It has always puzzled me why most credit unions do not take advantage of basic marketing tools that are low cost or sometimes even free.  I must disclose that I am not a marketing expert but I do operate a few web sites and I’m fortunate to be married to someone who has a great “marketing mind.”  Besides, as a “gen Xer”, I’ve been exposed to a lot of marketing on television, email, Internet, radio, etc.  Okay, back to my point.
There are a few credit unions that utilize Twitter or Facebook but there are many that don’t.  You might have landed on this page because you clicked a link from the CU Colony presence on Twitter or Facebook.  If you did, there’s some proof that it works!  If your credit union does not have a presence on social networks like Twitter or Facebook, why not?  If you do have a presence, are you using it effectively?  I must say, I follow a lot of credit unions on Twitter and there are a few that ‘tweet’ messages that are not related to the organization at all.  Maybe it’s me, but that doesn’t seem to be effective.

Just a few other thoughts to ponder:
Does your credit union have a program in local schools to promote savings or banking ideas?
Does your credit union participate in volunteer efforts as an organization?
Does your credit union utilize marketing research or do you rely on following what others are doing or just go with an idea that sounds good?
Do you measure the effectiveness of your campaign? (i.e. Is the softball team sponsorship bringing in new members or increasing the number of products per member?)
Do you manage your email campaigns with tools that allow you to track responses, forwards, or bounces or do you use your regular email system and hope for the best?

With the current economic situation, reduced income, and compressed margins, it makes sense that effective marketing is critical – now more than ever.

You may or may not be responsible for the marketing effort at your credit union – either way, I welcome your feedback!