KINGSTON, N.Y. — Mid-Hudson Valley FCU used a sub-brand as a way to help its MSRs transition from "order takers" to a more dynamic, sales-oriented team.
The result - known as Connect - was built around the CU's checking account offerings. Chief marketing Officer and SVP Robert Michaud explained that Connect is centered around a checklist and workflow process to determine which account best fits members and help align members with the right products and services.
For example, instead of asking members if they want to opt-in for overdraft protection, members are told that their new account comes with an overdraft feature, and MSRs explain how members can sign up for that or other ancillary products associated with the CU's checking offerings. That process is guided by a checklist and workflow process.
Mid-Hudson Valley has continued to promote its checking products the same way it always did, but added the phrase "with Connect."
"So there's a bit of a buzz - 'Hey, what's Connect?'" said Michaud.
The $768 million, 62,000-member credit union created Connect in-house.
"We had to do this ourselves," explained Michaud. "We didn't have the budget to afford a $150,000 consultant to come in with a canned program and shake the tree from top to bottom."
Tailored Result
One benefit of creating the program in-house, he said, is that the CU came up with a tailored result that was less expensive than a consultant might have been.
In the end, he continued, the CU only spent about $20,000 to create Connect, and most of that expense went toward materials such as Connect booklets for staff and customized handout materials. One other expense that is harder to quantify, he said, is the time that staff was out of the field putting Connect together and then training others on it.
Mid-Hudson Valley has more than made up for the expense of Connect. It has seen a 7% increase in e-statement enrollment, a 43% increase in overdraft protection enrollment, a 6% rise in debit card usage, and a whopping 225% increase in participation in its Perks Program, which includes services such as identity theft protection, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and more. Perks comes standard with the credit union's Ultra Checking account, but costs $3.95 per month as an add-on to free checking.
The credit union has about 21,000 free checking accounts, said Michaud, and it took nearly two years to get 200 Perks accounts added to those accounts. With the introduction of Connect, Perks has been added to almost 800 accounts since January.
'Tip Of The Iceberg'
"I think we're at the tip of the iceberg, and we've got a long way to go and a lot of potential," said Michaud. The CU's goal is to achieve 15% penetration with its Perks package, and the executive said all signs point to that as a realistic goal.
Mid-Hudson Valley FCU centered Connect around its checking account products because that is often the center of the relationship with members, said Michaud, adding that the number of ancillary products that can be added on to checking accounts has risen significantly in recent years. The CU also needed to increase its interchange income and Reg E opt-in, and this program was viewed as a way to do that.
Ultimately, said Michaud, "we figured this was fertile ground, complicated, and had a lot of moving parts, and if we did a good job... we would get great results." Results now in place, the credit union is also looking to expand Connect and add it on to lending products before year-end.
