ROSEVILLE, Calif. - While one company reports marketing budgets are still intact this year (see related story), Matrix Manager here says many of its clients are feeling a budget squeeze and being more focused as a means of getting the most out of their marketing budgets.
Ann Bouchard, president of Matrix Manager, a national CU direct marketing firm, acknowledged credit unions in the second half of 2008 are “keeping a close eye on their budgets” and trying to find marketing strategies to give them the greatest ROI.
Clients are not moving away from marketing, Bouchard pointed out, but they are being more selective in what they do and reducing the number of elements in campaigns.
To help credit unions get the most out of their marketing investments, Matrix developed Base Builder, a service to help CUs target their advertising and effectively address consumers’ needs.
“For example, if a credit union has a new branch and wants to market products and services that are the most relevant to people who live and work in the local community, we’ll conduct some vey specific attitudinal and psychographic research to accurately portray the type of people in the area,” Bouchard explained. “Based on knowing what kinds of people live in the community, we recommend the types of products the credit union should be promoting, the offers they should be making, and how they should speak to local consumers.”
Bouchard said Base Builder makes CU marketing more effective and less wasteful. “They’re not just throwing out a broad net.”
Credit unions pay $16,000 for a full Base Builder report, which reviews current membership and compares it with those living in the targeted area. “It includes an append of the segmentation to their existing membership database up to 50,000 names,” Bouchard explained, “and consulting to evaluate and analyze the data and develop marketing strategies. It also includes 30,000 prospect names and ten direct mail pieces.”
For more info: www.mymatrixmanager.com.
