350 Awards Are on Tap
WASHINGTON-This week the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council will hand out 350 Diamond and Merit marketing awards during its annual conference here.
According to Lesley Carrell, SVP-marketing for the $680-million Fibre FCU in Longview, Wash., and a member of CUNA's Marketing and Business Development Council, that total is "more than we have handed out in recent memory. And we had fewer entries (959) this year. So we have a much greater percentage of winners, which means the quality of credit union marketing has ramped up."
Last year CUNA's Marketing and Business Development Council handed out 323 awards from 1,170 entries, up from totals in 2008.
Marketing Progress? What About Marketshare
DUBUQUE, Iowa-While the last few years may have stepped up the effectiveness of credit union marketing, some tenured CU marketing executives suggest there is still a big hill to climb.
"The fact that we have had 6% market share for-how long?-tells me there is a lot of room for improvement," said Joe Hearn, COO of the $800-million Dupaco Community CU here. "Everyone in the credit union industry says we have such great story to tell, and we are just not gaining ground. So we either are not telling enough of the story or the right story. We have come a long way but there is still a long way to go."
Roy MacKinnon shared his concern over the current state of CU marketing, and how he believes an insufficient number of credit unions are capitalizing on consumers' anti-bank sentiment. "In my 20 years in the business there has never been a better opportunity," said the marketing VP from the $775-million First Entertainment CU in Hollywood, Calif. "There are some credit unions throwing caution to the wind, and poking fun at banks with their ads. On the other hand I see those with income and delinquency issues pulling back on expenditures. You can't sell your widget if people don't know about it. Marketing budgets should be the last place you cut-in fact, they should be doubled."
Problem? Lack of Authority
TEMPE, Ariz.-As credit union marketers are taking control of what can be a tough budget situation, the inability to manage the front of the house is presenting problems, stressed Nicolette Lemmon, president of LemmonTree Marketing Group.
"Marketing does not have the authority over the front line," noted Lemmon. "So if you have a great offer you often do not have the power to make sure that sales people have the appropriate knowledge and skills sets to make the promotion truly succeed."
Effective marketing today requires a concerted effort throughout the CU, concluded Joe Hearn, COO of the $800-million Dupaco Community CU in Dubuque, Iowa. "Marketing success is not one thing, it's a little bit of everything. I used to be 'the marketing guy' here. Now I like to say we have 230 people in marketing at Dupaco."
