Banks and Credit Union Marketers Taking Different Paths in 2012

According to a Rand Corporation research study, consumers usually select a financial institution based on convenience of branches, convenience of ATMs and bank fees. While bank users were more likely to select based on convenience, credit union users more likely chose with a desire to avoid fees. Consumers also cite personalized service when selecting a credit union.


With this as a backdrop, it is interesting to study the divergence of opinions expressed by more than 300 financial marketers from larger banks, credit unions and community banks as part of the 2012 Bank and Credit Union Marketing Survey covered on January 17 on both The Bank Marketing Strategy blog and on The Financial Brand. 


Faced with many of the same environmental challenges of increased availability of data, a proliferation of delivery options, imminent changes in how payments are processed, new marketing communication channels and consumer sentiment that has at times been polarizing, there are significant differences in how bank and credit union marketers view their roles, challenges and opportunities. There are also differences in the channels different types of organizations will use to communicate in the next 12 months.


Breakdown of Participants and Budgets

Distribution of Respondents by Institution Type

As noted in the initial analysis, it was interesting that more than 80% of marketers surveyed indicated that their marketing budgets would either stay the same or increase over the next year, with credit unions having a slightly lower likelihood of having their budgets cut this year.

Challenges and Priorities


As shown below, all classes of organizations indicated the expectation of a resource constraint challenge in 2012 (despite equal or higher budgets), yet that is where the similarities end between banks and credit unions. Banks indicated a significantly higher challenge due to the lack of trust in the banking industry, which credit unions have used to their advantage in the second half of 2011 and into this year. Banks also are much more challenged by the presence of silos within the organization as well as by regulatory and compliance issues that credit union marketers indicated. Interestingly, non-community banks seem to have it easier when it comes to getting employee support for programs initiated.