Are you a CEO? The digital credit union may be run by marketing

by CU GROW

by. James Robert Lay

As I have joked when speaking to credit union leaders around the country, marketing is typically the first thing to get cut when times get tough. But the reality is that this is true for many credit unions. The story goes something like this:

1. Board wants CEO to focus on membership growth and increase member retention

2. CEO gives VP of Marketing directive to grow membership and increase member retention while also sharing they will have 50% less budget to double their numbers from last year

3. VP of Marketing often times continues to operate as they did before wishing they had a bigger budget.

But doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is often times called insanity. However, let’s not forget the value that marketing brings to the credit union as cutting marketing is counter intuitive for growth.

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