With the amount of data and technology available to creditunions, marketing is becoming increasingly valuable and highlytargeted. Marketing is much more than designing and distributingflyers to your members – it's about connecting with them alongtheir financial journeys and sharing compelling messages about yourcredit union.

Keeping this in mind, below are some marketing best practicesyour credit union should consider exploring and implementing (ifyou have not already):

1. Understand your members. With the abundanceof data at our fingertips, getting to know our members is easierthan ever before. Leverage data about member behavior to determinewhat they need from your credit union, and how you best can helpthem be successful. Use this data to develop targeted campaigns,cross-sell other products and services and reward members for theirloyalty.

2. Provide meaningful content. Content is kingin the world of marketing in the digital age. Not only do you needto be providing information about products and services, but alsofinancial education resources relevant to your members. Guide themin the loan process. Provide an actionable plan for saving forretirement. There are many ways in which your content can be usedas a valuable tool for your members.

3. Embrace automation. Consider implementingautomated email marketing campaigns for your members. Once a memberopens an account, you can send them personalized offers based onservices they already utilize. Automated campaigns are a greatopportunity for cross-selling and creating efficiencies in yoursales process. Your approach must be strategic, though – don't sendthe same offer again and again if the member has not converted. Youdon't want your emails to go unopened, or worse, to your members'blocked senders' lists.

4. Measure success. The first and most obviousway to measure success is to make sure your emails are opened. Ifnot, you need to consider re-tooling your content to make it morerelevant or compelling. You can also track conversions – aremembers opening new accounts or adding on products and servicesoffered in your communications? Regarding social content, arepeople engaging with it through likes and shares? Is your contentdriving traffic to your website? These types of metrics are easy tomeasure and will help ensure your marketing efforts are generatingfruitful results.

5. Create a crisis plan. Although not directlytied to credit union growth goals, a crisis plan is a criticalcomponent of any marketing strategy. Whether or not we want toacknowledge it, a crisis can happen at any time. From a data breachto a disgruntled employee or member, crises can take many forms.It's essential to be prepared should something happen at yourcredit union. If you don't already have one in place, considerdeveloping a crisis management protocol that clearly outlines yourresponse to various situations and identifies key spokespeople.Although you cannot prepare for every potential crisis, you shouldhave a plan in place if one occurs.

Marketing is a powerful way to not only drive adoption of yourproducts and services, but also provide value to your members. Bytaking a thoughtful and strategic approach, you can reach yourmembers and others in your community in new ways and be preparedshould any issues arise. You can continue to refine your approachand position your credit union for future success by constantlyevaluating your tactics and measuring outcomes. Lastly, rememberthat an effective and well-executed strategy will help your creditunion stand apart in your community from the competition –guaranteed.

Rhiannon Stone is COO at EPL, Inc. She can be contactedat 205-408-5300 or [email protected].