SHOREVIEW, Minn.-Surprised at the absence of such solutions to date, one analyst anticipates more CUs-especially smaller credit unions-will have to find partners to deliver on social media in 2013.
"It starts with the technology, but credit unions are going to need to find dedicated resources to manage social and mobile," said Kristy Grayson, director of marketing for Deluxe Financial Services. "I believe credit unions are going to have to find a way to have partners help them with this, particularly the small credit unions. They certainly can't afford to have full-time staff working on these types of initiatives. That's where I see the trend going. Small credit unions will be looking for external resources to help them in these emerging disciplines of marketing."
Grayson added that 2013 may be the year when vendor providers begin to roll out more offerings tied to social media, and she said she's been surprised to have not seen more credit unions banding together as a group or through their state leagues to offer marketing solutions.
She pointed out that while both banks and credit unions have struggled to monetize social media, credit unions figured out how to blend service and social media faster than the competition did.
"If you look at the credit union and bank segments, I believe credit unions are cutting edge," Grayson said. "They've probably been in social media longer than the other financial institutions. To the point of making it a competitive advantage, that's a real opportunity for them at this point in time."
The ROI Debate
The ROI on social media may still be up for debate, but Grayson stressed that those channels can help deepen member engagement. "Whether it's some kind of member service application, thinking about different ways of using social media than they have in the past, that's a clear advantage for credit unions," she said. "Credit unions are known for service; that's their competitive advantage. Now they have to figure out how to translate that in these new channels."
Beyond social media, Grayson noted that credit unions can still improve the way they mine member data-particularly as it relates to new members. "I'm not sure the level of deep understanding that many credit unions have of their member base and if they understand how to more effectively target those, even for new members, based on those attributes of their existing members."
That data mining goes beyond just pulling updated credit reports and making cold calls, though. "There's data and systems they can use to really analyze the highest propensity for additional product purchase. I think it goes beyond some of the traditional models they've used in the past."
