-mind for your target audience, like exploring content or digital marketing strategies.
5. An Emotional Appeal + Strong Call To Action
   People don’t buy products and services; they buy what they will become by using your products and services.Use your campaign as an opportunity to paint a picture for them of what financial freedom looks like and how their relationship with your credit union can bring them closer to that dream.
6. Metrics to Measure Success
   Pay extra attention to that “M” in your SMART goals – measurement. Having metrics in place is critical to being able to measure and communicate the success of your campaign and make adjustments as necessary. The metrics you decide on may go beyond the dollar amount of loans booked or the applications taken. Consider setting goals around website visits, social media engagements, additional products cross-sold, etc.
7. A Plan to Celebrate the Wins
   When the campaign ends, the party begins. Or at least, it should! Use your goal benchmarks as an opportunity to celebrate wins along the way, and communicate how employees can expect to benefit if the end goal is met. Not only will this affirm your commitment to employees, it also sets the tone for getting them excited about the next promotion you launch.

Feeling puzzled by marketing at your credit union? We’ll help you put together the pieces. Contact Two Score & Gira{ph} today to learn about how we help small and mid-sized credit unions through strategic marketing partnerships. A relationship with TwoScore gives you two veteran credit union marketers on your team to help you show the return on your marketing dollars and measure the success of each campaign