Nexus Connection

The Delta Way: Reflections on Merger Marketing

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Early this month evening I flew to Madison to be at CUES headquarters for my 10th employment anniversary luncheon (see the photo here). In Detroit, I had to literally run from one plane to the next.

Thankfully I made the flight, still labeled as a Northwest jet, but with clear signs of the Delta merger present. When I thanked one of the flight attendants for waiting, she said, "It's the Delta way. As Northwest, we would have left. But Delta waits for people."

Wow! Am I ever a proponent of the Delta way!

The experience got me to thinking about the marketing aspects of mergers. So let me ask you some questions, especially if you've ever merged with another CU.

• How did you preserve the best in the member service culture of both credit unions? (The Delta way is definitely my choice in terms of helping passengers make connections, but I'd guess there are Northwest culture characteristics worth preserving, too.)
• How did you talk about the merger with members? (There were updates in the Delta in-flight magazine on my Northwest flight.)
• What plan did you have (and at what cost) for converting your brand image to the remaining credit union? (It seems like yesterday that Northwest was repainting planes to match its new brand look, and now Delta is repainting them again.)

Can Your Tellers do That? (aka Treat Regulars Right Reprise)

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

It's been about a year since I regularly came to the SPoT cafe here in Rochester, N.Y., to work. Last summer I came here to work every business day for five weeks, while my son attended science camps nearby. I became a regular and loved being one.

This morning, I smiled when I saw Mike, the guy who used to put my coffee order in when he saw me walk through the door. He smiled, too, and said, "I haven't seen you for a while"--and remembered my order (a decaf vanilla latte).

Wow! The SPoT won my loyalty last summer by making my telecommuting welcome. And this move won it back for this year.

Can your tellers do that?

What happens when a member returns to your credit union? Do the front-line staffers remember them? How do you think being remembered might make a difference in keeping members coming back?

Why I've Been Silent

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

I like to say that the surest way to make this editor be without words is to stand her up in front of a group of people and ask her to speak. But in recent history, I found another: Make much of the news be so compelling, so dramatic, so bad, that everything else you could write about pales by comparison.

I posted nothing on this blog from March 11 until last week's "Our Web Site = Us" not because I don't like blogging anymore, but because the stories I was working on for CUES' magazine about the down economy, failures of corporates and the various bailout plans were overwhelmingly important. Even the "good news" stories about CUs helping members acknowledged that times were tough everywhere. Posting about "Our Web Site = Us" or some other "light" topic in the midst of all that seemed somehow petty, small, unthinkable.

But I'm back. I'm inspired by the leadership wisdom of down times as covered in our June theme issue, which focuses, ironically enough on growth: Don't stop acting strategically now--it'll only make your life more difficult when the economy starts to come back up. In that light, I've got posts to write. We have lots of work to do as an industry to be ready to thrive when things start bouncing back.

P.S. If you want to see some of what we CUES editors were working on in response to the economic and corproate crises, check out these March, April and May 2009 Credit Union Management articles:

• Keep the Lights on (about collections),
• 2009: Planning in Chaos (about reaching for opportunity in a tanking economy)
• Wake-up Call (about how boards are dealing with leadership in these times),
• CFO Focus: Pay Now or Pay Later? (about handling corporate bailout accounting),
• Responsible Debt Relief (about a mathematical way to help members and avoid charge-offs) 
• Rising From Ashes (about CUs helping members with personal finance in tough times), and
• Layoffs on the Rise? (about CUs that have had to cut staff).

Eat, Sleep, Swim (More on Simplifying 2009)

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Early this morning, during my essential-for-good-sleep lap swim, I got to thinking about Michael Phelps, winner of a record eight gold medals in swimming in the 2008 Olympics. As I crawled along (literally), I wished I had feet like Phelps'--big, and practically webbed. And I wished I had his focus. One of my favorite stories that came out of Beijing was Michael's clear take on exactly what he was there to do: eat, sleep, swim. I can't imagine his days truly were that simple, but his mind was clear about his purpose.

If I could focus my mind on my day that tightly--eat, edit, parent (OK, sleep, too, I'm already going beyond three things)--would all the other details of life become clearer? Would I win more gold for my efforts?

If I were a credit union, what might the focusing mantra be? Maybe: serve, lend, teach? What three things would you suggest credit unions focus on in 2009?

Simplify 2009

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

This Sunday I kicked back a litte, "watched" some football I didn't care much about (for those who do care, it was San Diego @ Pittsburgh), and put my new Mac laptop in my lap. (Thank you, Santa!)

I took great pleasure in using this little bit of down time to unsubscribe. Since I was out for two weeks over Christmas, I had a ton of e-mail to sort and as part of dealing with it all, I took myself off many a mailing list. It felt really good just in the doing.

And then yesterday and just this morning, my e-mail wasn't so clogged with stuff I wasn't going to read anyway. I felt like I could focus more on the things that really needed to be addressed. (Good thing too, since I was officially off as my child recovered from a fever, but I also wanted to juggle working on CUES' magazine, which was going to press.)

I'm not saying I won't later resubscribe to any of those same e-newsletters and services, but it was time to send out some of the old to make room for a new mix.

What can credit unions do to simplify 2009? Is there anything they can stop doing, at least for a time, to allow them to focus on what's truly important?

If Your CEO Were to Blog With Members ...

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

The "Ask Jack" blog, launched mid-October by Members Credit Union, can already boast almost 1,800 visits. And one post has garnered a dozen comments to boot.

The blog allows consumers to send questions directly to Members CU President/CEO Jack V. Braswell, Jr., anonymously if they so choose. It also includes video posts by "Jack" covering such topics as "Does the Current Financial Crisis Mean I Won't Be Able to Get a Loan?"

Director of public relations for the $200 million CU in Winston-Salem, N.C., Matt Davis is using Google analytics to measure the traffic to the site. "It's free, and amazingly deep," he notes.

How did Members CU score so many visitors so early in the game?

"For obvious reasons," Davis says, "our major promotional efforts have centered on 'electronic users.' We have posted the link to the blog on our Web site, included references to the blog on our 'Football Pick'em' videos and e-mails, and directed members to the site via e-mail and electronic communication within our online banking site."

Davis says he's been especially pleased with how the CU has incorporated the blog in the launch of its "Holiday Skip-a-Pay" program.

"I liked that ... members got to hear straight from our CEO why we launched the program"--to help members through these tough economic times, he explains. "We decided to use 'Ask Jack' as the place to get information about the program to help familiarize people with the site. It seems to have worked extremely well. We have about a dozen comments on the 'Holiday Skip-a-Pay' post, and have started getting quite a few messages through the blog's contact form.

"I could totally see us using this method again. Transparency is all the rage and there is nothing more transparent than having the person behind the decision explaining to our members why that decision was made."

Long term, Davis hopes to integrate the blog with Members CU's main Web site. "My goal would be to center all communications on 'Ask Jack,'" he explains. "Why? Searchability, ability for members to comment, and the format's unique ability to make communications informal, informative, and transparent."

Can I Really Connect CRM and Showers? Sure

Posted by Christopher Stevenson

I like to travel for work. In my travel for CUES, I stay in very nice places--tropical resorts, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carltons, JW Marriotts, and so on. But before I worked with CUES, I trained teachers for a living. I was on the road two or three days every week and stayed in places like Holiday Inn Express, Fairmont, and, most notably, the DK Inn. In spite of my travel experience, or perhaps because of it, I've never been a hotel snob. I'd just as soon stay at a nice, clean Holiday Inn as a Ritz-Carlton. I've never learned to appreciate the finer features of luxury hotels. I don't use the spa or valet service. I rarely use the concierge and couldn't care less whether someone turns down my bed at night. I'm just too low-brow to be high-brow. But, I think I finally found a reason to go to a Four Seasons. The shower...mmmm...oh, yes...the shower...mmmm.

Uh, what I mean is the water pressure. The Four Seasons Las Vegas, where CUES hosted its 2008 CEO Network, had the best water pressure of any hotel I've ever stayed in. It wasn't the kind of water pressure that rips your skin off (who needs that?); it was perfect and constant. On top of that, the showerhead was high enough that I didn't bump my head on it...a real plus.

Now, anyone who has seen me knows that I don't have any problem with thick, full hair interfering with rinsing shampoo out, and I certainly don't have to worry about using conditioner. But there's nothing better than getting in a really good shower when you have to get up at 5 a.m. to go to work. I'd go back to the Four Seasons Las Vegas in a heartbeat, if only for the water pressure.

So why am I writing this post? Is it just because I like to share my shower habits with my readers? Nope. (Listen carefully, and you'll hear the big sigh of relief from Lisa Hochgraf and Mary Arnold as they realize that I am not, in fact, trying to spice up Nexus Connection with shower stories.) The Four Seasons shower got me thinking about how organizations can best meet the needs of individual consumers.

I know I'm in the Four Seasons CRM system. Why aren't I getting offers catered to my whims? (Given, offering me a good shower in an e-mail marketing piece might be stretching it a bit, but you know what I mean.) What I receive from the hotel are generic announcements and offers for discounted rooms.  Do they know which restaurants I eat at when I stay at their hotels? Uh uh. Do they know what I drink? No. Could they? Absolutely.

It's not necessarily easy, but every transaction I make at the hotel could be tracked by their CRM system and used to tailor their messages to me. Would that help them get a larger portion of my lodging dollar? You bet.

Think of your CU. How effectively are you using your CRM to keep track of your members' transactions and inquiries? Are you really tailoring your messages to their needs and wants or are you sending out blanket messages and hoping they stick? In an increasingly competitive marketplace, credit unions are much more likely to earn a larger portion of the consumer dollar if the message is tailored.

I'd love to hear success stories about effective use of CRM and database marketing. Who's doing it? How's it working out? Fill me in.   

   

Fee Delivery

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

On Sunday night, I had to pay to check a single bag from San Francisco to Rochester, N.Y., through Boston. $15. For one, not-even-especially-heavy bag. I was grumbling.

But I grumbled even louder when I got to Rochester and the bag wasn't there. And the baggage clerk didn't seem too concerned about making me wait 15 minutes before she'd talk with me about it. Hey, I'd been flying all night!

Fair warning: If you're going to fee someone for "service," better actually provide it.

Are You Ready for Big Bank Refugees?

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Here's the corridor where 20 or 25 Washington Mutual customers recently crossed over to the credit union side--the MaPS Credit Union side, that is. (Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the details.) 

According to Jeremy Deglow, branch manager of the $277 million CU's W. Salem, Ore., location, the influx of refugees started the first week of September.

"Out of that we probably opened 20 new accounts, 15 to 20 new checking accounts (so these people were pretty much switching their primary financial institution is how we looked at it), some money market and CD accounts," Deglow reports.

Did the CU do anything special to draw them in? Not really. But once they were in the branch, Deglow says the CU's staff reassured them about the stability of the CU and often found them superior product offerings.

In a recent article on CUES Tech Port, Quintin Sykes took the idea of being ready for big bank refugees a step further.

"If credit unions want to be a serious contender for big bank refugees, many will have to place a greater focus on their remote delivery channels," writes this senior director of Cornerstone Advisors Inc., CUES' partner in CUES Tech Port. "Using Remote Delivery to Grab Big Bank Refugees" provides a check list for remote delivery readiness and is acccessible with a CUES or CUES Supplier member password--please comment if you'd like me to send you the manuscript via e-mail.

All of this is just another way of saying what Christopher wrote already in "'Flee to Safety' Won't Mean Squat Unless we Squawk."

What are you doing to be ready to receive big bank refugees?

'Fun' First--or How Would You Phrase it?

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

I've been having trouble articulating an idea that came into my head during FORUM Symposium early this month in Indianapolis. Maybe you can help.

The idea is basically that entertainment in marketing brings people in and makes it possible to effectively tell people the "boring" stuff they need to know.

Here's an example of what I'm driving at: Larissa Walkiw made Young & Free Alberta's blog so fun that young people got charged up about it--and, ultimately, signed up for a lot of free checking accounts from Common Wealth Credit Union, Lloydminster, Alberta. My guess is they didn't come for the checking accounts initially. They came to be entertained and then happened to sign up.

And then yesterday I (belatedly) read Melissa Troiano's "Banks ... one step ahead" post on the Filene blog (Thanks, Mary, for pointing this one out!). The post discussed how widely known personal finance adviser Suze Orman is now FDIC's paid spokesperson. There were lots of good comments on the post, but a key takeaway for me was that the FDIC wasn't afraid to get people's attention now--entertaining them with bronzed and blonde Suze Orman--and follow up with the details later.

Ron's "Game-Based Banking" post on this blog yesterday suggests that gaming can bring people in and form connections with them. Again, fun first, product sales later.

So is "fun first, detailed explanations later" a new mantra for communicating with members and potential members? How would you phrase this mantra better? Do you have additional examples of entertainment leading the way for good information about financial products and services?