TEMPE, Ariz.-TruWest Credit Union says members appreciate its old school approach and its paper switch kits, but it also is working on electronic forms and mobile access.
Leslie Bristol, who oversees product marketing for the $760-million credit union that serves the greater Phoenix area and Austin, Texas, said TruWest's current switch kit is a tri-fold brochure with a pocket that holds several, basic forms that its new members can use to make the transition to TruWest easier.
Bristol said plans are to create an online version of the kit, which will further reduce paper usage.
To help maintain consistency with its other materials and to stay true to its branding standards, TruWest developed its switch kit internally, Bristol explained.
"While there are plenty of great vendors who offer turnkey and/or customizable options, TruWest strives to ensure all of our materials are presented with the same tone, verbiage and imagery that our members will become familiar with as they get to know their credit union," she said.
The forms include:
* Account Checklist, which lists the most common types of automatic deposits members could have (e.g. direct deposit or government deposits), as well as payees a member might have electronic payments sent to (e.g. electric company, cell phone).
* Change of Automatic Payment. While most automatic payments are changed online, Bristol noted it can be helpful to provide a form that members can complete and send to a payee for automatic transfers they want to switch to TruWest.
* Employer Direct Deposit Authorization.
* Account Closure Request. If a member has accounts elsewhere that don't require them to visit the institution in person to close the account, this form can be used to list the types of accounts the member would like to close and where to send any remaining funds.
Improving Cross-Selling
TruWest is "continually and diligently" working on analyzing and improving its cross-sell strategies, Bristol said. The staff is trained on how to communicate the credit union difference, as well as TruWest's "TruDifference" philosophy, which is: "Combining great rates, great products and great service with a culture of caring for TruWest members, employees and communities."
"We also provide our staff with the appropriate marketing tools to aid the conversations they have with members, such as product brochures," she said. "We implemented an onboarding program designed to cross-sell the right product to the right member at the right time based on a combination of internal targeting strategies and external modeling. Our Onboarding program looks at a member's propensity to take a particular product and puts them in the queue to receive a marketing communication on that product. This program allows us to promote our core products and services to our members without throwing everything at them all at once in hopes that something sparks their interest."
Misconceptions
According to Bristol, TruWest suffers from the same misperception as many other credit unions: it is still fighting the battle of consumers thinking that they can't join a credit union. In addition to getting the word out that people have an opportunity to join TruWest, they can have access to all the products and services that a bank has, and experience the difference of a credit union, there still is the issue that moving a checking account can be cumbersome, she observed.
"If someone does not have a strong enough reason to switch-such as the new debit card fee issue-it is not likely they will take the time to switch to TruWest and make us their primary financial institution," she said.
Switching bill payment, automatic transfers and direct deposit are entirely driven by the member, Bristol continued. She said TruWest's staff is available to assist members in a branch or on the phone, and it has the ability to securely remote into a member's computer to help them set up payees and answer questions.
"In addition, our mobile banking service requires no set up and is as simple as visiting our mobile website and logging on to online banking," she said. "We also have a mobile app on the way to further enhance our mobile account access."
