Top 5 Research Tools

Mia Perez
September 10, 2012 | COMMENTS

Have you taken a ride on the research rollercoaster yet? We’ve all been there: It’s time to tackle the marketing plan. The excitement sets in as you browse through last year’s historical figures elated that you’ve got some benchmarks for this year.  Sweet.

Then the overwhelming fear sets in.

Where in the world did you get all of those statistics from? ‘Did my CFO give me that number? Did I read that somewhere? Did I swipe that from a colleague?’ Dread.

Around this time of year, the listservs, discussion boards, and Twitterville usually light up with discussions and questions about marketing plans and stats. We spend hours trying to figure out if the average member age is 44 or 47. There is an overwhelming amount of data online – if you just know where to look. Here are five key research tools to help you get started:

• The US Census offers a plethora of information on your market’s population, housing, economic indicators, and industry statistics. Do you want to know how many other financial institutions are in your market? Use the site’s FactFinder tool to get this info.
• CUNA’s website has an entire section dedicated to credit union research and statistical data. If you are looking for average and projected growth rates in assets, membership, savings, and loans go here. For commentary on economic forecasts moving into 2013, go here.  For historical ratios, CUNA has compiled “Frequently Requested Ratios”.  For a fee, credit unions can purchase CUNA’s 2012- 2013 eScan in either print or .ppt format. This research tool dives into marketing, human resources, compliance, technology, and includes the top 10 trends today.
• Don’t overlook your local resources such as the Chamber of Commerce for granular economic data or even your state’s credit union league for regional trends and growth metrics.
• If you include product growth data in your annual plans, don’t underestimate the power of your own in-house IT department. Somewhere sitting in a cubicle is a very eager team member ready to churn out queries of your choice. If you utilize an MCIF vendor, contact them a few months before your plan is due and ask them to present recommendations on the data they manage for you.
• For your competitor or peer analysis, go to NCUA for last year’s FPRs (Financial Performance Reports). Use these reports to see how your credit union’s ratios measure up to your competition.

Depending on your specific needs, there are many other resources available. Do you need more data on statewide competitors? Contact your state’s Office of Financial Institutions.  Claritas Inc provides data on psychographic classifications of consumers.  The Community Development Credit Union Foundation (CDCU) offers a variety of research studies and peer group statistics.

Don’t underestimate the power of a network. If you’re still not finding a nugget of information you need, reach out to your fellow marketing and BD professionals. Chances are, if you need the information, they do, too. Cooperatively speaking, of course.