KALAMAZOO, Mich.-Member testimonials at Consumers Credit Union here are helping to drive membership up by 15%, averaging 675 new members a month in the three months since the ad campaign launched.
One unique aspect of the campaign: tellers are equipped with video-enabled devices to capture member stories when appropriate.
Kit Snyder, president at the $364-million, 44,000-member credit union, explained that Consumers has always felt that "high customer intimacy" was its competitive advantage.
"Every company tries to say they'll win and be unique because of the service they offer," said Snyder. "That's very difficult to do, but we can pull it off, and we do it because you simply can not make up real people's stories. You just can't do it."
TV spots in the campaign were shot in the credit union's branches, with tellers identifying members who might be willing to share stories of positive experiences.
"We set aside time in our offices for (members) to come in at their convenience and talk to us," said Chief Marketing Officer Lynne Johnson. "The neat part about it is that we are continuing to do the impromptus-the tellers themselves are armed with iPhones and FlipCams, so it can be something we capture in the moment. That's the realness of it."
Some clips were filmed by a professional videographer, but others were filmed using those hand-held devices. Johnson noted that even the professional videographer was moved by the members' stories. "He said to me, 'This is really people talking from their heart; this isn't anything that's just made up. These are unbelievable stories.' He ended up switching all of his business and personal accounts to us."
The spots, which are credited with driving an additional 675 members per month to the credit union, are front and center on the CU's website (www.consumerscu.org), which links to YouTube. CCU is also pushing the ads strongly through social media and tracking how many times each clip is viewed, tagged or shared.
Full Media Campaign
Johnson noted that the credit union has a full campaign slated for 2012, including billboards, radio, web-streaming and more. Consumers Credit Union even ran some TV ads during pre-game programming on Super Bowl Sunday. Snyder said that there is no set end-date for the campaign. Rather, "I think the member testimonials will continue until they don't work."
Snyder said Bank Transfer Day was a low-key event at his credit union, but the increase in membership during the last few months has shown that the credit union's good relations with members are translating to good business.
In its most recent Call Report, Consumers saw an increase of about 1,000 loans and leases (a total of about $7 million) compared to its September 2011 Call Report.
Vice President of Lending Steve Owens said that consumer loan growth at the credit union is currently at about 12% and that it is projecting 10% growth in 2012.
