GAINESVILLE, Fla.-In a sand state economy, cross selling services to drive deeper relationships takes on a much different flavor, according to Florida Credit Union.
The credit union has produced a DVD to reach out to existing members who may be in financial trouble and share how their credit union can assist them. The eight-minute presentation is comprised, primarily, of member testimonials about how Florida Credit Union has helped them overcome difficult financial situations.
According to Chris Clore, VP-marketing for the $450-million credit union, the approach is working, encouraging members to bring over accounts and allow the CU to help them better manage their financial situations. "We work with members to consolidate their accounts, many of those being loans, and bring them over to the credit union so we can lower their payments and get them back on track," Clore said.
While the first goal is to help members, the credit union is benefitting from increased accounts per household and potentially more long-term members. "Not only do you have more of their business, you have more of their loyalty," Clore said. "They will remember that you helped them during hard times."
Florida Credit Union was so convinced that the consultative approach was the best way to strengthen relationships in a state with 14% unemployment that it has funneled all of its marketing dollars, last year and in 2010, to the strategy. DVD production claimed $54,000 of the budget. "We wanted to do something different because we knew that what we used to do, traditional marketing, would not do anything in this economy," Clore said.
Checking business has benefitted significantly, increasing the number of accounts by 6.8% and balances by 14% in the past year. The CU attributed 39% of new consumer loan dollars in 2009 to the effort that also helped Florida CU achieve an 87% success rate on workout loans.
FCU pulls credit scores to identify individuals whose numbers have declined, then mails the DVD with an invitation to stop by the credit union to talk about their finances, letting members know they'll receive a $25 gift certificate when the show up.
The credit union also lets its entire membership know it will run a free credit report for them. "When they come to pick it up, we go through it, explain to members why their score is where it is, and tell them ways they can improve it. It also gives us the chance to see where we can pick up new loans," Clore added.
Consultative sales will likely continue to be FCU's thrust for a while, suggested Clore, noting that Florida's unemployment problems are not expected to improve until mid - 2011. "We had only 1% member growth last year, which is very unusual for us, and we do not expect to grow much in new members this year," Clore said. "That's why we are focused more on organic growth, and in the long run that's where we will improve retention anyway."
