In today’s financial landscape, credit unions face fierce competition from traditional banks and fintech companies. This blog explores different strategies to help your credit union thrive in a competitive market.
To successfully grow membership and loan transactions in a competitive market, it is essential to identify what makes you stand out from other financial providers. Your unique value proposition (UVP) is the foundation of your marketing and member engagement strategies. It could be your personalised customer service, lower fees, community involvement, or member-focused initiatives. Creating messaging that clearly communicates your unique features will attract new members that share the same values.
Additionally, regularly reassess your UVP to ensure it remains relevant and compelling. Use the data analytics toolkit in Holmes to identify your high/low performing members, which will, in turn, allow you to understand who you are really speaking to when sending out marketing material.
Furthermore, engaging with current members to get feedback is a fantastic way of understanding what your members value most about your credit union.
As we are in a digital era, integrating technology is vital when engaging with credit union members, specifically the younger generations. Providing an online banking app and payment options can enhance the member experience and gravitate towards your credit union.
Integrate Holmes and use it to identify your member demographics and in turn, creating personalised marketing materials that are likely to resonate with your members and non-members.
Furthermore, in terms of performance, a tool like Holmes can help you to either confirm or challenge current beliefs regarding membership demographics and loan performance.
The main characteristic that credit unions have when standing out from other financial institutions is their ability to build strong relationships with their community. Collaborating with local businesses, schools and events adds an individualised touch and a sense of trust to the member experience. These efforts should then be highlighted through direct mailings, social media etc. Using Holmes to do this will allow your credit union to make sure the correct message is being shown to the correct audiences.
Behind growing your credit union, is growing your membership. Use Holmes to identify specific demographics that align with your credit union’s values and services.
Have you tried offering incentives for new members? These may include referral bonuses or exclusive member benefits. These will attract new members and encourage current members to refer their friends and family to your credit union.
Conducting innovative marketing strategies in a competitive finance industry can allow your credit union to stand out. Combining traditional and digital marketing methods will help you reach a broader audience. Using Holmes will allow you to identify specific audiences that are performing well, which can then be translated to your digital marketing efforts. For example, if you find, while using Holmes, that car loans perform well amongst younger generations, you can concentrate your digital marketing on specific platforms where these generations are most active. For example, Generation Z and Millennials are more likely to use Instagram and TikTok, while baby boomers and Generation x, are more likely to use Facebook.
Other digital marketing methods such as SEO, can attract a broader audience to your CU website.
Furthermore, publishing Case Studies of customer success stories is a fantastic way to highlight the benefits of being a member of your credit union. Displaying your community involvement and how members were able to achieve their dreams with the help of your credit union can create an emotional connection with potential members and build trust.
