Welcome to the Inbound Revolution: How Credit Unions Can Take the Lead

How do members pick a financial institution in 2015?

It used to be that people would see a building or a billboard, save a direct mail piece from their mailbox or act on the recommendation of a friend, before establishing a relationship with a trusted financial institution.

More and more, users begin their process with an on-line search – and in certain parts of the world that on line search starts on a smart phone more often than a tablet or desktop. This critical change in buyer behavior is driven by the ease of use of retrieving insightful information from a search engine or social media and is the underlying foundation for the inbound revolution.  The inbound revolution is a powerful movement that impacts organizations worldwide and can have a meaningful impact on both your marketing as well as your bottom line.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound Marketing is publishing content - including blogs, white papers, e-books, checklists and videos – on your website, that help educate your potential members and help them solve their problems. The information should be posted so it’s easy to find, easy to download and optimized for search engines and social media.

There are four parts of Inbound Marketing

Attract – publish information that is available to everyone that explains why you are unique, what demographic you serve, how you support your members and your “special sauce.” Include certain keywords (words someone would put in Google) so that potential members can find you locally. The goal is to build confidence and trust on line so that the prospect knows more about you, when they first connect.

Convert – put some of your most valuable content behind a form, so that people will drop their contact information when they come to your website. In exchange for a great piece of content (The 2015 Guide to Retirement Savings), prospects will give you their name and email address. This gives you an opportunity to selectively market to them with more information

Close – only 3% of the users that show up to your website are ready to commit to a relationship. 97% are looking at options, reviewing different web sites or trying to determine if it is worth additional effort. Those people might value interesting, helpful, targeted content that educates then and keeps your credit union top of mind.

Delight – who doesn’t like great customer testimonials? In the old days, people thanked your boss or sent you a letter. Today, you can leverage your good service by public posts on social media and a referrals that can influence more business. And it’s free. In most cases, prospective members prefer third party referrals rather than your own marketing material. In addition, if you are practicing inbound marketing effectively, you can provide educational information on additional products and service to generate more business per member.

Inbound Marketing is being practiced by tens of thousands of businesses and is gaining in popularity because of the recent data that shows the impact and ROI.

Join us at CU Direct’s Drive ’15 Conference, and discover the keys to successful Inbound Marketing programs from HubSpot’s Dan Tyre.  Learn how you can truly differentiate yourself in the marketplace.