Auto Lending Articles
Strategies For Success in Today’s Competitive Lending Marketplace — the Focus of Drive ’15 Conference
How can credit unions better compete against banks and other financial institutions in an increasingly competitive lending landscape? Engaging members more effectively — and more often, improving member loyalty, and capturing more member loans, are all vital aspects of gaining an edge in today’s marketplace. Problem is, where do you go to get the expert…
The Member Experience Matters
As marketers, we are focused on our credit union’s brand. In fact, we’re probably obsessed with it. We lean on it in meetings with the team and ideation sessions. We have guidelines and standards. But what is a brand? The traditional definition was easy to quantify. According to the AMA*, a brand is “a name,…
CU Direct’s AutoSMART and AutoPremier Programs Continue to Expand
During the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention last month in San Francisco, CU Direct’s next generation AutoSMART site and AutoPremier program were highlighted and very well received by the Dealer Community. Success of both programs in 2014 was the topic of conversation with dealers and media outlets alike during the show. AutoSMART once again experienced significant growth in 2014, as…
Achieving Sustainable Loan Growth (Part 1)
Framing the Problem For every credit union that has invested heavily in its lending process, there are plenty more who haven’t. Ok, most haven’t. This is surprising considering the majority of a credit union’s earnings are loan-related and most strive to deliver a quality member experience. This may also be why our industry struggles to…
Shifting into Second: The Future of Driving Auto Loans (Part 2)
The notion of a buying service has been around for some time, generally in the form of an auto broker who negotiates a price on the consumer’s behalf, in exchange for a broker fee either built into the purchase price of the vehicle or charged separately for the service. While the traditional broker model still…
Shifting into Second: The Future of Driving Auto Loans (Part 1)
For the auto industry, the Road to Purchase has shifted radically. Today, most shoppers take several months to go from the initial decision to buy a car, to the ultimate action of buying one, taking full advantage of research tools and other resources throughout their digital journey, much more heavily than ever seen in the…
Auto Buying Demand Improves, Hits Pre-Recession Levels
By Jose Torres, Senior Business Analyst, CU Direct New and used November YTD auto sales figures are 8.3% and 3.6%, respectively, above 2012 levels, and if these trend holds up, the auto industry is on target to record 57.7 million units in sales in 2013; a level not seen since 2007. New and used vehicle…
Growth of Mobile – A Strong Play for CUs
By Cindy Bach, Sr. Product Analyst, Product Management, CU Direct “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau Study after study reveals that the consumer adoption rate of mobile devices has grown exponentially over the last few years. Mirroring this trend, members are increasingly demanding mobile services to…
Focus on CU and Dealer Relationships
Credit Union Case Study Discover how one credit union has been able to build successful dealer relationships that have led to increased loan volume and grown membership. Credit Union of America needed to capture the auto loans it was losing at dealerships, as well as grow its membership. The Wichita, Kansas-based credit union recognized that…