A recent piece from CU Today highlighted findings from a Cornerstone Advisors report that many credit union leaders will find reassuring. According to the data, the highest ROI marketing channels are email and in-branch efforts.
At face value, that feels like clarity. It feels like direction. It suggests that if we simply double down on what’s already working, we’ll see better results.
But that conclusion misses something critical, and it’s not a small detail.
Email and in-branch marketing are effective because they are directed at people who already have a relationship with you. These are members who already trust your brand, who have already chosen you once, and who require far less convincing to take the next step. Of course those channels convert better. They are supposed to.
The problem is not that the data is wrong. The problem is how easily it can be misinterpreted.
When you see that email and branch channels produce the highest ROI, it can lead to an assumption that other channels, particularly digital, are underperforming or less valuable. But that’s not what the data actually shows. What it shows is that relationship-driven channels outperform acquisition channels when measured on short-term return. That is a very different conclusion, and one with very different strategic implications.
While many credit unions continue to optimize email campaigns and focus on in-branch conversations, a much larger issue is quietly growing in the background. Roughly 55% of credit unions are not experiencing membership growth. Among smaller institutions, those under $250 million in assets, that percentage is even higher, closer to 60%.
This is the part of the story that should demand attention.
A credit union cannot cross-sell its way out of a shrinking member base. Improving efficiency within an existing audience may drive incremental revenue, but it does not solve the fundamental challenge of growth.
The reason email ROI looks so strong is straightforward. The audience is warm. The trust is already established. The cost to reach them is low, and the path to conversion is short. These channels are incredibly effective at answering the question: how do we get more from the people who already chose us? But that is not the same as answering the question: why would someone choose us in the first place?
That second question is where growth lives, and it is the question many credit unions are not fully addressing.
Growth does not come from familiar places. If a strategy is built entirely around existing member communication, like email, branch interactions, and internal campaigns, then the ceiling for growth is already defined. Those efforts are important, but they are inherently limited because they only reach people who have already said yes.
Membership growth requires something more difficult. It requires reaching people who do not yet know you, competing for attention in a crowded and noisy market, and giving someone a compelling reason to switch from what they already have. That work does not happen in an inbox, and it does not start in a branch. This is where digital marketing often gets misunderstood.
Digital channels frequently show lower immediate ROI because they are doing the hardest part of the job. They are introducing your brand to someone for the first time. They are competing against larger institutions with bigger budgets and stronger brand recognition. They are earning attention before trust has been established. That kind of work is harder to measure, and it rarely converts instantly.
But it is also where growth actually begins.
Digital marketing is not failing. It is simply being evaluated using the wrong metrics. When success is defined only by last-touch attribution or immediate conversion, the channels responsible for awareness and consideration will always appear less effective than the ones closing the deal.
There is another layer to this challenge that often goes unspoken. Even when credit unions invest in digital channels, the message itself frequently lacks the strength to break through. Many institutions rely on familiar claims like low rates, great service, being local, all without clearly articulating why those things matter or how they are meaningfully different from competitors.
If the message does not resonate, the channel will not save it.
The path forward requires a shift in both thinking and execution. It starts with a clearer value proposition. One that goes beyond generalities and speaks directly to a real problem or tension in a person’s life. It requires marketing that earns attention rather than assumes it, using relevance, emotion, and timing to connect with people who are not actively looking for a new financial institution.
It also requires a better understanding of the role each channel plays. Email and branch efforts should be used to deepen relationships and grow share of wallet among existing members. Digital and broader media channels should be used to build awareness, create consideration, and bring new people into the fold. When those roles are confused, strategies become misaligned and results suffer.
Finally, it requires measuring the full journey. When success is only evaluated at the point of conversion, the earlier stages of awareness and consideration are undervalued or ignored entirely. A more complete view of performance recognizes that growth is not a single moment, but a series of interactions that build over time.
Email and in-branch marketing are not the problem. They are valuable, necessary, and effective tools. But they are not the answer to the question most credit unions are trying to solve.
Growth does not come from talking to people who already believe in you. It comes from reaching the people who don’t, and giving them a reason to.
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