Strategy and creative. Two words that have been the centerpiece of accomplishing our vision of helping credit unions avoid unnecessary mergers.
First, if you were to ask any member of the YMC team, “What is the most egregious offense you can commit that would get you fired?” The most likely answer you would receive is, “Using a stock photo of a smiling woman dangling keys out of a car window,” or really any dangling keys in a stock photo.
Why? It’s a basic violation of good creative: “Predictability is what makes ads sound and look like ads.”
So, when it comes to great creative for credit unions, what is it? How do you create it? Good creative will always answer WIIFM, or “What’s in it for me?”
Bad ads are about you and your company. Good ads are about your customers and their happiness. Ads filled with “me, my, we,” and “our,” are about you and your credit union. Ads filled with the words “you” and “your” are about the customer and the happiness you want to bring them.
“Our rates are unbeatable…” Doubtful. “We’ve been around since…” so have plenty of your competitors. “We offer great service…” who would claim they didn’t? If any of this sounds familiar, you may have more problems than messaging.
At YMC, we utilize a seven-step process, each with a specific, corresponding question, that gets at the heart of WHY someone should choose your credit union. I mean really choose your credit union, without the fluff and corporate bullshittery. The final question in that seven-step process: What result does the ideal member want to avoid?
What happens if the ideal member chooses a traditional bank? Or a predatory lender? What happens if they don’t choose your credit union? Take the time to list out 5-6 scenarios. If you cannot come up with at least one very specific, gut-wrenching answer, we’ve got some work to do.
Make 2025 the year you choose to get unstuck. For almost 20 years now, we’ve used time-tested processes that result in unique strategies to help credit unions get unstuck and begin to see growth. We have room for one more client to join YMC in Q1 in 2025. Is it you?
