There’s a special kind of member we’ve heard a lot aboutrecently. They’re the types who come in for a car loan or a creditcard or, more recently, move their money from a big bank to acredit union. And after that initial transaction, they goquiet.

They’re the unengaged members, a chunk of your membership whoonly have one product and haven’t taken steps to move any otheraccounts or transfer any balances. They might be new members withfree checking accounts or they might be loans that were paid offlong ago who had no reason to continue that relationship.

At DigitalMailer, we’ve consulted with many credit unions tohelp them reach members who are unengaged. The best solution we’vefound is to combine multiple digital communication channels withstrong, relevant messages. You might call it, “Web 2.0 MeetsMarketing 101.”

Make messages matter

Look at it from the member’s side. Every day, we’re bombardedwith some 3,000 or more messages coming at us from every angle andthrough every available channel. To survive the onslaught, you haveto tune out most of it, right? And, frankly, that’s easy to dobecause nothing is more of a snooze than receiving offers forsomething you don’t want.

Unengaged members won’t be moved by run-of-the-mill promotionsthat could come from anywhere, but you can cut through the clutterby targeting their specific interests. You may not have a fullprofile on an unengaged member, but you can still learn a lot bypulling from the customer relationship management data you have.What caused him to join the credit union in the first place? Was ita car loan that’s been paid off? Maybe he’s in the market again. Ishe reading your marketing material?

Treat them like they’re new

Just because someone joined the credit union a few years ago, itdoesn’t mean she knows what your credit union has to offer now. Youcan change that by treating unengaged members like they’re brandnew. One successful strategy: use the same onboarding process thatteaches new members the benefits of your product offerings to bringback those who have faded away.

Some have successfully re-engaged members by using theironboarding campaigns. They create a series of email messages, eachof which highlights a different service and its benefits. Themessages are kept simple, often with a single key point. They havea similar look but with a slight distinction, such as differentcolors, and they are sent at timed intervals. This strategy helpskeep the credit union top of mind while encouraging members to takea fresh look.

Ask what they want

Of course, the best products and services around won’t interestunengaged members if they never see your offers. You can learn alot about how people receive news and information from secondaryresearch. Virtually everyone (some 95 % of all adults) is online.More than half of online adults regularly send and receive emails.Three-quarters of them with cell phones send and receive texts, andmore than a third email using their phones. But how, specifically,do your members want to hear from you?

To find out, use another onboarding tool: ask them. It’s commonto use a four- or five-question survey to gather information aboutnew members’ needs and behaviors, so why not do the same with yourunengaged members? A simple online or email questionnaire isinexpensive and can provide a wealth of information about members’preferences.

Be where they are

Have you seen Apple’s new commercial that shows how you canseamlessly move from one ‘I’ platform to another and pick up thesame songs, apps or information? That’s where technology is headed,and it foretells how user-friendly credit unions need to be.

Once, it was a big deal to invite members to “click here” andlearn about a loan sale. Now, having a website is the bare minimum,not the exception. It’s a new, mobile era, and to grab members’attention, you need to be as mobile as they are.

But don’t assume mobile simply means cell phone. Members areusing more than one portable platform, so your message must beeasily viewed on a variety of devices – iPhone, BlackBerry, tablet,laptop – in addition to a traditional desktop computer.

Every day, designers in other industries are working to create aweb experience that doesn’t need to be separated based on mobile orstationary use – a website for all needs and all seasons. Anadaptive usability experience is key, and while we might be anotherfew months to a year from HTML5 taking root everywhere on the web,it’s critical that we start pushing our websites to suit more needsand to look, feel, and work better on every platform.

Get social

Finally, maybe now’s the time for your credit union to rethinksocial media. A September study by digital research firm eMarketerprojects worldwide social network advertising income to exceed $8billion in 2012 and it will hit $10 billion by 2013. And lastsummer, research by IBM found that a whopping 82% of chiefmarketing officers surveyed say they plan to increase their use ofsocial media in the next three to five years. More than half of thechief marketing officer respondents say they will incorporatesocial media as a key engagement channel. Is it right foryour credit union? The effort it takes to find out is surprisinglysmall and can mean a world of difference in the long run.

Understanding that the most profitable member is a currentmember, credit unions have an incentive to strengthen their tieswith those who are unengaged. Email, text, voice, the Web andsocial media can turn lukewarm members into hot prospects. 

Jimmy Marks is creative director at DigitalMailerInc.
Contact 866-994-4900 ext.115 or [email protected]