Live or Die: The Importance of Multi-channel Marketing for Credit Unions
NEWS FLASH: The days of marketing plans consisting of a print ad and a prayer for success are over. Today, in order to ensure long-term growth, the most effective strategy for credit unions requires a multi-channel marketing approach that reaches customers via multiple touch points – and on multiple devices.
With the changing media consumption habits of today’s consumers, you cannot afford to put all of your eggs in one basket. Multi-channel marketing reaches consumers at every stage of the sales cycle and allows you to respond and make adjustments over time – whether those changes involve your message, the medium/technology that delivers it, or the desired response(s) (read: Key Performance Indicators).
Here are 5 things you need to know as you create your multi-channel marketing program:
- Understand your target audience(s).
Keep track of the technology your consumers are using, but don’t jump on the latest media trends without thinking. The key to effective multi-channel marketing is a well-crafted strategy using channels and approaches that meet the specific needs of both your credit union and your target audience(s). Know them well; otherwise you’ll waste valuable time and money. - The message is as important as the medium.
Even with the perfect multi-channel mix, if the message isn’t right, your audience won’t respond. Put yourself into the mindset of your consumers to ensure the message will work, whether it’s aimed at your sales team or direct to consumer. - B2B and B2C are two different animals.
While you can market your brand creatively to both, the marketing mix and sales cycles are usually very different. Think about how you consume media as a professional. You peruse email for insightful articles, seek advice from an industry group you belong to on LinkedIn, or visit websites that are relevant to your trade. As a consumer, you might check your email for deals, stream videos, or conduct a Google search before making a purchase. Whether generating leads or boosting awareness, it’s critical to anticipate which medium suits each stage of the sales cycle, as integration of marketing and sales is more complex than ever before. - Test. Adjust. Test. Adjust…
The abundance of marketing channels has created more opportunities to test media and messaging. Testing allows you to refine your campaign as you learn what resonates – and what doesn’t. What you discover from one channel may influence how you approach others. For instance, if you run two different banner ads and one is performing 75% better than the other, you may want to use the stronger message in another medium. - Use social media. Wisely.
Conversation lies at the heart of your relationships with your customers; it also fuels your social media strategy. Social enables you to actively engage with your audience in a meaningful, informed way, generating insights that nurture leads and consumer relationships instead of promoting products.
Credit unions can’t afford to run the campaigns of yesterday. Using multi-channel marketing will ensure that you’ll not only survive, but thrive as both the economy and consumer culture continue to evolve.
Tags: credit union marketing, marketing strategy, multi-channel marketing, social media
Excellent insight into this key strategy. By putting one foot in front of the other, we can walk through miles of difficult terrain.
Very true, David. As the old adage states: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
In our extensive experience with helping companies move to a more strategic marketing focus, the process often starts slowly, but quickly accelerates once they see the effect on the bottom line. Multi-channel marketing efforts are not an option, they are a “must” for reaching customers in today’s vast media landscape. As with most things, it really just comes down to how well you execute it.