Credit Unions and Campaign Success: The Must-Do’s and the How-To’s

4 Must Do’s

1. Use That Beautiful Behavioural Data

Financial products are often complex and can involve long-term commitments, so they require research. When customers research online, we gain access to data - and data allows us to advertise back to consumers in a more personalized way. Collecting data, therefore, should be an integral part of all credit union marketing strategies if you want to provide better, more customized, and more personalized products and services (and we all do!). 

Start by integrating personalization with big data using simple automation algorithms to recommend products and services based on an individual's previous usage - or what other lookalike customers have been interested in. You can also integrate big data into your online calculator for prospects to see what they qualify for and their interest rates. Big data can also help you recommend account upgrades and changes at critical moments of a customer's journey, such as after they graduate from college or when they are looking to buy their first home or car.   

2. Provide a Positive Landing Page Experience

An integral component of running any digital campaign is to ensure you have a relevant landing page associated with your ad. Landing pages, whether on site or stand alone pages built for specific conversion paths, are typically the first meaningful touchpoint a prospect has with your brand. It is crucial, therefore, to create an outstanding first impression that delivers the best experience. 

You can provide a better customer journey experience by providing enough content to educate, explain, and progress consumers. Here are a few tips to enhance your landing page experience:

• Make the Messages Match: Keep your message clear and consistent with your ad and landing page. When running a Google Ads campaign, ensure your ads are advertising the same thing as your landing page. For example, if your PPC ad promotes a new white paper, your landing offer should also be highlighted on that white paper - so a new visitor knows they’ve clicked through to the right place, and they discover exactly the information they were expecting to find.

• Create a Clear CTA: The landing page call to action must be as clear as possible and directly related to your offer. Studies on A/B testing show that tweaking the call to action (CTA) web copy even by a single word, changing the colour of a button, or adding just one more CTA link can result in conversion rate gains. Great ways to enhance your CTA visibility include placing it in a location where visitors are sure to see it, designing the CTA button in a contrasting color, and using actionable and enticing words or phrases, for example, "Download a Video of Our Product Now!" 

3. Leverage the Power of Digital Apps

Today's modern consumers prefer digital banking over in-person banking. Currently, about 67 percent of the Canadian populationhas an active social media account and a smartphone that provides access to numerous financial products. One way to engage more prospects is by investing in quality apps or web portals - and market them to this audience. Additionally, strive to provide training, safety information, and tutorials to the older users who may not be as tech-savvy as the younger generations. 

Once you’ve launched an app or mobile/digital banking experience, be sure to plan for regular updates and upgrades. As we all become more accustomed to first class digital experiences in all areas of our life, we expect more from everything - and no one wants to be left behind.

4. Create Exceptional Experiences

While many consumers prefer to bank online, some want that personal connection - and some transactions are still best completed in person. Capitalize on these increasingly rare opportunities (and lower overall traffic to your physical branches) and deliver an exceptional customer service experience. 

Great ways to add real value - and a human connection - to your marketing include in-person or virtual courses and workshops on financial literacy, mobile banking, or online security and providing a one-on-one consultation that includes personalized insights on investment portfolios, retirement planning, or education savings.

4 How To's

1. Build Audiences by Advertising Year-Round

Gone are the days when we’d all advertise for the ‘mortgage season’ starting in March and ending in September. Although RRSPs, TSFAs or student loans, and auto loans may carry significant seasonality, your ability to build an audience for these offerings does not. 

Every campaign you run during a year will help build audiences you can use for products that will fit their needs. If a 25 year old male in the right location takes action on your student loans campaign and you’ve added him to your marketing database, you’ve also created a potential audience for an auto loan or a TSFA. These opportunities exist in every audience category.

2. Understand Micro vs. Macro Conversions

Clearly defining your most important KPIs - and understanding how they’ve tracked historically - is an integral step to any Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) campaign. It is only by tracking and measuring the results of your KPIs that you can optimize growth. 

The KPIs in CRO can be divided into two categories:

• Macro Conversions: the primary goals of a website (can include conversions of eCommerce, SaaS, free trial, request a quote, or contact us)

• Micro Conversions: the milestones or steps that can help you reach the end goal (to achieve blog subscriptions, downloads on white paper, or email clicks) 

Both macro and micro conversions are critical in optimizing your site and marketing strategy. It is important to consider both and understand how they perform together and independently to lead to your ultimate marketing goals. 

3. Offer Free Downloadable Content 

Consumers typically love helpful tools, especially ones they can access for free. You can offer complimentary but gated content such as a mortgage calculator or financial checklist that offers real value to your customers - while also creating a list of potential marketing leads. 

You can gate your premium content by requiring users to fill out a brief form that captures their email addresses. A prospect's email address is one of the most effective and inexpensive digital marketing tools in your digital marketing toolbox. Now you can communicate with them directly, about a topic that you know is relevant and interesting to them right now. In addition, you can use your email list to target the same customers through digital and social ads - or to find lookalike audiences to market to on these same platforms.

4. Get Professional Support from Metric Marketing

As the competition from other financial institutions heats up and consumer needs change, credit unions may find it hard to adapt their marketing strategy to fit the current market needs - or to differentiate themselves from other local credit unions. Undeniably, there is a massive divide between what credit union marketers know they should be doing and what they are actually doing (something that’s true in every industry) - and it can be tough to prioritize marketing projects when everything is important. 

As the world slowly comes back to normal - albeit slowly - now is the best time for credit unions to re-evaluate their marketing planning approach. 

If you need help getting started, we’d love to help! At Metric Marketing, our experts turn measurable performance data into creative advertising concepts through a uniquely integrated campaign process that provides all you need to make confident decisions and chart your path forward. Contact us today to learn more.