“That girl has a nice body, ButterFace….”

Get the picture?

Tony! Why are you breaking the Bro Code man?

Ok, I know that’s not nice. I have to believe that women have something similar for men that our agents inside have yet to send out in coded message. However, we will crack your code. It is only a matter of time.

Anyway, I digress.

So what the hell are you talking about anyway?

Websites. Specifically credit union websites. More specifically BAD credit union websites. Yes, the technical equivelence of a ButterFace.

“Gee, it seems like a really cool credit union, ButterFace…”

Yep, thats what they say behind your back.

They do, you know. They really do.

I don’t care what people think and I don’t care about my website!

Ahhhh, the river in Egypt. I know you well. See, I kind of live that lifestyle. I wear a lot of plain t-shirts, shorts from Costco and flip-flops. I used to wear Chuck Taylor All-Stars until I met my wife. See she is from San Diego and there is a lot of flip-flopping down there and I picked up the habit.

When I am on the road, doing my thing, I like to blend into the background. I like to watch people. Come on, I am 6′2″ with copper penny colored hair. It takes a lot for me to blend in! But my wardrobe is also about comfort. I like to be comfortable.

This affinity for personal comfort a the expense of a professional aura has even caused me a little grief recently. I stopped by the grocery store that I have been going to since I was 8 years old (they had a BurgerTime and Q-Bert video game in the corner that I probably dumped $100 into in a summer). One day, after work, I ran into the store to grab a few things for dinner. I had my laptop with me and I was in the Jeep (no top on means I don’t leave my laptop in there). I tossed my laptop into the cart, nodded at the security gaurd and headed towards the produce aisle.

“Sir…” “Excuse me Sir.” “SIR! ECUSE ME!”

I turned to see who was getting yelled at and realized that everyone was looking at me. I looked at the security gaurd and he was glaring at me. I was a little confused. What had I done? Whatever it was I needed to fix it quick as the wife and kids were at home and getting hungry.

“Who? Me?”

“Yes Sir. You will have to leave your bag up front.” My bag? I don’t carry a bag… I looked in my cart and saw my laptop case. “Yes Sir. You will have to leave that up here.”

As I looked around I reaslised that all the lines were full of people staring at me. The poduce department was staring at me. I had an unwelcomed spotlight trained on me – the guy who likes to blend in – and I was not looking my best. I became pretty irritated, pretty quickly.

“No I don’t”.

“Yes you do.”

“Please get the manager.”

“It IS store policy Sir.”

“No it’s not. If it were, then a sign would be posted at the door and you would have a pile of women’s purses next to you. Please get the manager.”

“Sir, it’s the policy.”

“Tell you what. I am in a hurry. If it is that important, have the manager come find me. I’m sure you’ll be able to point me out.”

That’s when I left. Angry and a little embarrased. As I was doing my shopping I had a hundred things rolling around inside my head. What just happened? Why did he want my laptop? That’s when the sound of my flip flops on the store tile got my attention. That’s when I realized that I looked like I was homeless.

Well, ok, not really. But I was in a plain black t-shirt, a dark green pair of cargo shorts and leather flops. I also hadn’t shaved in a few days ( a bad habit of mine when I am on a tight deadline). I just ran into a store with a laptop case that may or may not be empty. He thought I was a shoplifter – that or Mel Gibson.

See, I know that I am a relatively smart guy. He didn’t know what I do for a living. He didn’t know where I lived, how much I earn, about my wife’s inability to be dishonest or tolerate dishonesty in any way (which keeps me honest to a fault). He didn’t know that my dad was a cop and that I haven’t shoplifted anything since I got caught with a candybar outside of a Safeway when I was 7 years old. Dad made sure I never forgot that indescretion!

This security guard didnt know any of that. He made a judgement call based on how I looked. I chose to look a certain way that day and was disregarded and disrespected because of it.

He mistreated me and embarrased me because I like to dress cheaply. Because I was a not representing outwardly who I felt I was on the inside.

And here comes the “But”

But, when I need to do business – I wear a suit. Some of my suits are a little pricey. See, I might rock out a $20 ensemble when running around and doing errands, but when it is time to get some business done – I never go “cheap”.

When I need to do business – I put my best effort in looking professional.

“Let me introduce you to my credit union. She is a ButterFace but she has a great personality!”

So here is how it works in 2009.

Potential Member: “Hey, I think I want to join a credit union. I hear they rock and are better than banks!”

Potential Member: Searches internet for local credit unions

Potential Member: “Hmm there are 3 in my area. Let’s check the first one.”

Potential Member: Picks the first one

Potential Member: “Hmm, nice website. Information is easy to find. Hey! Low rates!”

Potential Member: Clicks on next web site.

Potential Member: “Yikes! What is this? Did a 6th grader make this site? No way am I going to give these people my money! Seriously, what is going on here? I’m just going back to that last credit union – they seem to know what’s going on.”

Ok, maybe that was a little dramatic. But that doesn’t make it wrong.

So, am I right or am I full of crap?

You have heard of the Internet Banks (ING ring any bells? Or my quirky favorite internet only bank, Redneck Bank) and Internet Credit Unions right? These are financial service providers that are making pretty good dough just on their good looks (A pretty and functional and marketing oriented website with premium products and services).

Well if they can do it, why can’t you? If websites don’t make money then how did these financial institutions make it? If we can agree tht they might be profitable, then the ROI on the website should have been more than sufficient to offset the costs…right?

Credit Union Websites are too Expensive – We can’t get ours added to the budget!

That is what I hear most often when I talk about web sites. You know what? It’s a lie. I know you may believe it, but it is still a lie. This is how I prove it.

If you could make $20,000 and all it would cost you is $2,000 – could you find $2,000?

I have yet to find anyone who has said no to that question. Even the poorest credit union can find $2,000 if it can result in $20,000.

Tony, that wasn’t even clever. But since you said it – explain it.

A well designed credit union website is not only a sales tool, marketing tool, information resource for members and non-members – but a time and resource saver for your employees. Instead of searching for brochures, hunting through the site – they could type into a search box and find the info. Heck instead of calling your call center, the member or non-member may find it on their own!

Not only will a well designed, easy to mainain website allow you to more effectively market your products and services – it will allow you to be found on search engines allowing you to attract members that will dismiss you based on your Butterface.

No matter what you look like on the inside. Like in a singles bar – looks count!

Now for the shameless plug

Yes, we make credit union websites. Better than that, we create affordable and complete internet marketing tools for credit unions of any size. We are pretty awesome at it. We have a CMS back end that allows the marketing department (not the IT department – why would you let your tech department touch a marketing tool?) make and maintain the content easily wihout having to know how to program. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can use this system.

We have attractive layouts that we can customize (yes, really customize not just slap your logo in the corner) to fit your brand. We have a ton of bells and whistles and if there is something you want that we don’t have – we will figure it out.

And the best part is, you can afford it. I have yet to turn down a credit union yet. We have been able to find a way to accomodate every budget. As I said, we are kind of awesome that way.

And the coolest feature – once you have your site on our system, you are done! Want a facelift in a year or two? Done! We could have it up in a week if you are in a hurry at a fraction of the initial cost. That’s what we mean by “Complete Credit Union Internet Marketing Tool”

Let us help you be as pretty on the outside as you are on the inside. You don’t have to be a Butterface.

Wow, that was a little too long I think. I will have to work on that.

I was rejected… on Twitter.

I know, I was surprised too!

Lets get the psychology out of the way first.

Hello, my name is Tony Mannor of Andermahr & Company – The Credit Union Marketing Agency. I am a credit union vendor.

I guess I have to come to terms with that.  I never really saw myself as a vendor. You may giggle at my naivety, but it is true. I am not a “VENDOR” which to me sounds like the evil ruler of a planet far away with robot assassins that call you while you are trying to enjoy your lunch with hard sell tactics that force you to contemplate suicide by stapler.

All Hail The Evil Vendor of Scumdar!

I am not a “VENDOR” – I am a credit union marketing guy. Well, ok, brass tacks time – I am a marketing and business guy who uses my marketing, design and business superpowers for good. I brought those skills to the credit union world. I’m not dishonest or scummy or “hard sell”. Actually, that is why I set up this blog. I just want to help out some folks if I can – mainly credit unions that may not be able to afford to hire us. I know that makes me sound like I wear overalls, have a cowlick with a big ol’ “awe shucks ma’am” grin, but that is who I am. I actually get a kick out of helping others be successful and that is how I live my life.

So that being my point of perspective, let me tell you about my rejection.

I was told that it was probably because I was a vendor. Then another credit unions said something to the effect of “I don’t know. Should our credit union twitter accounts have vendors as friends?”

Good Question.

Twitter creates relationships in a very real world sort of way. They are either unidirectional or bidirectional. The real question you need to ask is; Are you going to use Twitter as a integrate social marketing tool or a one way communication channel to peddle your promotions? Check out “Twitter, Your Credit Union Marketing Wingman” for my tips on that subject.

When someone asks to follow your credit union. They are only asking to listen to you. They cannot speak to you and they cannot speak to your other followers. All they can do is sit in the corner and swallow what you are putting out. If someone, anyone, wants to follow you – why not? To say no would be like a rock band playing The Garden and having security force certain folks to wear earplugs.

I’m sorry sir, we really don’t want you as a fan or associated to the band in any way. Put in these earplugs and take off that $50 t-shirt.

Having followers is great. It is great because you don’t have to follow them back. It is not like myspace or facebook where you are now “Friends”. You are a leader and someone just stepped in behind you.
So it doesn’t matter if vendors follow you. If you don’t want to follow them back, you don’t have to. Twitter is cool with that and frankly, so am I.

But SHOULD we follow vendors?

Why not? Its not like anyone is going to see the conversations that take place from the people you follow. If I am a member of your credit union I can’t see what you see unless I am following all the people that you follow.

But folks like me, credit union service providers, follow credit unions because we like to see what you are talking about. Are you just broadcasting rates? Are you being transparent with your operations? Just what the heck ARE you doing with your Twitter account? It is interesting to me to see how different credit unions use Twitter. So, if you see me follow you, that’s what I am doing. I am listening to you.

But I don’t want to get “Sales Calls” via Twitter too!

I have never solicited anyone via Twitter. I think it is tacky. The closest I have come is when a credit union marketing person asked a question and I responded with advice. I then sent them a private message that said, “Hey, call me if that doesn’t work and I will figure something else out.” You know what happened? He called me the next day and we spent a half an hour on the phone figuring out what happened to his website. I did this while having ice cream with my wife and kids in Berkley.

I didn’t charge him. I didn’t give him the slide and wink with the old “Now you owe me one, give me your marketing business” jab. I did it because, that’s who I am. A lot of people have helped me out when I have asked. You pay it forward. That’s the right thing to do. That’s why I like Twitter. I see CU folks ask questions and others shoot out some help or advice. It is awesome.
But Tony, not everyone is like you!

Yeah, there are A-Holes everywhere and Twitter is no exception. The cool thing is – you can unfollow them in like 2 clicks and 10 seconds and they can never bother you again. That is pretty cool. That means you can give them a chance and cut them off if they become a jerk. No explanation is required.

So, when making the decision of whether or not to follow a “Vendor” take a look at their tweets. What are they talking about? Me, I talk about everything from having a craving for iced tea to political changes affecting credit unions to free marketing advice.

Whoa!?! Free Marketing Advice?

Yeah, Tim and James and Morris and Matt and Mark and dozens of other (look at the people I follow and follow them), very cool cu marketing people are on Twitter. Sometimes they noodle out an idea that you can have and use for free. Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that? Why would you hide from that by not letting me follow you or not following me. Do you go to conferences and put your fingers in your ears and yell “Lalalalalala” when a vendor speaks? Maybe, you sit and listen and take what is valuable to you and leave the rest. That is the beauty of Twiter.

Don’t hide your head in a Twitter sandbox because you think every vendor is out there to get a pound of your flesh. Really, it would be nice, but that is not my purpose or motivation for being on Twitter. I am here for the party. It is like the best parts of a CU marketing convention that never ends.

One last look at the “Big Picture”

One thing that is relevant here is that I qualified to be a member of that credit union. In fact, my whole family qualified because one of my relatives is in their only SEG. I’m not saying that I would join the credit union. I am already a member an their credit union is a little out of my way. But, does that matter? Did the credit union know this before they banned me?

I’m sure they did not.

What if I wanted to join and run for the board? Wouldn’t the marketing department like to have me on the board where I think they need more budget and freedom than they get – even if the money doesn’t go to my company? Yeah, they probably would.

So the question is:
Should we follow vendors with our Twitter account?

The answer is:

Yes. You would be foolish not to.Well, at least follow me because I am brilliant and I give out free advice.

Here is an updated version of the old Will Roger’s quote to ponder

A stranger on Twitter is just a Twitter friend that you haven’t tweeted yet.

…yeah, that was lame.  ?

Two employees thought it would be funny to video themselves doing some pretty disgusting stuff to customer food (though they later claim that the food never actually made it out). This has made rnational news and has, undoubtedly, cost Dominoes a TON of money.

Right, ok the employees are morons. Not only did they conspire to do it, then do it, then video tape it while the manager was in the office “reading the paper” – they posted it on YouTube! YouTube quickly pulled the video but some crafty bloggers had already downloaded the video and posted it to their own sites. Remember, what gets on the internet stays on the internet. It is like the cosmic version of a Roach Motel.

But Tony, I thought you were PRO Social Media?!?

Social media is like air. Whether I am for it or against it – it is here and we all use it and inevitably we all need it (even those of you who think you don’t you really do).

What I am saying is the same as I have been saying for 2 years. WATCH YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION!

There are companies that specialize in this. They charge their clients millions to make sure bad things arent being said about them online. Google “Reputation Management” and look at the 19 million references. It is amazing. But it shows that it is a cost of doing business in todays social media integrated landscape.

Right… so what do we do about it?

Well, re-read “Protecting your credit union’s reputation” that I wrote two years ago (yep, it is still valid – all the great literary works are you know.). Do all that stuff. That is a good start.

Then take a look at this post from Beth Harte. She is a social media consultant that I do not know but I can recognize genius. (We can smell our own.) Read that, take some notes. draft some ideas and then the next thing would be to start having a conversation with HR.

Yes Human Resources!

I know, Creative (us) and HR/Legal are like oil and water. HR/Legal are like the Big Bad Wolf to our Little Red Riding Hood. They are always cutting our marketing departments or telling us that we can’t be too crazy with our marketing campaigns. But in this case, you need to brave the Wolf’s den because there are some legal issues here.

See, you have to understand and accept that ALL of your employees are talking about “Work”. That means your credit union.

You may even be doing this.

There is a fantastic conversation taking place about what you may be able to do to not only get access to your employee “friends” but also protect you from an employee who may go rogue. You think it wont happen to you or your credit union?

Pull in close kids, I am going to tell you a very scary story.

I practice what I preach. I have Google alerts for anything and everything I can think of that might be said about me or this company. One day something hit my radar. It was a misspelling of Andermahr & Company that popped up on the internet.

Pandora’s box was unlocked.

I went to the site and was stunned at what I found. It was some employee or ex-employee or member (in reading the posts, I think it is a member). Whoever the person was (he represents himself as a he) – they were saying some pretty horrible things about a credit union, its board and executive management.

I am not going to give a link or clues as to how to find it. Take my word for it – it is horrible. There are discussions of internal operating procedures, sexual harassment that was brushed under the rug (true or not, it is a public accusation) and a litany of (alleged) federal crimes committed by CU employees and contractors (but not us!). Our name was mentioned in two ways, one was in a negative way (supposedly someone heard someone say that we were being blamed for something that the person claimed we did – that we really didn’t. We were an innocent bystander – someone else made the error. It had to do ith branch hours on a newsletter being incorrect.) and the other was positive about how everything was better when we handled their account (they are no long an active client of ours, but I still have a friendly relationship with the folks and I genuinely care about them and the credit union, however they made budget cuts and went to a “catalog” advertising company).

Now really I didn’t want to bring this up because I think it makes me look tacky (them being an ex-client or whatever – that’s why I am trying not to give any info as to who it is). But it is the single best example as to how BAD things can go if you do not have your reputation management strategies in place. In fact, short of the Dominoes video – I dont think I have ever seen anything worse than what is happening to this credit union. The employees of the credit union seem to have found out about the blog and a “Piling On” has begun. What was a one-man “bitch session” is now a serious anti-campaign, hell-bent on taking down the board and executive staff. It is a bloodbath and I feel like it will only get worse.

So let’s slap a bow on this and call it a wrap.

Your credit union has nothing if it doesn’t have a brand. A brand works both ways

1. The message you present your members
2. The message your members present on your behalf

Both are equally important. You need to control both as much as you can. This is a good start, but as always – keep your ears and eyes open. What you are laughing about and sharing with your friends via YouTube could be happening to you and your credit union.

And then it wont be so funny.

Before you ask if it works, you are already reading what is going to happen next…right? So give me a little credit for knowing my target market. You may not like it, but I have your attention.

First, this is not a post about homophones (two words that sound the same but have different meanings i.e. Your and You’re).

It is a post about taking your advertising (not marketing) to the next level of “crazy”, to create free press and impact and a sort of extension of my last post.

To be true to the subject matter, I will leapfrog over my current posting style (which is pretty similar to my speaking style – under the guise of being professional… well, sort of professional) into a full fledged, no-holds-barred way of speaking that is truer to how I actually speak and how I am. I am a regular guy. As I type this out, I am sitting at my desk, listening to some radio station playing a song by someone I don’t know. I am wearing flip flops, a black t-shirt and a pair of green shorts. It is 70 degrees in California right now and I have the back door to my office open so I can see the world drift by on a spring breeze. You are going to get the unabridged and un-suited “Tony Mannor – Credit Union Marketing Professional”.

In other words, I am going to be honest about who I am. I hope you can take it.

When is it ok to “come out the box”?

I’m not saying you need to leap out of the box in biker shorts and a mesh tank top screaming “I’m Heeeeeeeeere!” and flailing your arms and squealing in joy and exuberance.

I am saying that you need to shrug off the auspices of the corporate culture that you have adopted for a more “every person” sort of persona who we all are when we are “off hours”. Come on folks, we are all PEOPLE. We don’t wear a suit to bed (unless you are Barney Stinson and wear suit-jammies to bed).

When you get off work, what is the first thing you want to do? Take off your shoes! Some people do it in the car, some wait until they get home. Hopefully, if I am giving you a ride home, you opt for the latter. But maybe you should take your shoes off when considering your next advertising campaign. Maybe you will be less afraid to try something a little looser, something a little more freeing.

So, if we are all real people, lets talk like real people.

An advertising campaign came out this month that makes me laugh. Not because it was funny, but because of the faux-rage that was sparked.

The “Texican Whopper” by Burger King. First, being from California, I want one purely because of the name alone. I don’t even like Burger King but I am willing to suspend that prejudice in hopes of a spicy and delicious burger. I love Mexican food. Not, “Latin Food” or “Hispanic Food” or even “South American” food. I like Mexican food!. I grew up in a town with a heavy Mexican population and even though I look Opie Taylor-esque – I have won my share of Chile eating contests with my south of the border brothers. I like spicy, delicious, Mexican food.

So, my love for Mexican food proclaimed, I would love to get my hands on this Tex/Mex inspired sandwich. But it is not yet in my area.

However, there has begun a CON-troversy. As in a Fake-roversy. As in a bunch of people who are getting mad at this ad that I don’t think are really that mad.

Some say that it plays to Mexican stereotypes. Huh? I don’t picture Mexicans as little Luchadors. Who made up that stereotype? In the scene with pool, the cowboy is cleaning the pool while the Luchador is taking a relaxing swim. Nope, not even a hint of racism. Both are charactures of their cultures. If we can accept that the “Cowboy” characture is “American” then we can say that the “Luchador” is “Mexican” since both are unique to those countries (Luchadores are found in other south American countries but traditionally it is a Mexican slant on the sport of wrestling). Plus, if you pay attention to the ad, it is the Cowboy asking to move into the Luchadors house. The Luchador is the stronger and more successful of the two.

So, the next complaint is that the Luchador is wearing a Mexican flag. They say that this is illegal and not permitted in Mexico. This is an outrageous attack on their country. The people will not stand for this! But, what about…

Right, so that isn’t really the reason either.

Ok, this post is going on forever, I am not sure that I like this new format Tony. What is your point?

The point is, I think Burger King may be stirring up the controversy themselves for more press…. And it is working. Yesterday I googled “Texican Whopper” when it hit my radar and there was less than 100 hits on google. Today, there are over 3,600 hits on the search query. And I bet, that by the end of the week it may hit 10,000. 10,000 references worth of free press. Fake-ro-brilliant.(Updtate: I started this post at the beginning of the week. Right now it is Friday and the results have blown past my projections. It is now 24,800 google references to Texican Whopper)

I spoke to a few friends of mine who come from Mexico. Were they offended? Not one. 5 out of 5 of the Mexicans I talked to were not offended by this ad, In fact, the idea of a Jalapeno Whopper with a spicy mayo sauce was appealing to them. We will be making a trip out to the Burger King when they are available and maybe be sharing them over Cinco de Mayo.

And finally, the point.

Who cares if someone you aren’t targeting doesn’t like your campaign?!? This campaign was for Americans (of all races and ethnic backgrounds) who like spicy Mexican inspired foods. Likely their target is also the under 30 category who are more open to trying new things and would find the advertisements amusing.

Remember the Taco Bell Chihuahua? Yeah, people complained about him too because of his accent. Did Taco Bell pull the ads? No! They drove that thing until the wheels fell off. There were Taco Bell Dog giveaways and pins and people were collecting the merchandise. People were quoting the dog in every day conversation. It was talked about on all the late night talk shows. Chihuahua breeders couldn’t make puppies fast enough (my mom has 4 of the twitchy little things herself!) It is still considered one of the most successful campaigns in history.

So from what I can see, Fake Outrage x Exposure = $$$

I am not saying that being provocative for the sake of being provocative is the best marketing strategy for your credit union or your brand. What I am saying is find out who you are trying to reach. Figure out their language and make communication happen.

I am also not saying that you should throw some members under the bus in favor of other members.

What I am saying is that it is ok to have a real, honest conversation with a member or potential member at their level, using their vocabulary without fear of “what might happen if someone gets pissed”.

I know I sound a bit like a broken record – I keep saying this over and over. If you have a great message that will close a deal or get you the exposure you want from a target audience that you are trying to attract, why let a few party poopers get in your way?

“You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.” – Abraham Lincoln

“Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals.” – David Ogilvy

“The very minute a thought is threatened with publicity it seems to shrink towards mediocrity” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“I don’t know the rules of grammar… If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.” – David Ogilvy

I seriously thought about making a t-shirt that said this to hand out during concept presentations.

Why?

Because I was tired of hearing “I think it is great, very clever, but I don’t think our members will ‘get it’”.

I have always wanted to say “Well, that is because they are obviouly morons.”

Not because I thought it was true, I obviously don’t. I want to say that because I really want the person who makes that comment, to own what they were saying. They were saying their members were stupid. Too stupid to get a moderately clever marketing tactic or message.

This is more common than you might think. Now an argument might be made that this was a clients polite way of saying “we really don’t like the concept, creative or the way you dress you weird redheaded guy.” But believe me, 99% of the credit unions I have dealt with have no problem letting you know when they don’t like your ideas (so I have heard, you know, I mean it has never really happened to me).

Nope, they really think their membership is a pack of dim sheep that need to be led to water with bright starbursts with rates in them and astrobrite paper signs.

The fact is, your members are probably pretty smart.

I used to work in the technology field. Hell, I grew up with a mouse in my hand. I was tearing apart computers since I was 10 years old. And there were not a lot of computers around to tear apart in 1985 so I was taking a pretty big risk that I could get it back together before my dad got home.

So when I was in my late teens, I got a job selling computers at a big box office supply store.

::cough:: OfficeMax ::cough::

I sold A LOT of computers. I never really knew why my sales number dwarfed those of my co-workers. I won sales goals award from all over the state. Once I won an award for highest sales in the western United States (6 states I think it was). But I didn’t know why. I didn’t do anything special. So I thought.

Apparently, computer guys are a bunch of elitist, snobby, condescending, know-it-all a-holes.

I didn’t get the memo.

I found out one day when I was helping a guy to pick the right computer for his daughter. He had bought two other computers from me only months earlier. While answering his questions I had mentioned that since it was for his daughter who only needed it to write papers (she was in college), that he really didn’t need such a pricey machine. I told him that he would probably be fine with a very low end model and that there was a very affordable one, on sale, at another store.

He said, “Nope, I only buy computers from you.” I was really surprised. What had I done to earn such loyalty?

He said “Do you know what I do for a living?”

“No, what do you do?”

“I am a doctor. You know why I won’t go anywhere else?”

“Why?”

“Because everyone else treats me like I am stupid.”

I had to take a moment to digest that. It didn’t make any sense to me. I had a little bit of knowledge about this one thing. Why would someone use a little bit of specific knowledge to beat someone else down?

“You aren’t stupid; you spent your time learning about medicine. I just know about computers. God help me if I had to figure out how a pancreas worked.”

We shared a laugh and then he continued “I hate being treated like I am stupid just because I don’t know about computers. I would rather be treated like an adult and pay a little extra money than get a deal and be treated like a moron.”

And that has stuck with me for 18 years which brings me to the moral of our story.

Some of the best marketing and advertising is considered to be pretty clever. Some of the best advertising has referenced obscure pop references. Some of the most effective ads have been a little edgy.

My favorite thing to see is a CU marketing person slapping a table and saying “Man! I wish we had thought of that!” after someone else took a risk and it paid off. But ask them if the concept would have made it past the board, CEO or any other non-marketing decision-makers and they will sheepishly smile and tell you that it wouldn’t. Why? Because their members probably wouldn’t “get it”.

The problem with that logic is that I may be a member of your credit union. Maybe my dad. Maybe my mom, wife, brother sister, cousin, nephew, neighbor across the street. We would all “get it”. One of us may not like it, but we would assuredly “get it”. Wait a minute, aren’t YOU a memebr of your credit union too?

Please stop thinking of your members as a group of morons. Remember that these are people. Some are teachers, police officers, accountants, dentists, lawyers, doctors and credit union marketing experts. They have a brain, after all, they are members of your credit union and not still going to a bank. That should earn them a little credibility right?

So, if you want your members to take out more credit, you need to give them a little more credit.

Get it?

“The Chron” has been a major paper in this area for 100 years or so. My dad used to have me run down to the 7-11 near my house every day to grab a copy of The Chron and the Wall Street Journal every day (ever hear of a subscription dad?). Now, it is in the gutter. Twitching and coughing and I don’t think the ambulance will make it in time.

Ten years ago, companies were buying up newspapers. They were making money and considered a necessary component for every business tycoons’ strategy for world domination. They were mildly profitable and “everyone reads the paper”. “But what about the internet?” they asked a few years ago. “People will never give up a folding newspaper under their arm for a computer screen dummy!” would be the obligatory response.

So why are they dying and what the hell does this have to do with credit unions?

First, as any CSI or Law and Order fan will tell you, we need to identify the cause of death.

“Lack of revenue seems to be the obvious C.O.D. detective but if you look behind the ear here, you will see something interesting. The ligature marks look like strangulation by something similar to a phone or network cord. It may have been self-inflicted.”

“I see, it looks like this may not have been a homicide after all. It looks like suicide.”

“I think you are right detective. The vic’ seems to have closed his eyes and then hung himself with the Internet. I can’t tell you why the vic’ did it or what could have been done. All I can tell you is that internet is responsible for this.”

“I think I understand what you are saying. It looks like Internet killed the Media Star.”

Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! Boom booom chickka boom…

Ok, thats enufff of that.

Here is my thoughts on newspaper suicide. It is not that people are buying less newspapers. They are but that isnt what did them in. The problem was how newspapers derived their income. Advertising.

See, subscriptions don’t pay newspapers enough to keep the wheels spinning. It is all those classified ads, inserted ads, sunday ads and so forth. With the internet came something interesting, free advertising. Ponder this:

• Craigslist.org – #1 online Classifieds site with lists for almost every major city. Mostly free to post almost everything. 9 billion page views a month, 30 million new classified ads a month and 2 million new job postings per month is all kinds of revenue not making it to the newspapers. Ouch!
• DrudgeReport.com – Major nation news coverage here from multiple reporting agencies (CNN, Fox, WSJ, AP etc). This is considered the “First Site” for most politicians and news paper reporters. It is one of the highes viewed sites on the internet. It is a “Newspaper content substitution site”
• Google News – Get local and nation news
• Blogs – local folks talking about what people are REALLY interested in talking about. This includes sites like Facebook and MySpace.
• Yelp.com – Restaurant reviews by people like you who like what you like. All reviews, no fluff.
• Fandango.com – Movie listings
• Weather.com – need an explanation?
• ESPN.com – Sport coverage? Covered.
• Hulu.com – Who needs TV, or TV commercials? College dorms may have room for a computer or a TV – now you have both in one with free”cable”.

All of these service are free and convenient and FREE (yes “Free” is that important). They are also now part of all major internet service providers “Standard Bookmarks” when you open an account.

So not only has the internet co-opted newspaper content, it has provided a way to get your information out to the masses for next to free. The last time I ran a “Want Ad” in the paper it cost me $400 and I got 8 responses. I posted on Craigslist and got 100 responses the first day – and it was free. Smoking gun: The Internet.

The Internet is Convenient? My paper is dropped off on my porch, what is more convenient than that?

Does your paper allow you to get an “At Glance” of all the headlines on the home page? Does your paper allow you to read yesterdays news articles that you missed? Does your newspaper send you a special edition based on the topics you told them that you are interested in?

Probably not, but those are the benefits of online news and information services.

Yeah Yeah, I get it, the newspaper is dead… blah blah internet.. so what?

Well the Internet is a serial killer, and Credit Unions may be next. Here is a list of prior victims

• Book Stores – (Amazon, BandN, Half.com) – Customer service at book stores (the big ones) sucks. On the websites you can read reviews, find “hard to find books”. See what books other people, who read what you read, are reading. You can even find used books that cost less than half of a new book.
• Travel Agencies – (Priceline, Travelocity) – Big discounts! Easy to use, no visits to the agents office and no commissions.
• Newspapers – No ads for you!
• Video Stores – (Netflicks, Blockbuster Online). So I can make a list of movies I like, browse for more at work and then have them delivered to my home and watch them whenever and then not pay a late fee? No, I would rather drive across town in the rain to pay a $15 late fee to get what leftovers are on the shelf at 7pm on a friday night. Now some of these services are working on streaming movies right to your television eliminating wait times.
• Video Arcades – Hundreds are closing every year. Unless you have pizza, a big mouse and have birthday parties, you are not in business. Internet? Yeah, people are playing home console games on the internet now. That was the final nail in that coffin.

But we have home banking! Thats Internetish….isn’t it?

I clearly remember in 1995, sitting in a meeting with a client who was working on a payment card platform talking about accessing their account balance online. This was still a pretty new concept back then. There was online banking but it was limited. Even in 1998 penetration was still only around the 7% mark. In 2009 a study reports that 56% of Americans PRIMARILY communicate to their bank only online. With over 64% saying that they regularly check their account use online. That is incredible and consistent growth over 10 years.

As people continue to become more reliant on the internet and their expectations lead to more immediate access to information, the credit union movement will need to keep up to remain relevant. This is the technology that is already here and around the bend.

• Web enabled cell phones (all phones, not just some)
• Web enabled appliances throughout the home (yeah, even the bathroom)
• $300 laptops and city supplied free WiFi ($200 laptops are the new benchmark)
• Web enabled cars with LCD screens
• Internet TV boxes that allow “On Demand” viewing, streaming news and RSS feed readers built in.

So now that I have established that the next 5 to 10 years will revolve around the internet (barring a nuclear war or major attack on our internet infrastructure). What does this mean to you? Will internet banking make you relevant? Nope, because everyone is doing it. In 5 years you will probably have 90% to 95% adoption with only a few old timer holdouts.

To be relevant you need to anticipate what your member needs.

• Look at your sources of revenue – Are fees down? Why? Are your members using sites like Mint.com and getting alerts to tell them about the pending overdraft? Do you have fewer youth accounts? Kids have no problem paying fees for convenience. Don’t feel bad about charging them, they are ok with it.
• Look at your accounts – a lot of single service accounts? Are your memebers using lendingtree.com to finance their homes? Are they going to eloan.com to buy a new car? Are they going to ING.com to open a savings account or money market account? Find out. Then find out what you can do to get a slice of that pie. Does it mean virtual seminars on home buying (online video). Does it mean automatically sending a HELOC Visa to every new home buyer? What about Auto Loans? If they qualify for an auto loan, wouldn’t they qualify for a $500 Visa card too?
• Look at your marketing channels – how many members are commuting? Do they read the local paper? Are you advertising in that paper because “It is what we have always done”? Do they read their local paper or the paper where they work? Are you advertising on the radio? Are you using your site as a communication tool utilizing blogs, forums, videos and other participatory technologies? Identify what you are doing, figure out if you can track it and then review if it is viable.
• Check the weather – Are you running auto loan campaigns because it is spring and that is when people buy cars? Take a look at your members and their spending habits. Are ATM transactions down? Are total purchases down? Are you getting a lot of requests for refinancing? These are indicators that your members might be shoring up their finances. They will not be buying a new car. Look to what else you have to offer.
• Get crazy – What are you doing IRL (In Real Life)? Are you getting out into the world, stomping your feet and demanding attention? Why not? Are you afraid? One thing you can do is beat the streets. Get guerilla in your tactics. Be crazy, get a street team together. Mob an event in matching shirts. Send a limo driver to pick up a member who applied for (and received) a new auto loan. Do what you have to to become known. That is what marketing is all about. GoDDaddy.com is known for two things. Domain name registration and crazy ads. What are you known for? Whatever it is, see if you can fit the word “crazy” in there.

Now is the time to look at who you are and what your place is in your members lives. There is a lot of competitors out there looking for new victims and your members are using the internet to find them and hook up. What are you doing to stop it? Are you going to use the technology that they are using to make a connection (easy to use web site, blogs, forums, video on demand)? Are you going to use this opportunity to develop new ways to serve your membership (account aggregation, billpay, online applications)? Are you going to take a look at how your members use your services and figure out who else is serving those needs, maybe more efficiently or conveniently?

Are you maintaining with the “Status Quo”? Do you think things will get better if you just hang on a little bit longer?
I had a client tell me that they are bleeding money so they have to cut their marketing budget. They said that revenue is just not coming in like it used to. A sad fact is that, if you are bleeding, you cant afford to wait around and hope it gets better. You either put a bandage on it, apply direct pressure and get help – or you bleed to death.

And that would be a crime.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhh!

Its time to start planning those auto loan campaigns! Wait….what?

Let me do some quick accounting…

• Car dealerships are dropping like flies on a cold day
• Car manufacturers are heading to Washington with their hands out to save them from bankruptcy
• 100,000s of people losing their jobs every month and unemployment is at an all time high
• Some government employees are getting unpaid “Work Furloughs” – whether they want them or not
• Commercial property vacancy is at an all time high

YES! I think your members are just looking for just the right rate to buy that new car!

No, I don’t think that.

Credit unions have always competed with banks and dealer financing when it comes to auto loans. Since most banks can’t compete with us on rate (most of the time) and rate seems to be the basket where we are placing all of our eggs right now, Let’s take a look at what the dealerships are doing:

• 0% Dealer Financing for 3 years
• Huge cash back incentives (I have seen it as high as $8,500 back!)
• Free oil changes
• Free tires and tire services
• Free cookies and milk (ok, just kidding there)

The dealerships are in a panic. They are laying off their service staff and sales staff. They are willing to do anything to get their inventory off their lots. They are doing everything except for one thing – re-financing auto loans

GRate Expectations

There seems to be a theory that “if only we can drop our rate low enough, members will beat a path to our door!”

That approach only sometimes works when the economy is good, why would it work now when no one is buying cars?

Basically, It won’t. It might work a little in some markets. You might make a modest ROI on your auto loan campaign. But you will not see the huge influx of loan applications that you saw 2 or 3 years ago – no matter how low the rate.

Remember this post about the marketing report from Princeton University? The basic concept was that rate wasn’t as compelling a marketing strategy as a picture of an attractive woman. Basically, you could pump up your rate a few points (make way more money) if only the picture was attractive enough. What does this mean?

1. Low rates are not as much of an incentive as we think.

2. Sex really does sell everything.

3. Marketing is important to your financial success.

Advertising your low rate will not create demand for auto loans. Marketing to your member to explain the benefits of an auto loan and how it will better their financial situation might. Identifying and fulfilling your members needs WILL create demand for your loan products. As long as you have a hot girl on the marketing piece (kidding…. well, kind of kidding).

Subtracting from Zero = $

So, the past three four years have been hyper competitive in the auto loan arena. 0% dealer financing has probably cut a slice from your auto loans portfolio. But folks that had no problems and signed up for the 36-month, 0% dealer financing are now feeling the pinch from the economy. A financial pinch that is made worse by a $600 a month car payment. This is a problem that you have a solution for.

Your members are calling for you to stick to your principles

So, lets take a look at your members. They are worried about inflation, job security, a prolonged loss of income and possibly losing their house (like here in California where every neighborhood it seems has houses in foreclosure). Your members are likely looking at a serious hit to their household budget. The last thing they are thinking about is a new car. Even a used car seems kind of a lofty prospect. Their existing car loans are looking like a mammoth expense and they may be considering surrendering that car. Your members are in need of a solution, and a new car is not that solution.

Vocabulary vs. Comprehension

I was about 28 when auto refinancing finally made sense to me. Well first, I had never really heard about it. It made a vague sense to me in theory but at 28 I thought, “Why would I want the same car for 8 years?”.

Then I went to buy my first home.

My debt to earning ratio was off by about $100. $100 a month was really the difference between me being a renter and an owner. I refinanced one of my cars and saved that $100. I got the home loan and still made the higher car loan payments (of my original car loan) to pay off the refinanced car loan more quickly.

Right now, there are families where $100 or $200 a month is significant. This is especially important if they are losing one or two days a month of income because of employer cutbacks.

There are more people like me, than not. Doing a little “Straw Poll” with people in my age range (35ish) I found that this concept is not even on the radar of these folks. Some of them are looking to sell their jet skis or boats or spare “Fun Car” to cover growing expenses with less income. The idea that they could save $200 a month by spending 20 minutes at the credit union blows their mind.

Connecting members and credit unions

Think about promoting auto refinance loans to your members. Actually you should really be telling them about refinancing all their loans – motorcycle, toys, home etc.

Tell them how you can save them $100 to $500 a month by refinancing all their loans, moving their money into higher yield savings programs and everything else your credit union can do to save your members money. Create a kit. Make it simple. Call it an “Economic First Aid” package for members. If you have a sense of humor, call it a “Member Stimulus Package” or something like that.

Now is the time for all good credit unions to come to the aid of it’s members.

Promote saving. Promote THRIFT.

Isn’t that what we have been doing all along?

“A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.”

Henry Ford said that a long time ago. It is still very true today. I had forgotten about this quote until about two weeks ago when I was speaking to a group of small business owners in Sacramento about “Marketing on a Shoestring” – something many credit unions are focusing on right now.

Many of the attendees were small to medium sized businesses that have felt the crunch of the economic times. They have seen income drop, fewer customers or fewer calls from their existing customers. Something I am sure that we can all appreciate and understand.

When I kicked up the discussion to a Q&A, I got the question “What if I don’t have enough money to do any marketing?” 

That was a hard question and one I really didnt want to answer because small business owners are emotionally attached to their businesses. But the answer was simple “Then you should consider selling your business or start looking for a partner with money”.

The look on her face nearly broke my heart.

“But, I would say that 90% of the people who tell me they have no money for marketing, do. They just dont know what options are out there for them. To them they may be thinking in the realm of two or three thousand dollars when there are two and three hundred dollar solutions out there for them.”

The same thing goes for credit unions. I have been getting phone calls from clients that either their budgets are being cut or the board is only permitting “Results oriented campaigns” which really means they want to verify ROI for their marketing dollar.

Shouldn’t we have been doing this all along?

Anyhow, whats past is water under the bridge and all that. What do you do now that you are looking at your budget and saying “What the hell am I going to do with this?” I have some ideas.

1. Call your credit union marketing agency! If you deal with one, call them. Tell them what is going on. They are your first line of defense and your greatest offense. A marketing/advertising agency has one job and one job only – getting you the most for the least.

   They are supposed to take a look at your budget and be creative. Thats why we are called “Creative Professionals” after all. Ask what they could do for $500 or $1000 in your market. If they say, “Nothing really” then hang up and call someone else. They don’t want or need your business. Even if all they can come up with is driving through the parking lot of the mall throwing one dollar bills out of the window – it’s better than saying “nothing”.
    

2. Take a look at PR. Too often credit unions over look good old fashioned PR. It costs almost nothing to ask the local news agencies to show up where you are and cover something that you are doing that is newsworthy. With so many news outlets and reporters using social media, now it is even easier – and free.

   But, my favorite, are “PR Stunts”. This is where you get your employees to volunteer to be crazy or active. This is where creativity is key. We used to call this “Grassroots Marketing” or “Guerilla Marketing” or one of a hundred other terms for a good old fashioned PR Stunt. They are almost free and can give you miles of payback
    

3. Events anyone? Events are always good for creating movement and life in your marketing. “But Tony, events cost money!” Yes and no. Yes they cost money, but no I didn’t say YOU had to pay the bill. You can always work with local businesses and get them to offset your expenses. Don’t believe me? I have done it myself. Remember all those small businesses that I mentioned looking for ways to get exposure? Yeah, them. Well what if you did a walk for charity and each stop for refreshments was at one of these businesses? I am willing to bet that these businesses might be willing to “Sponsor” your event for a few hundred people to walk into their store for 10 to 15 minutes for a refreshment break. This is where you are challenged to think out of the box. How about a bike ride co-sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services (are county employees in your SEG?) and a few local bike shops? The opportunities are endless.
4. Social Media is still viable. When we opened our pub, the first thing I did was go to Myspace and Facebook. I pulled up all the other local bars and pubs and restaurants and invited all of their friends to be our friend. In a month I had 400 friends. Now every time we have a band or event, I can send out an invitation to 400 locals who already like to go out and have a good time. What did this cost? about 6 hours of time. How well did it work? Every time we post an event, almost half of our customers reference the invite when they arrive. How do I know? I stand at the door and ask. The bartenders ask, the doorman ask. We take head counts of regulars vs new faces and we offer coupons via the myspace page. Social media is effective, free and trackable.
    
5. Affinity and Affiliate Marketing Programs. I think one of the coolest things I have seen a credit union do to create membership is turn their members into a business development team a-la Avon. Basically they turned each of their members into a commission-based sales rep. They offered free classes (in branch or online) to train members on products and services and turned them loose with business cards on their friends and families. They had a simple tiered commission system where for each member they would earn $X, for an auto loan they would earn $XX and so on. Expense for the credit union? The cost of having department heads give 1 hour lectures on the products and services, cost of placing videos of these seminars on the website and probably about $50 for business cards.

   Does it work? Ask Avon. People tend to trust their friends more than a salesperson or an advertisement. Turn a friend into a salesperson and you have a goldmine. 

 
Now back to the poor lady who needed to find money for marketing. I think that my strength of position when talking to credit unions and business owners is that I am a business owner. I have a few different businesses and thats where I do my experiments. Then I pass my findings and benefits to my clients.

Credit unions are like any other business. They need a constant influx of members and income to survive. Sometimes this means rolling out new products and services that are timely and relevant to the members that they serve. This week I am putting together an auto loan campaign for a client. Normally an auto loan campaign for a credit union would be 90% about a new car purchase with a sentence or two about refinancing you existing loan. This campaign is different.

We are giving equal time to explaining refinancing to the member. In fact I would say that the pieces are 66% refinancing and 34% new auto loans. You know why? Right now people are worried and shoring up their budgets. The proverbial iron is hot. Pull in all those boat loans and car loans back into the credit union. Explain what an auto re-fi is and how much money you can save your members.

To do that, you have to spend money on marketing. The last thing I told that lady was:

“I also own a coffee shop. I don’t compete with Starbucks. I compete with all the other independent coffee shops in town. I spend my income on marketing. Now, my competition is closing up and we are seeing all their customers looking for a new place to get their coffee. They know that we are here because we have let them know by marketing and advertising. Marketing is the last expense you should cut as without it, you might as well close up and send your customers to your competitor.”

Ok, now that that is out of the way, selecting a credit union advertising agency, marketing agency or design agency - is a tough decision for any credit union. Making the right choice will lead to trackable results for your credit union. Making the wrong agency selection will not only be a waste of your budget but also make your life miserable.

Too many credit unions take a strange approach to this super-critical decision; they may get lucky, or they may get screwed.

Being a CEO of a credit union marketing agency AND having to make this decision from the other side, here is my advice on HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT CREDIT UNION MARKETING AGENCY.

Gather up the usual suspects

Pick Your Starting Line-up
Make a list of agencies to evaluate. The best source in compiling this list is referrals from colleagues or even credit union associations like MAC (The Marketing Association of Credit Unions), CUES, Everything CU and CUNA. Never grab your copy of the Yellow Pages. It is too random and a waste of time. Start with at least 5 solid and reputable agencies to investigate further, but no more than 10 otherwise it will all blur together.

Do your Background Work
Use the internet to check out the agencies on your list and eliminate any obvious klinkers. If you are looking for an agency to do your website, obviously those with a marginal site should be eliminated. Thats not saying you have to love their site, but you should be able to appreciate the effort and technologies that were used to create it. Stick with agencies that know the landscape. It eliminates some of the back and forth (that is billable) for things like disclosures, logos (EHL, NCUA) and so on.

Since you are looking at agencies that specialize in credit unions, you may want to check their client list to make sure that they dont work with a competing credit union. While this has never been an issue for us, some people feel a little wobbly on this one. The great thing is that because of computers and telephones, you can pretty much work with any agency in the country. I have clients in town that I see less than my clients in Los Angeles. Make sure each agency includes the services you need among their core competencies. The goal in this step is reduce your initial list down to three to five agencies for further consideration.

Put it in Writing
Write up your request for proposal (RFP), a request for information (RFI) or a request for a quote (RFQ). The goal is to collect some specific information from each of the agencies on your list, whatever you want to call this. Other sources will tell you that agencies hate RFPs. This is typically because people ask a bunch of questions and create a bunch of scenarios that have nothing to do with the work that will actually be performed.

Remember that you are trying to establish a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with a marketing agency, so 1) respect their time, It could take 20 hours to write up everything for an RFP knowing that it might just end up in the round file. So make sure your RFPs are simple and direct. and 2) don’t just ask questions. Give the agency enough information about your specific needs and brand to determine if there is a fit from their perspective. If you are a “Green” credit union and the agency has no experience with “Green” causes then they should know that they aren’t a good fit. Maybe you need a new website for your credit union and they have little to no real web development experience. That would be good to know.

Reach Out and Touch Your Marketer
Call each agency that you are considering. Introduce yourself and your credit union, and tell them you’d like to include them in your RFP process. This is a win-win for you and the agency:

• It lets the unqualified agencies (like I described above) to opt out of the RFP right away without wasting anyones time.
• It lets you speak directly to the right person at the agency and begin establishing a relationship. Just because they might not be right for this project doesnt mean that you can’t use them for a DIFFERENT project.
• It gives you a chance to “Match Personalities”. Evaluating an agency is like a first date. It is a chance to see if you have the same goals, interests and passions. If it is a match then it could lead to a full on marriage, kids and a dog. If not, it is a warm handshake and a “I’ll call you sometime”.
• It gives you a chance to tell the person how many agencies will be receiving the RFP. You don’t have to give up the specific names of the other agencies you’ll be contacting, but should let them know. I am more likely to respond to an RFP if I am going against 3 or 6 agencies than I am 100 agencies because you posted it on some website.

Dont be afraid to “Step Out”
The best agency for you may not be local. Like I have said before, we are in the boonies because it keeps our overhead low. This means I can pass along a competitive price to my clients. If it were up to my wife, we would be living in San Diego where the cost of living in significantly higher. If you do include out-of-town agencies on your list, be prepared for them to ask for or expect at least partial reimbursement for their travel expenses if you invite them to give a presentation. I don’t mind flying out to the east coast to present, but I also have actual projects that I need to manage. It is the whole “a bird in the hand” axiom at work.

Another option, now that we are all techie and electronical genius types, is to do video conference presentations or web presentations. Since this is the “First Date” you are really just trying to get a feel for the person and this doesn’t have to happen in person. Be flexible. The best choice might be thousands of miles away!

“Peruse” Means Read Thoroughly
Evaluate the RFP responses, eliminate the agencies don’t fit your needs. Trim down your list of agencies to at least two, but certainly no more than three). Ask yourself:

• Are you comfortable with their experience?
• Are you comfortable with their size and resources?
• Are you comfortable with their with their approach to your objectives?
• Are you confident that your account or project will be large enough to be important to them?
• Are you impressed by their past creative work?
• Do they have solid references? Ask references if the agency consistently meet specified timelines? Do they stick to their quoted prices or are they always coming back for more? Are they easy to work with? Do they deliver what they propose?

A Second Date
Arrange for follow-up presentations from each of your finalist agencies. By this time your questions can be more specific. You have done your background work and checked their references. If the reference said something that might be a little off (like they missed some deadlines or there was a problem with a past project) give them a chance to give you their side of the story. You never know what kinds of obstacles popped up that the referral might have forgotten about.

The most important element at this point is chemistry: are you comfortable with the agency’s team, leadership and are they people you look forward to working with and entrusting with your credit union’s promotional activities?

The Credit Union Marketing Godfather

It is Time to Gather The Five Families
By this time you have likely narrowed it down to one or two agencies. It’s time to make your final selection. Get the CEO, Marketing team, CIO VPs and whoever else is going to have to depend on this addition to your little family. Discuss the merits of the competing agencies as if you are all equal and have equal say in an open and free discussion. The CEO will likely not be dealing with the agency directly so it is important that the other heads of departments can work with the new group that you are bringing in. But since the CEO has someone to answer too, they need to feel confident that all the wheels of this machine will work together.

In a perfect world, you would all agree on which agency was the clear winner; in the real world, compromise will likely be necessary on someone’s part. That’s why the open discussion is critical; if your CEO or CMO ultimately makes the final decision, at least all of the facts and opinions of the team have been aired so an educated decision may be made. There have been times where, i know it’s hard to believe, even I did not win over a CEO even with the CMO and marketing department supporting me internally. Someone has to make the final call though and a decision needs to be made.

It is time to to get married!
Inform the finalist agencies of your decision. Because the rejections suck (giving AND receiving), I suggest  getting these out of the way pronto. If possible, let the agency know why you went with the “Other Guy”. We tried to land a “Whale” once. We did not get the account because, even though we had more experience, and better portfolio and a charming, fearless leader – they felt we were too small for their account. That sucks to hear but it is a valid and reasonable reason to pass up on our genius. Unfortunately they fired that other agency after a few months so there goes the “Bigger is Better” philosophy.

Then, call the winning agency and give them the good news. That is the fun call.

Best of luck with your marketing and agency selection process!