Honing the Value of Redesigning Your Credit Union’s Website

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the need for better member service through technology. Fully 86% of consumers used the internet to find a local business in 2020, Digital Agency Network reported; that is only rising as we move forward. Pandemic or not, consumers have been forced to become more comfortable with digital services, and that means credit union websites must be up to the challenge.

The return on investment for credit union websites is tremendous. Marketing return on investment has been under attack since digital media have entered the mainstream. Determining ROI so that marketers can sell the executives on funding a website redesign means measuring sales growth minus marketing costs, and then dividing that number by your total marketing costs. Mathematically, it looks like this:

[Sales Increase – Marketing Costs]/Marketing Costs = ROI

Think about it in perspective:

• The average cost of U.S. office space is $35/square foot, according to Offices.net. Even with a smaller footprint, the technology required for the necessary efficiencies counter the real estate cost savings, not to mention maintenance on the machines. And foot traffic to those branches is dwindling, too. Prior to COVID in 2019, branch visits were projected to decline 36% through 2022, as reported by The Financial Brand.
• Billboards or stadium naming rights can be six to seven figures and it’s very difficult to measure the ROI, however, a Newswire article included Statista data placing ROI at $4.83 for every marketing dollar spent.
• The same article valued print advertising the lowest at $4.12 for every dollar spent. Your credit union marketing team could create QR codes in your posters and print ads, but where does that typically lead back to? A page or landing page on your website.
• Digital search showed the best return at $11.05 for every dollar spent. Organic search has an astounding 15% close rate versus 2% for paid search, which means more members, loans and deposits for your marketing dollars. Keeping your credit union’s website up to date on SEO trends is critical for its success.

Each type of marketing has its place depending upon your membership, but for one of the best ROIs, a regularly updated, search engine optimized website is your best bet – and much higher than $11.

For example, say you paid $10,000 for a website redesign that will last you two years, which is the best practice. To achieve 11X return on that investment of marketing dollars, your credit union’s website would have to increase attributable revenue by $110,000 over two years.

That projection is not chump change and may strike fear into the hearts of many marketers, but break it down this way. Your credit union likely makes about $1,500 in interest on the first year of a car loan – not including your digital cross selling opportunities for GAP, service contracts and the like. Divide that $110,000 goal in half, so you have just $55,000 in new revenue from your website. If a car loan, which I’m using as an example because that’s most credit unions’ low-hanging fruit, earns $1,500 in the first year, divide that into $55,000, and your credit union only has to make 37 additional car loans to meet a projected $11 in revenue for every dollar spent redesigning your website. And that’s before your credit union takes into consideration the lifetime value of the new members, loans, and other products and services added through your credit union’s new modern and functional website.

What’s invaluable is that 2020 online shoppers were 4-6x more likely to purchase, protect and champion purpose-driven companies, according to virtual shopping platform HERO, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. Credit unions are purpose-driven to their soul; ensure your website reflects your unique value proposition to gain member buy-in, trust and support when your credit union needs it.

Gather your data and use logical projections to determine the ROI of a new website for your credit union to capture the minds of your executives and the marketing budget your credit union and members deserve.

Bo McDonald is President of uncommn Marketing Partners, a Greenville, S.C.-based marketing and web development agency serving credit unions.