Top Credit Union Marketing Trends of 2016

As of March 2016, there are 6,198 credit unions operating in the U.S.  That is 27 less than the previous month and 299 less than March of last year.  How can you improve your credit union’s marketing strategy to ensure that you will still be open and operating successfully in March 2017?  Make sure to stay aware of what trends are happening across the industry so that you implement the most effective strategies in your own marketing department.  This year’s credit union marketing trends highly promote digital marketing channels with inbound marketing principles.

The Financial Brand’s annual analysis, “2016 State of Financial Marketing,” shows that most financial institutions have retained the same priorities over the past four years, but are focusing on reaching those goals through different channels.  The top three priorities remain:

• Deepening customer relationships
• Loan growth
• New member acquisition

Each type of financial institution has slightly different areas of focus. Big banks are increasing digital channel adoption like Apple Pay and trying to grow and improve analytics. Community banks have chosen to focus more on building business relationships and expanding their footprint in their region.  Credit unions prioritize reaching a younger audience and growing membership numbers.

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing with inbound marketing principles is one of the top trends the industry utilizes to achieve these goals.  The main component of any credit union’s online presence is their website.  Many websites are being redesigned to work simultaneously with other digital marketing channels to increase sales conversions.

Email is far from dead with data showing that prompting purchases via email is three times more effective then social media promotions.  However, credit unions must rework the layout of their emails to be content-focused rather than a glorified sales pitch.

When members click on to a customized landing page specially designed to sell a specific product or offer a particular service, conversion rates increased by as much as 25%.  Landing pages are a main component of inbound marketing.

With more digital channels making it easy to watch videos, credit unions are deciding to invest in video marketing.  However, to be successful, the strategy should extend beyond placing television commercials on a YouTube channel.  Videos must provide a value to the consumer, whether it is education based, entertainment, or emotionally compelling.

Predictive Analytics

Along with creating remarkable content for digital channels, credit unions have started to acknowledge that there may be a better way of targeting potential members.  Most top financial institution executives state that marketing return on investment (ROI) was a large concern, but didn’t list improving data analytics as a top priority.  Utilizing large data sets and focusing on predictive analytics with those data sets will help credit union marketing teams pinpoint which individuals will be most receptive to their message.

There is a shift in what data is considered relevant, moving from demographics to psychographics.  Demographics focus on parameters such as age, gender, education, income, and marital status to tell you who the member is.  Psychographics focus on information like opinions, habits, interests, and attitudes to tell you why the member buys.  Using data and predictive analytics to effectively create customized marketing messages is on the rise.  Less credit unions will rely on mass marketing and generalized messages, and instead will turn to small, targeted campaigns.  Even though they may reach less people, those people will be more receptive to the message.

The trends show credit unions want to focus on digital marketing and a customer-focused marketing strategy, but there are some issues holding them back.  The Financial Brand’s report showed that 42% of financial institutions are still sinking more than 50% of their budgets towards offline channels.  They also remain tied up in product-based marketing.  Over 60% of financial institutions said they would be specifically promoting mortgage products and mobile banking in 2016.

Revolutionize Your Marketing Strategy

Credit unions who want to revolutionize their marketing strategy based on these trends will have to overcome these challenges and invest in their strategy and their employees.  To successfully navigate these newer marketing channels, executives will have to approve resources to help marketing teams improve their digital marketing skills and become experts at these newer techniques.

Want to learn more about how consumer-based marketing in digital and analysis could revolutionize your credit union’s marketing strategy?

Download our free guide to The 30 Greatest Lead Generation Tips, Tricks, and Ideas, improve ROI in your marketing department and be the leader of credit union trends in 2017!