A Tale of Two Pizzerias: Real-Time Lessons for Credit Union Marketing

Many of us have been surprised by recent events. The changes to daily life came on swiftly and businesses of all types are being impacted. However, as a marketer for over two decades, one thing that hasn’t surprised me is the notion that marketing is discretionary – an expense to be cut back as soon as revenues take a dive or uncertainty appears.

I experienced it firsthand during the Great Recession, when I served as vice president of marketing for a mid-sized credit union in Maryland. While the institution itself was strong and weathered the storm relatively well, we were all challenged to cut expenses and a big chunk of my marketing budget vanished before my eyes. I made the hard choice of ending our long-time advertising commitment with the local newspaper. We weren’t the only advertiser to make that decision. Today, that local paper no longer exists. That certainly didn’t make the community stronger or underscore our mission as a cooperative.

Two Similar Restaurants, Two Very Different Responses

I currently live in Texas and our local county issued an emergency declaration that forced restaurants to close their dining rooms and transition to take-out or delivery only on March 16, 2020. That was a Monday and it didn’t impact us until that Friday, March 20. With three teenagers, Friday nights have been “pizza night” in my house for as long as I can remember.

We have a handful of favorite local places we order from – some offer delivery and some are pick-up establishments with usually busy dining rooms. After discussing which one the kids preferred on this first pizza night of our official quarantine, I pulled up their website to place our order. I was shocked to read that the restaurant had made the decision to temporarily close on March 18 – two days after the emergency declaration. It especially struck me as odd since I’d received several email communications from a competing restaurant that same week announcing their new “contactless delivery” service. In fact, their messages were the first I’d seen about contactless meal delivery – reaching me even before Uber Eats had.

In many ways, these restaurants were nearly identical – at least in my mind as a consumer. Both smaller, local chains with just a few locations. Both had great pizza and usually busy dining rooms, did a fair take-out business and offered online ordering. However, it seems clear already that one will likely survive and the other may never reopen. I continue to receive emails with various offers from the former that reflect our new realities. For Easter, this restaurant packaged hearty Italian favorites for families including dessert. While I wouldn’t normally rank that as my first choice, I found myself thinking it would be a great alternative if the ham we ordered didn’t make it into our weekly grocery delivery.

In a Crisis, Your Marketing Communications Are Even More Important

I’m a member of five different credit unions currently. I know it sounds like a lot, but we’ve moved around quite a bit and that’s how it’s turned out. One benefit of this is that I receive a lot of member communications. Each credit union has sent me at least one message during the current crisis, but the institutions that have gotten my attention have higher frequency and offer more specifics about how they can help me. No one wants the same generic message.

Members want to know what you’re doing that’s different than the bank or credit union down the road. A weekly check-in, if tailored to your members, can be reassuring and even welcome during these unpredictable times. Members’ needs may be different, but stress levels are certainly higher and financial concerns are growing along with free time.

It may take some creativity and will require significantly adjusting your marketing plan, but your communications and adaptability today will no doubt impact the strength of your membership, your cooperative and your community in the future. Is marketing “discretionary”? No, I don’t believe it is. Just ask the pizzeria down the road.

Sharon G. Simpson is a national consultant based in Fort Worth, Texas who specializes in developing and implementing strategic marketing plans for CUSOs, credit unions and their vendor partners.