One-to-One Marketing Just Got Easier: A Case Study

Ron Daly, DigitalMailer, Inc.
February 26, 2007

Walk into any sales strategy meeting, and one-to-one marketing is likely to be the hot topic. But with a diverse membership, and varying interests and needs, how can you offer promotions personalized for each member?

Until recently, marketers have been limited to a few channels that only allowed modest targeting on the website, and in online-banking and bill-pay services. Now, through unique enhancements to e-mail alerts technology, marketers have access to two new channels for sending e-mails with the offers showing: e-statements and e-mail alerts. Add technology that mines data and creates marketing campaigns, and you have offers directed to specific needs or interests – one member at a time.

With upwards of 63 million adult Americans handling their personal finances online, this is the ideal time to make the leap to more targeted e-marketing. Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union in Woodbridge, Virginia provides a case study on how to use e-marketing channels to best advantage.

Communicating One to One

Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union made a strategic decision to refit its e-marketing strategy to better reach its members who regularly use online services. Gone are the days of “one-size-fits-all” offers with minimal targeting capabilities. Instead, the credit union has evolved from macro-segment marketing (“spray and pray”) to micro-segment marketing (one-to-one).

“Our primary reason for moving to a one-to-one marketing approach was to get the right message to the right person at the right time,” said Jacque Connor, vice president of marketing and business development for Fort Belvoir. “We were looking at ways to target more specifically. We knew we wanted to have more than just a generic set of banners through the usual channels on our website.”

As an early step in the credit union’s shift from macro-segmenting, Fort Belvoir began inviting members to preference-based e-mail alerts.

“Many of our e-lerts are used for sharing transactional information with members,” said Connor, explaining that the credit union focuses on opt-in offers both to enhance member communications and control. “E-lerts have helped us significantly reduce the volume of calls to our contact center. We used to receive an inordinate amount of calls on the first and 15 th of the month from members asking if their checks were deposited.”

To further develop its e-marketing efforts, Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union turned to DigitalMailer and AdeptMedia, which teamed up in 2006 to offer multi-channel targeting capabilities. Connor said DigitalMailer’s e-mail marketing tools and AdeptMedia’s “DeepTarget” data-mining and tracking tools made for the right combination: a system that would be responsive to members’ needs. As a result, Fort Belvoir can now reach members across all online channels – website, online banking service, e-statements, and e-lerts – with information tailored to individual requests and needs.

Putting It All Together

Essentially, indicated Connor, Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union creates various stacks of offers to share with members and determines which stack to send to which members, based on their MCIF data. The data is forwarded to DeepTarget, which sets up the ad and pulls the groups to receive a particular offer; the credit union delivers these individualized offers to members using Digital-Mailer’s e-mail system.

Connor said she likes the fact that DeepTarget is constantly running in the background. “When staff get busy they might not have time to suggest other products or services, but DeepTarget always asks. Once it’s in the computer, based on the pre-set conditions, it will ask,” she said.

“Now we’re able to be fairly precise in getting the right offers to the right markets,” said Connor. “Members sign up for e-lerts using their account numbers, so the system can identify the appropriate stack of ads. And once they’re logged on to the website with their username and password, members who have car loans with us won’t see car-loan offers appear. Similarly, if a member has a checking account, he won’t see checking account promos, but may see bill-payment banners, or other offers. Members receive information about products they don’t have with us instead of those they already use.”

Gathering Feedback, Getting Results

According to Connor, an important step in shifting the credit union’s marketing strategies was getting member feedback, which was gathered through focus groups. “What we heard was, ‘We know you know us. We want you to tell us what we need. Make suggestions for using the services that would be beneficial to our needs,’” said Conner.

The feedback reinforced Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union’s decision to further develop its online marketing strategies. And the credit union has achieved impressive results:

• After four months of delivering targeted online banking messages, members clicked on the offers presented 751 times, generating two new CDs totaling $65,000 and 15 new loans valued at $283,000

• 7,500 personalized marketing messages were included at the top of members’ e-statements

• Following opt-in e-mail enhancements, e-mail e-lerts sent increased from 1,600 to 22,000 per month

By moving to a one-to-one e-marketing strategy, Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union is now reaching members with well-timed, individual messages more closely tied to their own needs.

One-to-one marketing is creating a buzz today, but the premise behind it is as old as the credit union movement: Personalized attention to members’ unique needs. Now, with new e-marketing channels, enhanced digital technology, and a little creative copywriting, you can ensure the personal touch that gets the right offer to the right member at the right time.

Ron Daly is the president/CEO of DigitalMailer, an e-marketing firm providing digital communication tools to credit unions. Contact Daly at 866-994-4900 or visit http://www.digitalmailer.com/elerts.html.