Data Driven Direct Marketing from Credit Union Servides Firm

Data Driven Direct Marketing from Credit Union Services Firm
Synergent, a subsidiary of the Maine Credit Union League, provides innovative technology, business and service solutions, including marketing and communications materials, to credit unions throughout New England. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Westbrook, Maine, Synergent partners with credit unions to assemble customized suites of products and services from among its four divisions: Technology Services, Check Processing and Support Services, Card Services and Direct Marketing Services.

In order to better meet those goals, Synergent engaged Schnoll Media Consulting in 2009 to analyze the organization's marketing support and workflow processes. The Schnoll Media team identified and recommended changes to improve production efficiency, revitalize and grow the marketing support business and enhance its competitive position.

The goals of the Direct Marketing Services unit is to enable credit unions to deliver the right message, to the right member, at the right time in order to create opportunities that engage members and develop deeper member relationships, and to obtain bottom line results from those relationships.

Targeted Marketing through Data Analytics
Schnoll Media Consulting worked with the Synergent team to revamp their entire marketing strategy. A centerpiece of the new strategy was the integration of Synergent's direct marketing capabilities with data collected and managed by the core technology group, enabling the creation of targeted marketing programs based on true data analytics.

Today, Synergent's Direct Marketing team has created new revenue opportunities by offering integrated digital target marketing cross-media services utilizing data analytics from the Technology Services division. These include opt-in email and e-newsletter marketing programs, as well as personalized direct mail. The Synergent Direct Marketing team offers their customers turnkey marketing campaigns, including design, list management, production and distribution. Their services include original content in the form of articles for credit union newsletters.

Synergent helps credit unions profile their membership and use this information to create creative, targeted print and email campaigns that are more attuned to meeting the needs of credit union members. For example, if a member has a car loan, and that loan is nearing the time when it is paid in full, the credit union can send a personalized message regarding loans for a new car. For homeowners, they may promote a line of credit for kitchen remodeling or other home improvements.

Synergent has found that it has been able to increase direct mail response rates from the typical average of 1-3% to above 10% with targeted and personalized marketing. It has been very effective in capturing the attention of credit union members to better understand the many outstanding and valuable services offered by their credit union organizations.

Synergent Marketing Synergent
Synergent is using its new toolset for its own marketing efforts. Synergent customer service representatives (CSR's) are now called "marketing service reps." They send out a bimonthly newsletter, customized with their photo and contact information, that is delivered to credit unions to promote Synergent services. For example, with autumn come the holidays, and holiday promotions. The 2010 newsletter discussing holiday promotions got a 40% response rate from the credit unions.

Schnoll Media also helped Synergent develop a state of the art web portal. In addition to providing a national presence for Synergent products and services, the portal provides templates for customized and personalized pieces and proactively offers marketing tips and other resources.

Today, Synergent is able to provide a powerful, unified and comprehensive service offering that clearly distinguishes the company as national industry leader in credit union support services. Click here to learn more about what Schnoll Media Consulting can do for your company!