Give SEG Member Loyalty a Boost at Your Credit Union

  by Amy Neale

A natural outcome of any SEG relationship is that at some point membership growth will level off or even decline. Either the newness wears off or your one-on-one relationship with the SEG relationship has hit a roadblock. This is where a member rewards program can be your credit union’s best friend.

Reward programs have become the go-to strategy to build customer loyalty for marketing departments in all industries. For your credit union, you should already have strong SEG member loyalty, so a rewards program is your opportunity to reinforce, and even boost, that loyalty.

Since they were first introduced as S&H Green Stamps in the late 1800s, reward programs have played an important part in customer loyalty. Today, the number of reward programs in the U.S. has reached 1.3 billion, according to Colloquy research. Your average American belongs to about 18 reward programs and 54% of them would consider increasing the amount of business they do with a company that offers a loyalty program.

But not just any rewards program will do for your credit union. You need to choose one whose goals underline your credit union’s brand strategy and mission and your SEG goals. To help make your SEG relationship a sticky one, your rewards program needs to be well-planned and well-executed. 

Invest in America was created solely for the credit union industry to help credit unions align their core products with its exclusive discounts and to help members save. It strives to have something for everyone with the Credit Union Discount from GM, the Sprint Credit Union Member Discount and more. But what if your members aren’t looking to buy a new car or cell phone? That’s where Shop America comes in. It gives members cash back on more than 1,500 retailers in its online mall. From Sears and Macy’s to Target and Best Buy, Shop America is assured to have something to offer all of your SEG members.

However, a great reward program means nothing to your SEGs if they don’t know about it. That’s why the Invest in America team offers free marketing materials for all of their partner discounts. You’ll also want to make sure your staff and SEGs are trained and up-to-date on all of your reward program benefits through emails, newsletters, websites and social media posts.

Not All Credit Union Member Rewards Programs Are Created Equal

The word “compliance,” when it comes to all things governmental and regulatory in nature, really has nothing to do with membership enhancement. But the true definition of compliance, “the act or process of complying to a desire, demand, proposal, or regimen,” is what member rewards programs are, or should be, all about. To a certain degree, it’s also what credit unions are all about – putting members’ needs first.

When you Google “member rewards programs,” results run the gamut from airline and credit card rewards to those for restaurants and yes, even credit union member rewards. Invest in America’s (IIA) LoveMyCreditUnion.org appears on the first page of search results, as does CU Solutions Group. What sets our membership enhancement program apart is how each and every partner is chosen with credit unions and their members in mind. Plus, each and every partner is researched and vetted to ensure they align with the Invest in America mission of helping credit unions better serve their members.

How Invest in America accomplishes this differs by partner and each partner offers its own benefits and rewards for credit unions like yours. It has a solid reputation and track record of putting credit unions and their members first in all it does and all it offers:

• IIA partner offers are chosen to tie to core services such as auto loans, credit and debit card usage and mortgages.
  
  
• The Credit Union Member Discount from GM enables credit unions to include loan links on its microsite.
   
• LoveMyCreditUnion.org has the Find a Credit Union search feature to match potential members with nearby credit unions.
   
• Credit unions participating in IIA receive weekly emails which provide them with GM authorization request activity so they can follow up with their members.
   
• The IIA Partner Center provides credit union scorecards and sales reporting for participating credit unions to gauge their progress.
   
• Professionally created free marketing materials are available including posters, statement inserts and Web banners.
   
• The IIA team conducts regular research for potential program improvement actions and adjusts the program accordingly.

While there are hundreds of reward programs out there, they’re not all created equal. IIA is proud to offer well-researched and vetted partners, valuable discount offers and immeasurable benefits – all wrapped up in a reputable program that does its best to “comply” to the desires and demands of its participating credit unions.

Related Services:  Invest in America  

Working with a Credit Union Strategy Partner

As you may know, Membership Enhancement Solutions provides a value driven membership enhancement program called Invest in America (IIA). Participating credit unions are able to develop their membership enhancement strategies and align them to IIA’s strategy, which can present a real opportunity for auto loan, non-interest income and debit/credit card transaction growth. To assist in these efforts, Invest in America posts its marketing calendar online so you can plan your marketing activities accordingly.

IIA is in the early stages of a four-month long Web banner ad and online search media campaign that integrates seven key themes that focus on the program’s key partners. Monthly IIA marketing calendars, available in the LoveMyCreditUnion.org Partner Center, provide significant dates and recommended actions so your credit union can take full advantage of IIA’s major year-end campaign. For example, this month's calendar has the dates and suggested locations to post DIRECTV, GM and home improvement banners on your website which tie into the campaign. These banners can also be found in the Partner Center and can easily be placed in the appropriate areas of your website.

Ongoing Invest in America marketing efforts include weekly emails, blogs and social media posts whose subject matter is listed in the calendar. As part of this initiative, IIA sends weekly emails to those members who have opted in for additional program information. IIA also sends credit unions weekly emails that they can send to their members. Participating credit unions have come to rely on the marketing calendar to plan their marketing strategy, ensuring it aligns with the weekly IIA emails.

Membership Enhancement Solutions strives to provide you with valuable turnkey tools that enable you to align your marketing strategy with Invest in America’s. This alignment in turn optimizes your member enhancement efforts and ties them to your core services.

Related Services:  Invest in America, Credit Union Member Discount from GM, DIRECTV