E-Mail Strategies for Credit Union Member Education

E-Mail Strategies for Member Education MAC Virtual Seminar Feb. 26, 2009 Brian Bierbaum, Vice President of Interactive Services Shelly Peschel, E-mail Marketing Specialist

Agenda E-mail Strategies for Member Education Opportunities within the Credit Union Market Content That Attracts Readership List Segmentation Triggered E-mail Campaigns List-Building Tactics Ensuring List Hygiene Tips to Remember Q & A

“… fostering and expanding financial education for consumers will be a priority.

The more information individuals have regarding credit and financial services,

the better equipped they will be to make sound financial decisions. Particularly

during these troubled times, financial literacy is a consumer’s best friend.”

- NCUA Chairman Michael E. Fryzel

Opportunity A Glance at the Opportunity

Credit Unions have received significant positive press exposure recently.

Confused consumers are looking for “safe havens” for their deposits.

According to CUNA, 75% of non-members who are eligible to join CUs are unfamiliar with what CUs are and the services they offer.

Position your organization as the market expert and key resource for financial information and education.

Generate brand awareness as a credible and stable financial services organization.

Educated members = greater trust and increased member referrals.

Market Conditions Brand Awareness

Content Content That Pulls

For general list

National financial market’s impact on members.

Local financial market’s impact on members.

New products/ services to help meet member goals.

Upcoming events & seminars.

Recipes to drive open rates.

Games that inform (e.g., crossword with answers drawn from article content).

Polls to gauge member opinion, interest and reaction to specific topics.

For ages 18-25

Finance 101 (Savings, Checking, Investments).

Games that teach financial principles.

Products/services that help meet goals.

(e.g. Creating a budget, saving for a car, learning how to invest, etc.).

Educational Article Trends for Priority Financial Clients 4 th Quarter 2008 Top credit union topic search: Consumer awareness, scams & ID theft Top article search: “ Safe and Sound in Troubled Times” by both banks and CUs. Additionally, credit unions searched savings topics more heavily than banks

Content Example: Readers “Devour” Recipes

Content Example: Readers Appreciate Free Content and Respond to Strong Calls to Action

Content Example: Mix Education with an Offer for Greater Response

Content Content + Relevance = Better Open Rates 56% say “irrelevant message from known sender IS spam” 51% say “relevant content from any source is NOT spam” - Q-Intelligence

Segmentation The Right Message to the Right Person

Member type

Member satisfaction

Event-Based

Frequency

Precise list segmentation is as important – or more so – than the creative you send and the offer you deliver. Segmentation is key to delivering relevant content to your members. Ways to segment:

Demographics

Psychographics

Geographic

Online behavior

Member Preferences

Divide list into “active” and “non-responders”. Invest more time and energy on active members rather than those who occasionally or rarely open messages.

Divide active members into groups based on click activity within promotional messages or e-publications.

Segment new members from those who have been on your list for some time.

Segmentation Three Easy, Proven Ways to Segment Your E-mail List

Triggered E-mail 5 Steps to a Successful Life Cycle E-mail Campaign

Focus on your data – segment members into clearly defined categories.

Target each member category with information, products and services relevant to that group’s life stage.

Plan out initial campaign with follow-up e-mails based on member activity.

Identify and plot your current e-mail programs on a master schedule to ensure appropriate frequency.

Test, validate and refine your strategy.

Triggered E-mail Example: E-mail Life Cycle Marketing Campaign

When a new member joins send a welcome e-mail with links to helpful online resources.

When a member opens a new savings account send an e-mail with tips to help them grow their savings.

When a member’s savings account grows to X dollars send an e-mail with financial planning options.

Throughout a member’s life stages send triggered e-mails that provide life-event-specific education (college education fund for a child, retirement planning, etc.)

List Building Building Your Targeted E-mail List is a “grassroots” effort

Opt-in icon should be located prominently across website

Identify key opt-in opportunities (e.g. log-out page of online banking)

Perform a double-opt-in with your existing member database

Online Print

Posters at branches

Print ads

Billing inserts

Direct mail campaigns

Tradeshow booths

In Person Provide a rational and offer an incentive Opt-in icon example:

Teller windows

Customer service call closing remarks

Incentivize your staff to collect e-mail addresses with a friendly competition.

Hygiene Bigger Does Not Mean Better: A Clean List Is a Healthy List

Risk

Losing contact with your customers

Damaging your sender reputation

Getting your emails blocked by ISPs

Prevention

Use strong opt-in form validation during data entry.

Scrub your lists regularly.

Remove inactive, invalid, and unsubscribed addresses immediately.

“ On average, e-mail lists that are segmented, targeted and well-maintained perform much better than large batch and blast lists.”

Shelly Peschel

E-mail Marketing Specialist

Priority

A Few Quick Tips to Improve Your E-mail Marketing Today Q & A

Keep newsletters concise (between 3-5 articles).

Identify your main goal for each article. If you can’t identify the goal, eliminate the article.

Ensure there is a clear call to action - drive traffic to Web site for conversion.

Promote viral marketing with “Forward to a Friend” and social media functions.

Work more value-added content from e-publications onto your Web site.

Add feedback mechanisms such as a comments form or toll-free number. Encourage members to comment on e-publication content to ensure you are meeting their needs.