The DigitalMailer Blog

Pyramid: Standing the Test of Time

2009-07-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

by Ron Daly

I thought we'd highlight the good works and good reputation of a credit union that has been serving members for the past eighty-four years.

Pyramid Credit Union in Tucson, Arizona has four generations of members and a life-long reputation of helping those who wanted a better financial future. Recently, an article about Pyramid was published in the CU Journal (click here to read "It's a Wonderful Life Really Does Still Exist in Tucson, Ariz." by Paul Lucas). At Pyramid's 80th annual dinner meeting, members celebrated the good works of the credit union and the credit union celebrated its diverse and long-standing membership.

And what a story! At BarCampBank Vegas, friend and colleague Robbie Wright asked why everyone doesn't get their own credit union started. Some might have balked at the idea, but reading about Pyramid's humble beginnings makes the idea seem pretty smart to me. Lend a little, get a little more back, help out your fellow man. And they've kept the basic concept at their core for eighty years now.

Keep up the great work, Pyramid. Here's hoping that everyone in our industry takes a page from your book and works to better their community and the lives of their members.

Does your CU have a great success story? Tell us about it in the comments section.

Living With (and Without) Green

2009-06-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

by Ron Daly
It's June, 2009 - do you know where YOUR capital is?

Odds are you've been coping with your minimized budget and your overall losses for these last eight months and you've had to forgo talks of better things - more hiring, membership drives, company functions, employee appreciation, raises, etc. Maybe one of the things you've minimized is your "Green" initiatives. It's easy to move away from an initiative that's mostly voluntary when you have imperative financial issues to tackle.

I think it's time to kill two birds with one stone..not literally, of course. Part of saving the environment is not throwing rocks at birds. I'm talking about using your green initiatives as a means of saving money.

Green-vangelist Andrew Winston wrote on the Harvard Business blog:

Not only should companies not put their green efforts on hold, they should accelerate them in targeted ways to save money quickly and prepare for the future. Those who navigate these tricky waters the best will emerge from the downturn in better shape than their competitors.

And furthermore:

Getting lean, particularly on energy and resources, will save money and reduce carbon impacts (as well as making you more competitive when energy prices inevitably rise again). Thinking through your value chain and getting creative about how you can help your customers manage their environmental impacts and lower their costs will help you grab market share in tough times. And it will likely do much more to address environmental challenges than focusing only on your own environmental impacts. Getting your people engaged around a dual mission — save the company money and preserve our collective bounty and assets — will help boost morale in tough times and keep your company going strong. ("Why This Is the Right Time to Go Green", blogs.harvardbusiness.org, June 2009)

I had this information tucked away in an e-mail and thought I'd share it here on the site. Apparently, trees can be assigned a dollar value based on the amount of carbon dioxide they absorb, the amount of run-off they filter, the amount of oxygen they make, etc. Your average Red Cedar is worth about $120,000/year, considering the price of oxygen it produces (numbers/values from the Kooragang Wetland Rehabilitation institute). That's plenty of money, and that's just one tree.

Planting trees is a great way to drive up member participation and enrollment. Let members contribute a small amount of money from their share accounts and contribute to a tree planting day that you've organized. Or offer it as an incentive for signing up for eStatements, a la "sign up for eStatements today and we'll plant a tree in your name!"

Speaking of eStatements, DigitalMailer has plenty of ready-to-go "Go Green" campaigns to get you started driving up your enrollment numbers. Click here to learn about it in Budget Stretching Ideas, a free webinar from DigitalMailer.

Bottom Line - the economic downturn has tested our structures. If ever there was a time to start changing the game, it's now. Why not implement measures that will save you money overtime, such as optimizing your lighting and power and reducing water flow in your facilities? Why not encourage employee carpooling and create Green-themed giveaways? Make the changes now and enjoy the benefits long after you do.

A Case Study: Shell FCU

2009-06-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

by Ron Daly

Shell FCU recently was named business of the year by the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce. DigitalMailer wants to send its congratulations to a credit union that has set down deep roots in its community of members.

Why are they Business of the Year? Something tells us it's a matter of commitment.

To The Environment:

A look at Shell FCU's website shows they're big fans of a natural, eco-friendly look. At the bottom right-hand corner of their page is a logo showing their participation in the Green Business Alliance. On content pages, links to their eStatement enrollment page encourage members to "go green" with DigitalMailer's eStatements (see below).

To The Community:

From Shell FCU's press release:

In addition to time spent at work, employees also volunteer for the credit union’s FCU "Furthering Community Unity" Team. The FCU Team consists of Shell FCU employees, members and local individuals who participate in events such as blood drives, walks, runs, food drives, Habitat for Humanity and other charitable events. In 2008, the FCU team logged over 347 hours and donated more than $8,900 to help others. As of April 2009, approximately 465 hours have already been donated.

To Reaching and Helping Members:

In the past year, Shell started up iLife, a service for younger members that offers incredible rates and savings programs. You can go to the iLife webpage to learn about their rates and accounts, watch user videos, read their blog, sign up for their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.

So congratulations, Shell - you're setting a great example. Keep up the great work!

Want to prove your commitment to green solutions and online innovation? Get online with DigitalMailer's eStatements! Click here for more information.

All it takes is one click!

2009-05-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

Imagine increasing your electronic statement enrollment leaps and bounds with a single e-mail. Sound impossible? Not with DigitalMailer's "One Click" campaign.

After nine years of creating and implementing electronic statements for credit unions across the country, we've seen and heard some great promotional offers to encourage eStatement enrollment. iPod, Camera, Wii and PDA giveaways are pretty standard, as are plant-a-tree promotions and monetary incentives. Folks who sign up are happy with their statements and credit unions are happy with the savings.

Recently, we started a new campaign which lets members sign up for eStatements by clicking on a single button in an e-mail. One click is all it takes to enroll in eStatements and move away from costly paper and printing. We recognized after creating a number of these campaigns that several key steps could be rolled into one. By verifying an email address, sending an email with the legal agreement attached, allowing the member to read through the agreement and sending their "opt-in" agreement to the credit union, we would be cutting out unnecessary steps, thereby saving time and money.

"One of the good things about this campaign is that members don't have to go to an enrollment page, type in personal info such as account number, SSN, email, name, etc. They click the button and we find the info in the CU system. No need to exchange personal info at all."
--Traci McNamara, Account Manager, DigitalMailer

Two credit unions that are currently using the "One Click" campaign:

Hudson River FCU decided to use the "One Click" in conjunction with a $100 offer to draw in new eStatement users. Since sending their e-mail in April, they've increased total eStatement use by 15%! Hudson River plans to run the same campaign in May and June, and with similar results month to month they stand to save over $14,000 with eStatements.

Belvoir FCU has offered eStatements for the past seven years. Introducing the "One Click" campaign in the middle of April, they've experienced a total 5% growth, and are running the campaign again in May. Even more interesting, there's no offer attached - people just click to sign up! Belvoir will be running the same "One Click" campaign through june. If they have the same success in June, they will be saving an estimated 50% of their total cost by switching those paper statements to e-mail!

Something to take away from this campaign and its successes :

1) When members know it's easy to get started with eStatements, they'll go for it.

2) Your eStatements can lead to great savings. The more enrollments you have, the more you save on printing and postage.

3) It can work with a special offer or without.

4) You can get the campaign for your CU and get started right away!

Click here for more info on eStatements!

20&Change: Straighten Up and Fly Right

2009-05-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

by Jimmy Marks

The economic crunch has really "put a hurtin' " on employment. This is especially important to people in my generation, many of whom are just leaving college and need to find a job somewhere...anywhere, even. But people my age have been given a bad rap in the media - labeled as spiritless and pouty in the workplace, seen as always needing their hands held, regarded as a distraction more than an asset. As recently as a week ago, people were talking about Gen-Y as a drain on productivity and workplace efficiency (click here to read).

From that same article:

"Managers have reported a lot of problems associated with this – primarily that these employees have unrealistic expectations and a strong resistance toward accepting negative feedback," he said.

"Basically entitlement involves having an inflated view of oneself, and managers are finding that younger employees are often very resistant to anything that doesn't involve praise and rewards," he added.

But this article from the Wall Street Journal actually makes Gen-Y seem...well, moderately competent and not stupid and whiny. Hooray! We've got at least one supporter.

From the WSJ article:

"Many Gen Y-ers are also becoming ... 'good workplace citizens.' That is, rather than demanding to be catered to, they're instead becoming prompt, dressing more appropriately, following up on obligations, and using better judgment. 'They're also shifting their attention from peer relationships to building rapport with managers, customers, vendors, and other decision makers...'"

Not only are my fellow whippersnappers becoming more professional, they're REALLY starting to take an interest in their finance management. According to this article from PlanAdviser.com, more and more Gen-Ys are asking for advice on retirement savings and benefits through work. The downturn has really taken its toll, shaking my generation lose of their false sense of entitlement and showing them that now is the time to straighten up and fly right.

Now, the question: what will you do with this information? Because if you're a Credit Union, one that's touting your capacity for smart savings and money management, you need to talk up your ability and your willingness to help young folks get their lives in order. Quit with all that "We're so dope and fly and fresh and jiggy!" talk. It's doing you no good. Make your message clear and plain - that you're willing to help the youngsters make smart decisions about their money and smart investments for their retirement. PNC has managed to make a go of it, signing up 20,000+ folks for its "virtual wallet", 70% of which were Gen-Y aged (click here to read all about it). You can do this, too. Just offer a smarter, easier way to "get" finance. A smarter, more humble Gen-Y will thank you for it.

A Faster Horse: eStatements can be a "need" more than a "want"

2009-04-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

by Ron Daly

Henry Ford was rumored to have said:

"If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said 'a faster horse'".

I'm sure that Mr. Ford wasn't out to say the people who buy/use your services are short-sighted or small-minded. It's just that they often want the familiar to get better. But bring them something with all they've wanted and more and they'll wonder how they lived without your innovation.

EStatements are a service of DigitalMailer, one that we find ourselves recommending more and more these days as a means of saving money. Most of the credit unions we work with have the same initial reluctance - that the members won't be comfortable with electronic statements and they won't be open to the idea of receiving statements through the Customer Communication Center. What you wouldn't believe is that customers really do love their eStatements - and CUs like the convenience and control of advertising inside the eStatement space.

I could go on for an hour about eStatements and the CCC. In fact, I do - in our newest webinar:

The Customer Communication Center: A Better Mouse Trap

In which we teach you how to bring eStatements into the fold, improve your marketing through online channels and save money, save money, save money.

Sign up here, on the Webinar Page, for the forthcoming session on the 28th of April, or for the two later dates

Please, feel free to come join us. Spaces are limited, so sign up now!

Happy Birthday, Blog!

2009-04-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

by Ron Daly

The DigitalMailer blog will be a year old as of tomorrow. We're very excited to have added the blog to our website and to be able to communicate with you - our partners, our clients, our friends - on a regular basis.

Having spent a year in the blog-scape (or just about), we thought we'd share a few lessons we've learned along the way.

1) Rome wasn't built in a day, even if your blog was.

Jimmy Marks, our Creative Media Director, made this blog work on our site and set up an archive people could read through. It didn't take him long to get things rolling and for us to post stories and topics of interest. But gaining a readership and bringing in people was tough, and at times a little disheartening. Luckily, we stuck with it and it has had lasting benefits.

2) Write for the people you care about

We wanted to do what we could to give our clients and partners, both current and potential, a look at how we operate. People use our stories and posts to get a look inside our world and, hopefully, to better their own.

3) Don't be afraid to expand

Our other blogs, clickconnectcommunicate.com and cusoapbox.com, came out of our desire to share our thoughts with our joined industries - communication technologies and credit unions. CCC Blog stands to give our friends and neighbors our thoughts on emerging technologies. CU Soapbox is growing every month, becoming a mouthpiece for folks in the CU industry who want to keep up with what's going on. But we keep this blog running to highlight the good works of our employees and our company as a whole.

4) If you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong.

I'm a fairly quiet guy. I didn't know how much fun I was going to have writing short stories and ideas about the industry here in my own little corner of the internet. My number one goal: don't let it feel like a chore. If I don't want to post anything, I don't post anything. If I do, I let 'er rip. And the blog maintains no deadlines.

When you're looking for the good news about DigitalMailer, or just want my two cents, this is where you should start. We're happy to be here, and we look forward to many more years online.

Electronic Messaging Tips for E-mail Success: A sample of our whitepaper on e-mail deliverability

2009-03-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

The email industry is still evolving so there are no firm standards. However, the following tips will help you improve the results from your email marketing.

Permission rules
Internet users are increasingly saturated and frustrated with junk email. This shouldn’t be a
problem for most credit unions, at least in dealing with their own members. Most members want to hear from their credit union, especially if you craft concise, well-written missives. But for credibility, you must seek permission to send messages, and always make it easy to opt out.

Open a dialogue
Don’t just talk AT your members; they get plenty of that through other media. Establish a dialogue with members and use the interaction to strengthen the relationship. Invite users to check out your Website, ask questions, give opinions, but be prepared to keep up your part of the dialogue with fast, well-crafted responses.

Short = sweet
There is no rule of thumb for email length, but most professional messages are short, sometimes no longer than one screen, with the details presented on Web pages linked to the message. Some of our favorite email lists rarely get read because there is just too much good info to absorb quickly, so the message is set aside and ultimately never read. Like a good speech, three topics are probably enough.

Seek professional help
Electronic messaging is not rocket science, but you can make your messaging efforts much smoother by enlisting the services of a specialized email service provider such as DigitalMailer. Service providers will automate much of the tedious maintenance efforts such as resends, bounce-back maintenance, and opt-out requests so you can concentrate on making the messages better.

Timing counts
Although every rule of thumb should be tested, the conventional wisdom is that Tuesdays through Thursdays are best for reaching members at work, reserve Saturday and Sunday emails for home users. Many experts recommend sending messages late in the workday so they needn’t compete with the morning clutter.

Ensure a good landing
An effective email marketing campaign includes a specialized Website landing page that supports the teaser email copy and converts prospects into buyers. You should NOT use your home page for the landing unless your offer is obvious AND you have tracking in place to distinguish regular visitors from those visiting due to your direct-marketing efforts.

Want to read more? Click here for your own copy of "31 Tips for e-Mail Success" from DigitalMailer.

Well, enough of the bad news...

2009-03-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

by Ron Daly

Yeah, I'm done with bad news. That doesn't mean it's not there to be found, I just don't want to bother with sharing it here. I want to share the good news with you, our customers, our friends, and our prospective clients.

First, that credit unions are still getting a favorable rating in the press. A great article from the Wall Street Journal just came out singing the praises of the industry and showing some impressive graphs about CUs' lending practices. It's nice to know there's still a little good press to be found for an industry that has been (somewhat) able to rest on its laurels. Click here to read their article.

You say that's not enough good news for you? Take advantage of the Good News Network, a website devoted to bringing uplifting stories and good news in general to people that are just tired of all the bad. Visit their website here.

Do you have any good news? We'd love to hear it...and so would Brian Williams at NBC news. He's asked people to share their good news with him at the Nightly News blog. If you have something truly spectacular going on near you, leave it for them to read through.

So you see? There's good news to be had. It all depends on where you look.

Have good news about your credit union? Tell us about it in a comment or email us at blogs@digitalmailer.com
We've got good news of our own...our newsletter has been updated! Click here to sign up!

How to wear a barrel in a way that flatters the hips

2009-03-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

by Ron Daly

Yes, I know. It's a joke that's getting less funny, because it's slowly becoming reality. People are losing homes, jobs are disappearing, business is bad all around. And we, dear friends, are in an industry that is constantly under the microscope (read about the CU industry's recent scrutiny on our other blog, the CU Soapbox). We're on the tightrope, and we need to stand up straight and tall to get through.

Marketing suffers at a time like this. People and businesses trying to do more with less are often left with nothing at all. And while "no news is good news" applies in some aspects of life, it sure doesn't work for the CU industry. A diminished marketing budget only means you have to be smart about spending.

Multiple studies show that companies that keep their messages and brands in the public's eye during a recession often come through hard times much better than those that don't. One such study, by MarketSense, proved the point with the 1989-91 recession: Brands such as Jif Peanut Butter and Kraft Salad Dressing increased advertising, and saw sales grow 57 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Pizza Hut and Taco Bell stepped up promotion, increasing sales by 61 percent and 40 percent. But McDonald's, which took the opposite approach, had a 28 percent decline in sales over the same period.

Case Study: Innovative Recession e-Marketing

Solidarity Federal Credit Union is taking an innovative approach to recession marketing: YouTube-style videos. The Kokomo, Indiana-based credit union is emailing promotional clips to targeted members, using short videos created in-house. Members tell their own stories about why they like the credit union's services, such as electronic checking and at-home check deposit. And according to Vice President of Marketing Diana Tenbrook, members' recommendations go a long way to boost credibility.

Tenbrook says the credit union began its unique approach to differentiate SOLFCU from its banking competitors. But with tighter budgets in today's down cycle, the credit union has found email can extend its marketing efforts without draining resources.

SOLFCU uses DigitalMailer's email engines to distribute the information. Here's the latest SOLFCU latest video clip, where Jake and Kylie, a newlywed couple, discuss how they had to deal with enormous bank fees with no explanation!

"Emailing these clips has actually resulted in some viral marketing, with members spreading the word after viewing them," Tenbrook said. "One of our members, who has a home-based business, told us people come up to her in the grocery store and say they've seen her in a Solidarity video."

Using DigitalMailer's email marketing service, SOLFCU can ensure that the emailed videos get to the inboxes of members who want to receive them. And with a high open rate of nearly 30 percent, the strategy is clearly working.

You can get in on the story at CreditUnions.com, where our full article "Need a Sure Bet in Today's Economy? Step Up Marketing." is up now!

Communication during crisis: Sign up and learn more

2009-02-24T06:42:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

Yesterday at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC), DigitalMailer and our strategic partner Ongoing Operations (click here for a list of our other Strategic Partners) hosted a meet-and-greet at Capitol City Brewing Co. Great food and drink, to be sure, but the company was wonderful. The folks at Ongoing were great, as always, and I never regret meeting folks from credit unions across the nation.

I talked with a few folks yesterday who wanted me to get them the link for our upcoming webinar with Ongoing Operations. The webinar, hosted by CreditUnions.com, is called How to Communicate During a Crisis. It's complimentary and lasts about an hour, so why not sign up?

I'll break it down for you:

Who: Us, Ongoing Operations, Northwest FCU's Bill Cook
What: A free webinar about our Crisis Management Notification System, and about the best way to manage your credit union's emergency operations
When: Thursday, March 5 at 2:00 pm Eastern
Where: Online! Click here for more info and to sign up.
Why: I think the "why" is pretty obvious, personally. Right now, times are tough and budgets are thin. Start thinking about a solution that can save you money and save precious time in a crisis.

Hopefully, we'll see you there.

We can help you get started with "Stop the Paper!"

2009-02-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

by Jimmy Marks

"This is great for the environment."

-CUNA President Dan Mica

Paper statements cost your credit union $.50 to $.75 MORE than an eStatement on average.

The more eStatements you have, the more money you save!

We know it's been on your mind - how to get more out of your marketing, increase your environmental awareness and save on printing and mailing costs.

Enter DigitalMailer's online services, which take care of any number of solutions that rack up your paper-related costs.

Need to make things greener...both environmentally and financially? We can set you up with a custom campaign that promotes online service adoption. We even include giveaways! Clients can take advantage of our "Stop The Paper!"campaign, which has several posters, mailers, brochures, email campaigns, and even our flashing buttons (pictured at the top of this email) for tellers.

Want to put it another way? We have 4 other campaigns that we can set up for you right away...many with free collateral!

Want to get started? Contact me (Jimmy Marks, Creative Media Director) at jmarks@digitalmailer.com.

Who's Holding All the Cards?

2009-02-12T06:40:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

There's been a lot of buzz and hum about credit cards recently. And why not? Credit is a sore subject to some, a point of pride for others, and for folks that never had it? Could go either way, really.

So, let's highlight some credit card stories of the past few days:

One of the biggest stories: The Heartland Systems break-in. I wrote a piece for the CU Soapbox on the hack about a week ago (click to read), and new horror stories just keep popping up. Wired Magazine has been keeping tabs on the accounts affected (click here to read) and CreditCards.com say the effects have hit financial institutions on all levels and in many states (click to read).
More and more, banks and credit card companies have been driving up the rates (click to read).

Have anything else to share on credit cards? Our comments section is always open.

DigitalMailer, Ongoing Operations partnership featured in Credit Union Management magazine

2009-02-03T10:05:00.000-08:00

by Greg Crandell

This month's CUES Credit Union Management magazine featured DigitalMailer and strategic partner Ongoing Operations in the story "To the Next Level". Our collaboration was highlighted as an example of CUSOs cooperating and offering the best of each others' services to clients.

To read the full article on the CUES website, click here.

Want to learn more about our partnership with Ongoing Operations? Visit our Crisis Management Notification System page.

Rain, Heat, Gloom? No Problem. Deficit? Problem.

2009-01-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Catchy!

The Postal Service has been around a long, long time. Their unofficial motto, above, has always been a reminder that the mail will come through.

Unless, of course, they don't.

This story from MSNBC (click to read) says that the USPS wants to cut another day of delivery out of their schedule. They're currently staring at a $6 billion shortfall, and hope that not delivering will help them stave off collapse. Oh - and there'll probably be another postage hike.

So, let's boil this down a little more. You'll be sending mail at a higher price. It's going to take twice as long (or longer) to get where they're going. And don't count on that Saturday run down to the post office - they're not there.

Not convenient. Not fast. Not cost effective.

I can promise you that email doesn't "close". Send an email, it'll be where it's going within moments. Send an email that's styled how you want with links to offers, you'll start seeing results. And email won't break your budget.

Something to think about. Visit our email marketing page for more info.

Want more info? We've got webinars! Go here to learn and sign up!

Oh, the weather outside is...blah.

2009-01-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

Much to the delight of my youngest daughter (and the disgust of my older daughters, who had to go to class regardless), it was snowing today in Northern Virginia.

Now, I know there are those of you who balk at what we, here in Northern Virginia, call "snow". In Buffalo, as I'm reminded by our Director of IT Amy Baldi, four-to-six inches of snow is the same as having no snow at all. But here? Pandemonium. Absolute chaos. Apparently, three flakes of snow is equal to two people going crazy in a car near you on the morning commute. So we have this sort of madness even with a little snow.

And I think about how much snow it will take to cancel school in a place like Alaska. Assuming there is an amount that matters there.

Which brings me to the Crisis Management Notification System, or CMNS. We've been using the CMNS for a lot of things - namely the big storms that hit Florida in August of 2008. But it's not just for big time crises like hurricanes. It could be used for folks like us, who see a little sprinkle of snow as a reason to shut down for a day. Or for bits of craziness like the Heartland break-in, which I read today has affected 80 million credit cards accounts. Yikes.

If you're having trouble with a little snow or a lot of credit cards, give us a shout. We can help.

I'm off to scrape a half-inch of snow off my car. Wish me luck.

DigitalMailer's new webinars are here for you.

2009-01-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

DigitalMailer is offering two new webinars to go along with our continued run of "Do you want fries with that?". The "Fries" webinar, which has been DigitalMailer's most successful webinar to date, will continue with the two new webinars into June. To sign up for it, click the french fry icon on the top of the left column.

The first webinar, "Budget Stretching Ideas", goes hand in hand with our page on the same subject (click here to visit). We know your marketing budgets have taken a hit in the past few months - want to learn how to make the most out of what you've got left? Come talk to us. Sign up for a webinar by clicking the icon below.The second, called "The Better Mouse Trap", was made to show you all the benefits of using DigitalMailer's Customer Communication Center as your eStatement provider (click here to learn more). Why? Because eStatements (that are easy-to-read, secure, and stored for as long as you need them) are just one arm of the CCC. To learn about the rest, click the icon below.

Feel free to sign up!

Now's not the time to let off the gas, folks.

2009-01-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

Jimmy sent me a link to a report (click here to get it for yourself) shown to him by Ron Shevlin of the Aite Group in Boston (click here for their homepage). It talks about plans that Financial Institutions have for spending in the next few months. Want to see what almost made me do a spit-take with my coffee (I didn't - new computer, don't want to ruin it the first week):

What are your plans for spending on marketing programs in 2009 compared to last year? (n=79)

I was stunned that the numbers were so close. Sure, some folks get scared in a recession. But DigitalMailer knows (and has known since before the recession was an official Recession - click here to read) that marketing hard is important when things are shaky. If consumers don't know you're there and you have products to offer, how do you think you'll keep your business profitable or your employees employed?

Now, for the news that really knocked my socks off:

That's a 45% increase on email marketing for small FIs and a 25% increase for the large ones. Apparently, FIs across the country are getting the idea.

The moral of the story: Don't be afraid to market hard right now. You're not going to be the only one doing it. And certainly don't be afraid to use email marketing - it's more cost effective, it's easier to change/personalize, and it works.

Faking Green, Seeing Red

2009-01-08T12:51:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

[Editor's Note: -- This article ran at the start of this week on the CUSoapbox (click here). We thought we'd run it again here, because it's just that important.]

Well, another year passes and a new one begins. And I'm just as frustrated with what's going on this year as I was with the last.

Let's talk about financial institutions and the concept of "green". A new article from CUJournal.com talks about green attitudes and finance (click here for the full article). Apparently, about 75% of consumers still get paper statements from their financial institution. Interesting figure from the article: if everyone stopped getting paper statements and bills, 687,000 tons (or around 86,000 trees by our math [thanks to conservatree.com]) of paper would be saved...per year.

Other advantages? How about the safety of knowing your statement won't get stolen out of your mailbox or steamed open by identity thieves? How about the fact that you can do online for pennies what it costs dollars to do by mail?

Why aren't people getting on board with this?

Maybe it's because they don't know how, or if, this is possible. I've got a list of articles as long as your arm that show how making electronic statements the default method of receipt can save money and increase customer/member satisfaction. Here's one that shows most people LIKE getting email statements and updates (click here for the article). So what's the situation? What makes sense?

The article suggests, and I agree, that paper statements need to go the way of the dodo. Sure, keep them around for all those die-hards who just can't cope with the Internet or love having paper copies. But odds are good that the amount of people who turn away from electronic statements and notices will be minuscule compared to the number who adopt the system and love it. The article suggests that people don't know how to take advantage of green services like online banking and statements. I say make green the default so they don't have to know how.

The time to start doing away with costly printing and paper is now, America. Budgets have been shaved to the bone, CUs are going to have to do more with less. Online services and a diminished focus on paper are what it's going to take. If you make it easy to use and easy to see, those "green-heads" are going to get away form paper.

Metro's got the idea...how about you?

2009-01-05T05:42:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

First thing's first - happy new year, everyone. Glad to be back for a fresh new year of connection, communication, and growth.

Second issue is this story I caught on the news last night. The DC Metro, which serves the DC/Maryland/Virginia area with buses and subway travel, is doing away with paper tickets for bus transfers. Riders will now have to take advantage of SmarTrip cards. What's really surprising?

"The change is expected to save Metro at least $300,000 a year in paper and printing costs." - from NBCWashington.com [Click here to read]

I know not everyone knows all about the metro cards, but they're just little pieces of paper with a little ink on them. Sometimes they include drawings of Pandas to advertise the National Zoo. Otherwise, there's not much on them. And cutting these out of the operation saves 300 grand.

Imagine how much you could be saving with email statements and mailers. Maybe this is the year you should stop the paper yourself.

If you're ready to find out how, our webinar "Do You Want Fries with That?" is beginning its 2009 run. To sign up, click here.

Happy Holidays from DigitalMailer, Inc.

2008-12-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

by the DigitalMailer Blog Staff

From all of us to all of you:

Happy Holidays!

We're done until January 5, when we'll be back with budget-stretching ideas and new ways to help you connect, communicate, and grow.

Best wishes for the new year!

-DigitalMailer, Inc.

20&Change: Facebook is like a Yearbook - It's full of old friends and no one reads the ads.

2008-12-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

by Jimmy Marks

New article from eMarketer today shows social media ad spending increasing in the next five years, but not in a significant way. There seems to be some confusing information being passed, as the article states that social media was the way Barack Obama won the presidential election. Sure, Obama's aggressive approach to social media helped, but I don't think it made all the difference in the world. I think it made more of an impact AGAINST the McCain campaign, who had the Sisyphean task of pushing themselves up a hill against the force of Tina Fey videos and Canadian prank callers. But, I digress.

eMarketer seems to think there should be much more money poured into social media advertising. Personally, $1 billion is a lot. Anything more than that is...more than $1 billion dollars. Seems pretty obvious, really. I'm not so sure THAT money is being wisely spent.

Maybe I'm the one person in the world who sees it this way, but not every channel is a "marketing channel". Imagine going into the hospital to deliver your first child. Everything's a success, the baby's perfectly healthy. You're happy, your family is a little bit bigger, and the nurse hands you your bundle of joy...who happens to be wrapped in a diaper with an ad for "Mountain Dew" on the bottom.

Are you thrilled? Probably not. You're maybe a little annoyed. It'd be the same way if your boss put a billboard in the middle of your office. Or if they sold coffins with thousands of NASCAR-esque decals on them. It doesn't work that way.

Naturally, I'm going to have to do some more research on this. The Groundswell awards give some indication of people/businesses that are actually using social media effectively (Twitter-buddy and fellow Blog-dude Tim McAlpine is still making waves with Y&F - click here to see the winners) . It seems that there is something to the idea that people bring into their lives what they want to bring in and ignore what displeases them. Why did this Motrin campaign fall flat? It was a string of videos that Motrin tried to make "viral", but ended up just being condescending. There's a story about it here.

But my theory is this: with more people spending more time online, there are spaces that are being created for work, for play, and for purchase. Let's say I want to join a network. I can join a work network (LinkedIn), a play network (Facebook), or a purchase network (Amazon). What about a blog service? I could view a business-type, work blog (TypePad), a fun, play-around type blog (Tumblr) or a blog that wants to sell me something (Millions of blogs do this). That's not to say there's no overlap (as in email, which is where more and more Americans go to get things done these days), but you get the idea.

If I get together an official report, I'll publish the results here. If it's REALLY good, I'll charge you for it.

Members, CEOs, Boards - Lend me your ears

2008-12-15T11:59:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

We've got a post up over at cusoapbox.com (click here to jump over) that deals with the SIP, or System Investment Program. With this and other programs being generated to help keep the corporate credit unions afloat, people wonder if retail, or natural person, credit unions will be lumped in with corporates in the mind of the consumer.

This was a piece in Marketplace, from American Public Media. To listen, click on the play button below.[ Can't see it here? Visit their website (click here)]. It's a short story, but one that's indicative of what CU members are facing and what we, as an industry, need to take in mind in the months to come.

Things to keep in mind: Does the average member know why the corporates need the money? Does the average NON-member know? Does the average non-member know the difference between retail and corporate? Can you tell them the difference?

On Open Rates: If you get our blog posts by email, I'll bet you're reading this on Monday.

2008-12-12T06:15:00.000-08:00

by Ron Daly

When I give presentations about the ARB, our super-powered email delivery system, I often include statistics about open rates. If the name didn't give it away, open rates refer to the number of emails sent as part of an email campaign that were opened by the recipients. Sometimes, people are stunned. Other times they're underwhelmed. The difference is in what you know about open rates.

According to the MarketingSherpa benchmark guide for 2008, your typical B-to-C email open rate is going to average at 27%. For B-to-B, expect that to be about 20%. Getting more specific, we look at breakdowns by industry, with banking/finance leading the pack at 28.1% open rate.

I'm proud to say that our campaigns are hitting those numbers - and often times moreso. Our "Do you want fries with that" webinar shares details about a campaign that had a 35% open rate. Click here to sign up for our upcoming webinar dates.

Then there's when the messages are being opened. Does it matter? You'd better believe it. You're going to get more opens and a higher click-through rate (number of links in your email clicked) on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday than other days of the week. That's not to say that if your campaign flies out over the weekend that it won't get opened...it just won't be opened right away.

Hopefully this clears the fog a little bit for you. To learn more, contact us at info@digitalmailer.com

The History of SPAM: The Once and Future Pain-in-the-Neck

2008-12-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

by Greg Crandell

DigitalMailer, in case you were wondering, provides services to companies that have a lot of email to send to a lot of people. We have to deal with SPAM issues all the time because what we're selling is NOT SPAM. We're selling the ability to communicate with the people that use your business every day through the service they use every day. We're NOT selling the ability to annoy people with offers of pills and tonics and cheap software and spyware and things that I don't even want to mention.

Picture a man selling apples from an apple cart. Everyone eats his apples - they're delicious, they're healthy, and they're not expensive. Then, one day, a second man parks his apple cart down the street and starts selling apples of his own. The difference? That guy's apples are full of worms. Thousands and millions of wiggly, terrible worms. Big, green, slimy worms that fall on the ground in loud *plops* when you cut into the apple. The second guy just laughs knowing everyone hates his wormy apples because he also knows he's ruined business for the first guy with the non-wormy apples. One bad apple ruins the bunch, and in the online services game there are about forty "wormy apples" for every "good apple".

Long story short: I HATE SPAM.

So this story from the Washington Post was sweet, sweet music to my ears (click here to read). McColo, the web host that's been a mighty fortress to all kinds of companies selling cheap Canadian mood stabilizers, has been shut down for all kinds of violations. McColo was essentially the Web's "red light district", offering all kinds of unsavory mess to people who just wanted to read their email.

And when they got shut down, the article goes on to say, SPAM all over the world started to disappear. An excerpt from the article:

"Immediately after McColo was unplugged, security companies charted a precipitous drop in spam volumes worldwide. E-mail security firm IronPort said spam levels fell by roughly 66 percent as of Tuesday evening." - Brian Krebs for WaPo

Ahh, sweet victory.

Why a victory? Well, for one, people can breathe a little easier knowing that whatever mail they get they asked to get. Two, this makes email a place to communicate again, instead of just a chore to take care of at work. And doesn't it make you feel good when you open your mailbox and your SPAM folder says "0 messages"?

It's nice to know that, sometimes, people get what's coming to them. After polluting the web with message after message of nothing useful, McColo is out of the game.

Which is good for us. And bad for the future.

SPAM is like a horror movie villain...just ask Rich Koman at ZDnet (click here to read). Every time you think they're dead...BOO! Sequel. But in the sequel they kill it for good...BOO! Trilogy. Pretty soon it's "Nightmare on SPAM street XVII: This time it's about Botox!"

And for every McColo knocked down, there's someone new setting up. There's some new corner of the Internet yet to be uncovered. There's a place in Europe where nobody asks questions.

But we take a victory when we can get it. And how can you make SPAM history?

Let's walk through this in a simple way:

Know what's SPAM and what isn't - As we've said before, SPAM is email you get when you have no pre-existing relationship with the sender. If you gave your email address to a guy at GAP in the mall, you might get an email with GAP coupons. He's got a right to send you email because you have a relationship with him. If you don't want to get more emails, he has to provide a link on the email he sent you with unsubscribe information. Click that link and follow the steps. If he fails to hold up his end and provide you with a way to unsubscribe, THEN you can start the ruckus. But don't mark a business email as SPAM just because you've had a bad day. Going back to our apple analogy: If you want an apple, buy an apple. Learn the apple guy's name, fine, he's happy and your happy. But if he gives you an apple you don't want, feel free to hand it back to him and not spend any money. Don't just throw it in the street (i.e., trash folder) and CERTAINLY don't cry worm (SPAM) if there is none.
Protect yourself - More and more email clients are coming with spam catchers these days. Find one that has a working SPAM protocol and stick with it. See, too, if you can forward in your other emails from other accounts and make life easy.
If something is SPAM, report it...especially if it's illegal - One of the things that got McColo in trouble was the fact that they were hosting child pornography on their servers. If someone sends you something illegal, report them to the proper authorities. Your small act of outrage might shut down another company like McColo and put an end to vile criminal acts.

So, go forth and send your emails! Click on some info from your favorite business! Talk to your friends again! It's high time your email started being something you enjoy reading, not something you just have to deal with.