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.)

Loyalty Program--or not?

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Greetings from CUES headquarters in Madison, Wis. It's great to be out of the basement (where my home office is located).

When I arrived in town late last week, I did some grocery shopping at the Copps grocery store near the office. I was proud that I had my "shoppers card" with me (no Copps in Rochester), and was surprised when the checker told me the card I had was no longer in use.

Instead, he explained, I could turn it in and get a rewards card where my purchases at Copps would help reduce the cost of my next gasoline purchase.

This week at CUES, my inbox seems to have a lot in it about such card rewards and affinity/loyalty programs. Intuitively I thought that such programs would be no-brainers right now as people try to get the most for their buck during this economic downturn.

And for retailers like Copps, this may be true, according to research by COLLOQUY, which finds that 75 percent of 2,152 surveyed said the down economy had a neutral or positive effect on loyalty programs. In contrast, the impact of the recession on financial services industry rewards programs was relatively flat, with 52.7 percent reporting "no difference" in the impact of the recession on program participation.

What is your perspective? Is now the time to take a fresh look at member loyalty through special promotions, debit/credit rewards, Net Promoter and the like? Or are there better ways to build member relationships this year?

Perennial Student? What are you Learning Today?

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

A good while back, when I was studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I liked learning Chinese literature (in translation) one semester, botany the next. I took classes in all kinds of dance, Spanish language, and even calculus and physics. I found the learning associated with going to college so agreeable I told my dad (a key funder of the undertaking) that I thought I'd be a "perennial" student.

At the time Dad said, "No way." But now that I've got a master's in journalism (the photo is Dad, Mom and me at my Northwestern University graduation in 1993) and been an editor for 15 years, Dad seems to think I've actually succeeded with that early idea of becoming a perennial student. In my career I've written about everything from businesses in Dane County, Wisconsin, to mind-altering drugs to bus tours.

I feel fortunate that the largest bulge in my career portfolio contains articles about credit unions. By reading, talking with people in the industry, doing onsite credit union visits, and attending conferences and meetings, I've had the opportunity to learn and write about everything from loan automation to information security to e-mail marketing to ergonomic workstations to charter conversion.

And I'm still learning. Right now I'm collecting information about hybrid charters, "exotic" mortgage loans and digital magazines (if you know something about these topics, please give a shoutout in the comments!). I'm also looking forward to learning a bunch by attending CUES' Directors Conference this December. (I'll be celebrating my 40th birthday there--if you're planning to attend, do let me know.)

Are you a perennial student? What are you learning about credit unions today, this week, this month, this year? How are you facilitating your own learning?

Web Video Success Tips

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

I like to say that the surest way to leave an editor without words is to stand them up in front of a group of people and ask them to speak.

So this day of Web video can be daunting for some of us. In contrast, CUES member Gary Easterling, CCE, seems to have taken in stride the shooting of the video for his credit union's new common sense Web site.

$850 million United Federal Credit Union's campaign, covered in more detail in today's CUES article, includes print ads and the common sense Web site, which showcase the credit union difference. The Web site features videos of Easterling, president/CEO of the St. Joseph, Mich., CU, answering questions about credit unions, TARP and how members can manage in these tough economic times.

He laughed a little when I asked him about his experience making the movies.

"It is a little intimidating at times if you think about it," he says, noting that things are easier once you realize you'll never get it right on the first take.

Indeed, Easterling says it took a half day to shoot the footage. While what he was going to say was scripted out in advance, he didn't want to read it. So getting it smooth took some time.

"You lose track of where you are, start, stop, cut and then edit later," he says. What you see on the site is the combination of several takes.

Anyone else have tips for success shooting Web video?

Fee for Withdrawals?

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

At our last meeting for the Friends of the Mendon Public library (somehow I got myself elected president of the board), our treasurer let us know that the bank we use for our accounts had printed a small notice on our last statement that it would now be charging a fee for deposits and withdrawals.

"Effective Jan. 1, 2009, the following service fees will change: Currency deposited from $0.00 to $5,000 a month, no charge. Currency deposited in excess of $5,000 per month, $0.14 per $100. Currency supplied $0.14 per $100."

What? A fee to deposit the proceeds of the book sale? And a fee for withdrawals of the group's own money? Has anyone heard of such a thing?

A call to the bank branch manager makes us confident that because were are operating like a non profit organization rather than a for-profit company, the fee will be waived in our case. But still!?

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."

Raisecapital.com

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

I get a lot of press releases across my desk every day. This one stood out:

"With few banks able to lend money, cash is king, and it seems that private money is seeing a ton of interest from entrepreneurs and business in seek of capital. RaiseCapital.com is an online community which allows private money to seek deals…and they are seeing tremendous growth and deals done, as traditional financial outlets are closed due to the markets.

"The site works by connecting entrepreneurs and investors through online social networking, allowing anyone seeking start-up funds, or capital to grow their businesses, to pitch their ideas to potential investors via text descriptions, photos, and streaming videos. Investors can then sift through business ads, evaluate them, and collect contact information for those that catch their interest.

"Whether a technology company, golf course or biodiesel plant, from $100K to $20MM projects, more and more entrepreneurs are turning to RaiseCapital.com as an alternative to bank loans in today's tumultuous economy."

If you check out the Web site, it's very much a social community for business owners and venture capitalists. Will such a thing fly in today's economy? Would a business owner be better off getting a loan from their CU?

How do You Get People Fired up?

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Yesterday at FORUM Partnership Symposium in "Indy," William Azaroff of Vancity Credit Union, Vancouver, British Columbia, greeted me by asking, "What's new?"

I shared my excitement that my town (Mendon, N.Y.) had voted the night before to fund a new library with a bond issue of $1.35 million. I said I had thoroughly enjoyed being part of the group of volunteers that had worked to get people fired up to vote yes.

William, a leader in the development of the changeeverything.ca site, knows all about getting people together to do positive things. Changeeverything.ca encourages Vancouver residents to share what they would like to see change--and a lot of very positive action has come out of the discussions on the site.

"It takes some lead time," William said, to get people going. "You need a plan."

The library vote was the same way. It took a plan to get the bond issue approved. The town board, the library trustees and members of the Friends of the Mendon Public Library worked together to get the word out.

What else does it take? I bounced another idea off of William.

It related to Tim McAlpine of Currency Marketing and his keynote yesterday about the one-year anniversary (today! Happy Anniversary!) of Young & Free Alberta, a highly successful social media campaign designed to get members of Gen Y in Alberta fired up about getting a free checking account with Common Wealth Credit Union. Tim suggested that the campaign worked in part because it was first entertaining (with fun videos, blog posts and celebrity appearances by spokester Larisaa Walkiw), and then informational (about the associated free checking account).

The library vote information wasn't "entertaining," I suggested to William. But his take was that pulling on people's heartstrings about how a new library would serve various segments of the community and perhaps draw the community closer together overall might serve the same purpose of getting people fired up.

Have you successfully inspired action among your staff or members lately? How did you do it? What elements of your effort made you successful? How do you get people fired up?

Mistakes That Make You Better

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

Two nights ago, my Mac laptop apparently didn't shut down properly. I should have made sure it was down. But because I didn't, my battery was totally dead when I went to log in to CUES yesterday morning. So I waited for it to charge, until I got a phone call from my esteemed colleague Mary Wood, CUES' information systems manager, with this sage advice: "Take the battery out and force it to run on A/C power." Yet another set of tricks to add to my telecommuting bag. Generally I'm pleased with how well telecommuting works for me, but learning from this kind of mistake just makes it go better and better.

Another mistake from the past that made me better, especially because of the way my boss handled it was this one: I had the job in the early '90s of getting the CUES logo printed on some cardboard photo frames. When the frames came back from the printer, the logo made the frame clearly "vertical," while our group photos of CEO Institute grads were most definitely horizontal. Feeling bad that what I remember as hundreds of frames were wrong (surely it wasn't as many as I remember), I created a mock-up for the printer showing where the logo was supposed to be, and offered to pay for the second go. My then-and-now boss, CUES VP/Publications Mary Arnold of CUES Skybox fame, said I didn't have to pay--it was a small price for so much learning. It's pretty easy to admit this morning's mistake to Mary, based on our history of treating one-time mistakes as times of learning.

So this reflection on mistakes and how they make you better makes me ask you: What mistakes have you (or your organization) made that have made you better? And, how have those around you helped or hindered your ability to learn from your mistakes?

How Do You 'Unlock Cool'?

Posted by Lisa Hochgraf

I'd like to hear about how you "unlock cool."

I'm stealing the phrase "unlock cool" (with cool being something unique and cutting edge) from Jeremy Gutsche, MBA, CFA, chief trend hunter at trendhunter.com. He gave the closing keynote at CUES Experience last month. (In the photo he's talking to CUES member Jack Kennelly, VP/marketing, $316 million City & County CU, Maplewood, Minn. A side story, Jeremy saw attendees drinking bottles of root beer and thought it was beer. Maybe beer would have been cooler!)

Jeremy told conference attendees that taking a "methodical approach to innovation can help you generate ideas, stimulate creativity and ultimately unlock cool."

Whoa! "Methodical" innovation can lead to cool?

Twyla Tharp would agree. One of America's greatest choreographers, Tharp suggests in her book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life"  that making creativity part of your life means making it a habit.

Tharp has clearly succeeded with her methodology, having created more than 130 dances for some of the world's best dance companies, winning two Emmy awards for television's Baryshnikov by Tharp, and a Tony award for the Broadway musical Movin' Out. (Set to the music of Billy Joel, Movin' Out is awesome! I went, I know!)

To support all this creative work, Tharp (she's in her 60s--that's her, at right) gets up every day at 5:30 a.m. and takes a cab to the gym, where she works out for two hours. She uses cardboard boxes to contain the things that inspire her for each project she works on. She reads every evening, scratching for ideas. She works with the best people she can, to inspire the best in herself. She uses exercises and games to keep her mind fresh, help her get started, and to get over blocks and worries.

With preparation and effort, she'd say, "creativity"--and I'd say "unlocking cool"--are within everyone's reach.

So how do we commoners "unlock cool"? I'll go first: My personal habits to push creativity are to do writing early in my work day, swimming even earlier in the morning two days a week, having some friends who are more "artists" than me--including a poet, a dancer and a painter/biologist--to provide out-of-the-box ideas, and making sure I get enough time for my brain to be quiet.

Your turn. What do you do?