By Lisa Freeman, Managing Editor
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SANTIAGO, Chile—Think of it as the ultimate in direct marketing.
Chile’s largest credit union has found a way to forge a one-on-one relationship with even its most remote members, and it’s decidedly low-tech.
Instead of spending money on giant mass marketing campaigns, COOPEUCH has taken “direct marketing” to its most direct form, sending its 500 “promoters” to fan out across the country to recruit members, one by one.
The promoters—the Chilean version of business development officers here in the U.S.—make contact with potential members after contracting with an employer for access to its employees. But instead of hosting “lunch and learns” or “credit union days,” the promoters set up meetings with each employee on an individual basis to teach them everything from the benefits of credit union membership to basic financial literacy.
Credit Union Association of New Mexico CEO Sylvia Lyon was one of seven U.S. and Canadian female credit unionists who had the opportunity to see the promoter process in action during World Council of Credit Unions’ Women’s Leadership and Credit Union Engagement Program. In cooperation with WOCCU, Credit Union Journal has been following the women’s journey as it unfolded.
On what was the final “working” day of the trip before returning home over the weekend, Lyon took time out to tell the Journal about the promoter program.
Promoters, who are paid on commission, fan out across the country to meet with employers to sell them on the idea of credit unions. So far, it sounds just like what SEG recruitment officers do here in the U.S. But that’s where much of the similarity ends.
“They contract with the employer for access to the employees,” Lyon explained—access that includes contact information for all of the employees. “Then they work with the employee individually to develop a relationship with the credit union.”
And the first step is always, always savings. “They develop the savings first, they don’t even talk about lending initially,” Lyon related. Indeed, members are required to meet a minimum savings deposit every month and are only allowed to take money out every five years—though they are allowed to borrow against the savings account.
“It’s a true grassroots approach to marketing,” she observed. “This is getting out there and with people one on one, and they’re teaching these people the credit union difference on a one-to-one basis every day. They’re teaching them the fundamental value of a cooperative while they’re teaching them the basics of financial literacy. It is a very powerful, fascinating model.”
And one that could be very difficult to emulate here in the U.S., regardless of how wildly successful it has been in Chile. “It’s a whole paradigm shift,” Lyon suggested. “The promoters are all on commission, and there’s no ceiling to what they can earn and the credit union has experienced tremendous growth. They do have a marketing department with collateral material, but really they have redirected the marketing budget into this promoter program. To do it here in the U.S., you would have to shed your entire perception of marketing and what’s the best use of your marketing dollars. We talk about the power of grassroots politics. They’re living the power of grassroots marketing.”
