ATLANTA-As Delta Community CU here holds its second annual "Switch Day," it's getting a big boost from the big banks.
DCCU has seen monthly membership numbers increase 50% in the psat two months. Through July, Delta Community had an average of 1,500 net new members per month, but in August those numbers spiked to 2,200 and then 2,300 for September. It has nearly 230,000 members.
"I'm hoping it lasts from here on out as long as I'm at the credit union," said Todd Marksberry, EVP/COO at the $4-billion CU. "We believe that we're going to have a window of opportunity that may last as long as 24 months," thanks to "a disenfranchisement with consumers in terms of their traditional banking relationships."
The membership boost came as the credit union was set to host its second annual Switch Day on Oct. 21. Staff was beefed up for the event, which last year saw 317 new members join and sign up for either personal or business checking accounts. Those same new members opened or switched more than 214 additional accounts that day. Another 51 existing members opened checking accounts.
"It was very successful, certainly from a brand-awareness perspective, and it got a lot of great press and a good buzz from the community," said Marksberry. With the big banks getting so much bad press about new fees, Switch Day 2011 "presented us a great opportunity to stay the course, but ... highlight the fact that we still have free checking, we weren't changing the terms of our account agreement with regard to checking and we weren't charging a debit card fee."
DCCU doesn't have specific goals for this year's event, but expects to exceed last year's numbers. The credit union is also offering several incentives to bring people into branches on Switch Day, including drawings to win one of 10 iPads and drawings to win one of 10 $1,000 CDs with the CU.
Despite the recent influx of new members, Delta Community has not changed its marketing strategy. Rather, said Marksberry, "We're trying to educate the community here in Atlanta about the fact that, on a daily basis, Delta Community Credit Union has banking products and services that are an honest value, we're consistent and we have no-asterisk pricing."
More Than Taking An Order
Marksberry said DCCU is emphasizing that good member service is more than just taking an order. "Good service is spending the time with these folks who come in and explaining to them all the ways that we can bring additional value to their households... We think it's a disservice to the member if you aren't looking for ways to do that."
Staff is also being encouraged to follow up with new Switch Day members so that the CU's lobbies don't get jammed. Asking for members' business and explaining how the CU can save them money is how Delta Community plans to move the new members into more profitable relationships, he said.
