Are You Aggressive in Your Credit Union Marketing?
I like this ad.
Coincidentally I was working on a keynote that I am giving at a Marketing Association of Credit Unions roundtable here in Northern California about “Aggressive Youth Marketing” and I took a minute to goof off and I saw this ad.
When talking to CU Marketers, many of them are afraid to get “crazy” with their marketing, like this. Of course, by “Crazy” I mean competitive.
I have heard people talk about not wanting to damage another credit union or slapping down local banks.
Hey, those are all valid points. Irrelevant, but good points.
As the old saying goes, though, “You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight”. What I mean is, you will never be able to negotiate with the local banks or friendly credit unions and convince them to give you their customers or members.
You can’t diplomatically steal away your competitions business. Eventually you will have to get a little crazy if you want to survive.
Many banks and credit unions are trying to survive right now. So don’t be surprised if your competition starts getting a little crazy and start coming after you. Things ARE that crazy out there.
You wanna get nuts? Come on, let’s get nuts!
So that is why I like this ad. Visually it says “If you want a ‘Big’ burger, you need a Whopper. Forget that little ‘Big Mac’ guy. He is a pipsqueak. That’s a snacker not a meal!” It identifies the competition and BK’s superior quality product (arguably). To be honest, it drags the competition outside and slaps him around a bit and then says “Now whatcha gonna do?”
Your competition is not your friend. Even if you have the same ideals and you like the people over there, when you punch the clock, it is your job to go out there and get members. Those memebers are going to come from somewhere, and likely, they are coming from a bank or another credit union.
You can’t share members if you want your members to consider you their primary financial institution. Love your fellow credit unioners the same way football players from opposing teams can go out for beers after a game of slamming each other on the field. Love them the same way politicians who can party together at a mixer and then slam each other on CNN. Friends are friends, but business is business. If you want to stay in business, you sometimes have to get a little crazy and get a little aggressive.
It is time to go to the mattresses!
When you have a better product and service, never hesitate to hold it up to your competitors for everyone to see. Remember the “Pepsi Challenge”? Pepsi took on the big red can and took huge market share from Coke. What happened? The colossal “New Coke” blunder happened.
Coke was so unprepared for this kind of confrontation that instead of responding to the ad in the marketing department, they went back to the recipe and changed it. In credit union world, this has been called “R&D’ or “Rip-off and Duplicate” which success has been pretty consistent with the “New Coke” success (as in not very successful).
Don’t jump into line with your competition. Don’t follow them around waiting for them to lead you to success. Jump out of line, run to the front and trip the guy in front. As the leader goes face first into the sidewalk, everyone following him will fall too. You will be the only one left standing.
It’s all about healthy competition
Competition is healthy and being aggressive can be fun and effective. I have to do it every year at the CUES, CUNA and MAC awards conferences. I have to stand next to my competitors (no matter how much I like them and their work) and say “Look, we do good work, look at all of our awards and creative work!”. See, I think we are the best at what we do. If I didn’t think so then I should get out of the business right? Should I keep it a secret? Should I hide out with a few clients and pray for referral work? How long would I stay in business with that strategy? I have great clients and I ALWAYS appreciate it when I hear from a new client that one of my clients referred us. But I have had clients retire and a new VP will come in and cut all existing vendor relations. If I am not out there throwing elbows and competing then I might as well close up shop.
Time to bring it home.
Your credit union should excel at something. What is that thing? Do you have the lowest rates? Do you have a lot of branches making you super convenient? Do you have a bilingual staff? What is it? Nail that down and then take a look at your competition (Banks AND Credit Unions AND Check Cashing spots). Put a spotlight on them. Make them sweat…
Make THEM compete with YOU! Now get out there and kick some ass!
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Comments
Thanks Tim and Trey - appreciate it. I have just seen some really good ideas out there and get a little sad when I hear credit unions wanting to play it “Bank Safe” with their messages.
Being meek is not the way to inherit the members.
And you don’t have to worry about me Tim. I am not supporting violence. I am not even saying that you should try to gut your competition. I am just saying you should find what you do better than anyone else and use that as a club to beat your competition down.
Just kiddin! 
Good “stir things up” post Tony.
I’m a big advocate of being different and letting the world know how different. Playing it safe usually results in more marketplace noise and operational mediocrity.
Though, from my experience with Credit Unions, part of the shared self-identity is that to be a Credit Union is to be part of “a movement”. I can see why a CU would be hesitant to go after another CU in their marketing.
Banks would be another story! Grin.
Keep creating…a brand worth raving about,
Mike
Tony, I agree with your point that following the pack isn’t good marketing. Even in the credit union movement, it is important to differentiate oneself on what it does best. However, within the philosophies of credit unions and “cooperation among cooperatives” I don’t think advertising that “drags the competition outside and slaps him around a bit” is right for this industry. Like Mike said, we can have that opinion toward banks and payday lenders, but I don’t think it wise to promote cutthroat advertising between credit unions.
If the big credit unions in the nation thought this way (like BECU here in Washington) they could easily swallow up every other credit union in the state, but that isn’t the best thing for the movement - or the members. Members have unique needs that are well served by some of the smaller credit unions.
I like your passion for the subject, but I think that this competetive style would cause more harm than good for the industry as a whole - which is more important than any one credit union. Credit unions are about helping, not smashing our friends faces in the mud.
@Melina Of course if the big guys took this approach it would be a poor strategy. It would look like a bully picking on a little guy. Thats bad PR.
I would always suggest going after the banks and check cashing places first. You have a collective advantage and a message that is supported by your credit union counterparts. But what happens if you are in a small town with only two credit unions? Should the two dance around each other and never differentiate themselves? Should they just agree to divvy up the town? What if one wanted to open a branch next to the new highway? Would the other see this as the first volley breaking them out of a marketing “Cold War”?
With our company, I don’t run after the clients of agencies smaller than mine. Not even agencies similar in size. I go after the behemoths! It is easy picking. When you get humongous, you don’t excel at specific things. It is harder to keep the level of personal customer service at a point where the client feels important. When you are a “Monster Agency” (Read Monster Bank) policy wins over personal relationships. I have clients where I know them personally. We have relationships that the big guys cant maintain because of their turnover rate.
Once I slay the dragons, I will have to be on the look out for the fresh new faces out to take me down. That is the nature of business. All business, including credit unions.
If we were to learn anything from the Donner Party is this. You eat from your own supplies first, then you hunt for big game, then if that runs out go for small game (in volume) and only when all else runs out do you consider cannibalism (so to speak).
And that is the kind of responses I come up with after 36 hours of no sleep. Thanks for commenting! You are great. I love your blog!
Great post!
I agree that when marketing to the crucial youth demographic, that pulling out all the stops is imperative.
If you have a completely new and innovative approach to marketing your product, as long as you aren’t obsessively beating down your competitors, I feel the public will forgive you. And if it forces you competitor to step their game up, so be it.
As many of you may know, I am one of the finalists for the Young & Free Texas Spokesperson position! I recently put up a video called “Credit Unions Are For Old People!?!?” that gets the reactions of several college age students about managing money and credit unions in general. You should check it out and leave a comment! http://www.youngfreetexas.com/blog/Video-challenge-Credit-Unions-are-for-Old-People
Also, voting for the spokesperson position is open until the 24th! While you’re checking out the video, check out what all the finalists have done, and cast your vote!
DeAndre’
Great post!
I just wanted to come here and say to check out http://www.youngfreealberta.com
If you haven’t heard of it, it is a program for the Youth through Common Wealth Credit Union.
I am one of three finalists competing to become next years spokesperson for the company, and I was just hoping that all of you would check it out.
Talking about Credit Union Marketing.
My name is Myles Peterman and if after checking out the Y&F website you want to vote, please vote Myles!
Thanks everyone, and continue the excellent marketing.
Tony, I am in complete agreement with you. Since coming on the credit union scene 2 years ago, I’m continuing to hear this type of drawback in regard to marketing. I hear it from other credit unions and state leagues or associations. I can see there is a fine line, but hey, who needs the business? If I can provide a better product or service in my town, and if I step on the toes of the other 2 credit unions, then so be it. Fact is, if I’m stepping on their toes, then I must be outperforming them.
I welcome more input of this nature. I’m all about becoming more agressive in this industry. I feel credit unions have sooo much to offer but are content to take second and sometimes 3rd place. Not me, I’m all for moving forward as agressively as PR safe.
@Doug
Thanks for the comments. I know some credit unions are afraid to jump out and be noticed – because they are afraid that they will become a target. It is the whole, “Those who live in glass houses…” thing. They are usually not secure enough in their brand or their position to throw it all out “on the line”.
All business is competitive, even the banking/cu business. It is time for folks to get out there and compete!
There are two sayings that come to mind after reading your post.
#1. We all have targets on our back. The further ahead you are, the more people see yours.
#2. If you are stepping on people’s toes, it is because you are moving and they are standing still.
Thanks for your comments!
@SRG Coming soon! I promise!
Good post Tony. Remind me to wear body armor when we finally meet in person.