The other day I was having a conversation with a credit union CEO and he told me he just doesn’t believe in marketing. I wish I could say I was shocked, but I’ve heard this all too frequently. In fact some of you reading this are probably nodding your heads in agreement.
For everyone out there who likes a good definition, I believe this one to be the most succinct and meaningful– “Marketing is the identification, creation and retention of customers profitably.” To me, this sounds like the core function of any business plan. So I have to wonder, why do smart professionals disregard one of the key foundations of a solid business plan?
Way back in Marketing 101, we learned about the four P’s of Marketing – Product, Price, Place (otherwise known as distribution) and Promotion. I don’t know of a single credit union that doesn’t have the first three Ps covered. Credit unions are all about products (services) and price. They also don’t shy away from investing in their distribution channels, whether it’s branches or operations to make their services secure, convenient and accessible. Right now the push is on to implement mobile delivery systems. So they certainly believe in these components of marketing.
So why do so many credit unions put on the brakes when it comes to Promotion? I keep seeing an image of a table with one of its four legs missing. Sure the table stands, but it isn’t going to be very stable. There is all of this investment in products and infrastructure, but if nothing is done to let people know it exists, then what is the net worth of the investments that have already been made?
It’s too easy to say, “I don’t see any return on what I spend on promotion”. Not every credit union builds the biggest or the flashiest branches, but they set an affordable budget to build good, serviceable branches that get the job done. Promotion is just the same. You don’t have to empty the vault to do a good job letting your membership and communities know what you do.
If Bank Transfer Day taught us nothing else; it showed that with the right message, targeted to the right audience, you can raise a lot of awareness with almost no budget.
So why say –“I don’t believe in marketing”? I’ve heard “It just doesn’t work” or “it’s not worth the cost” often enough. But to me that’s just an easy out for those who just don’t consider Promotions a key part of their business strategy. I think it must come down to perceived value. There is the perception of value in a branch because you can see it and touch it. The same can be said about services. Members use them. They exist. But the value of our promotions can be a hard thing to pin down. Did that new member walk in the door because of the mailing we sent out or because they just moved into the neighborhood and drove by the branch?
Yes, marketers need to do a better job of tracking and reporting on the ROI of what they produce. But it’s not just the responsibility of the marketing department. Operations staff is a part of the tracking process. They’re the front line information gatherers for the marketing department.
The staff also takes their lead from the top. CEOs already make sure the entire organization supports the implementation of the other three Ps. The same commitment needs to be given to that fourth table leg.
Promotion isn’t just about advertising. It’s sales and community relations. It’s everything that you do as an organization to attract members to walk into your branches and use your services. It’s the final step in executing the business plans that are put in place. A table without that last leg is incomplete.