3 reasons to love the “S” word in credit union marketing
What’s the “s” word? It’s probably not the one you’re thinking of, but it’s still considered a curse word by many credit union professionals. The mere mention of it makes some shudder and twist their faces in disgust.
Drum roll please … it’s sales! (Oh, the horror!)
That’s right, sales is a necessary part of your marketing. And going back to the title of this article, you should do more than begrudgingly accept its presence. You should love sales in your credit union marketing.
Why? Let’s go over three reasons:
- You can’t close the deal without it: It’s nice to tell people about your credit union. You have a great place, incredible people and the best service in the world. But it’s not enough to just tell people about yourself. You must ask for the business. You must call people to action.
As marketing expert Donald Miller says, “People don’t tend to do things unless you ask them to do things.”
Don’t be afraid of a direct ask in your marketing … and don’t be afraid of asking it all the time. Online blog posts, direct mail pieces, social media and more should all call people to action. And you might already do this, so what’s left to know?
Miller once again advises that “Very few small-business owners come off as pushy. In fact most small-business owners make the opposite mistake—They are too passive in their calls to action.”
He’s absolutely right. In many credit union marketing assessments we perform, institutions are too timid about asking for the business. Prompts like “learn more” are usually too common, too vague and imply too much more work to motivate consumers.
So, be a little pushier. You can’t close the deal without it.
- You can’t serve members without it: Sales (when done right) isn’t manipulative. Instead, it serves the member by providing them with products they really need. That’s why personalized and targeted marketing is so powerful.
Tailoring offers to members interested in specific products gives them specific solutions to their specific problems. Selling turns into solving. And when you solve, you avoid the “spray and pray” tactics that result in generic credit union marketing.
Your branch and call center staff have a role to play here too (because everyone is in marketing). During moments of casual conversation, frontline team members learn about struggles and can offer solutions (a.k.a. cross-sell).
A tip: call this something besides “sales” during your training. It’s still a bad word to many, and you get higher participation with some clever word choice. And you need participation in sales … you can’t serve members without it.
- You can’t focus your content without it: In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey notes you should “Begin with the end in mind.” Having a sales focus helps you do that with your credit union marketing. It gives your marketing messages direction.
Ask yourself:
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- What am I selling?
- What will convince someone in need to make a decision?
- How does the consumer “buy” it?
These questions guide your purpose for the message, the details of the message and the call to action you use. They should prevent you from straying into the realm of ambiguity or doing something simply because it’s “cool.”
Start at a high level. Start with what you need to sell to grow the business. You can’t focus your content without it.
By loving the “s” word, you close more deals, serve members better and focus your credit union marketing messages. Because sales isn’t a bad word. And you can’t grow without it.
