WOODBURY, Minn. – Ideal Credit Union's VIP Member Rewards Program was selected as the winner of the inaugural OnApproach Big Data & Analytics Credit Union Industry Analytics Best Practices Competition.
The OnApproach Big Data & Analytics Conference recently showcased four finalists, who were selected to demonstrate their hottest reporting, dashboarding, and/or analytics work product. The goal of the competition is to help the credit union industry become more analytically driven by collaborating and sharing best practices.
The $607 million credit union said its VIP program is designed to encourage members to bring all of their accounts to Ideal CU. When they do, the credit union rewards their loyalty by paying an annual VIP dividend.
Throughout the year, Ideal's staff focuses on helping members maximize their payout. VIP payouts have ranged from $5 to $605. In addition to the payout, VIP members receive reduced fee and no fee opportunities. Ideal CU said the program itself, which tracks credit card activity, loans, mortgage, and checking account and debit card activity throughout the year, is a "Win/Win" program.
Alisha Johnson, Ideal CU's senior vice president – marketing, sales and service, said in a statement, "The VIP program has been a driving force at Ideal, helping staff to focus on increasing Share of Wallet (SOW) by focusing on the 4 C's. The first C is Checking – the account that experts feel determines PFI (Primary Financial Institution). The next C's also drive profitability for our organization – Credit Card, Car (Vehicle) Loan and Casa (Mortgage Loan)."
According to Johnson, "The member wins by taking advantage of Ideal's low rates, highly competitive products and the annual dividend. The credit union wins by earning the PFI designation and increasing the SOW for each member. Since 2012, Ideal Credit Union has increased VIP membership by 16% and paid out more than $1.5 million in VIP dividends."
Integrating Data
Prior to 2012, Ideal was unable to successfully integrate the data necessary to run such a program. In 2012, the CU partnered with OnApproach to integrate data from its core system and other ancillary product databases using the OnApproach M360 Enterprise data integration platform. Ideal said this enabled it to have a member-centric view of its data, and thereby make the VIP program a reality.
Dennis Bauer, CFO at Ideal, said VIP is, "One of the most popular member programs we have ever launched. Now, with the additional ability to drive other marketing programs with the VIP information, we are truly leveraging the value of our data."
Brian Sherrick, Ideal CU's president and CEO, added, "One of the most significant initiatives we have done in our 87-year history was to implement our VIP Program. This program is designed to reward those who truly utilize the wide variety of products and services we offer."
