Siders recognizes that the success of the refresh relied on having the right people in the right roles, spearheaded by Creative Brand Manager Alexa Irvine.

A project team sat through demos with three or four companies before selecting Alkami. This allowed TRUE Community to have one vendor for both online banking and the mobile app.

The goal: “Transformational change and an omnichannel experience for our members,” Siders says. “Whether they go online on their computer, an iPad, or their phone, they’re going to get the same experience.”

The new digital platforms also added functionality, allowing members to pull in external accounts, pay people with Zelle, control their cards while traveling, market relevant services, and more.

Changes on the scale of TRUE Community’s digital refresh required education. Upon rolling out the new platforms in October 2022, credit union staff supported members through the refresh, demonstrating the app and how to conduct transactions.

“We added that intimate rollout, and I heard so many members say, ‘Oh, my gosh, I love that,’” Siders says. “We exist to inspire the pursuit of a life well lived. Our mission is to cultivate legacy-defining moments for the people and places we serve for generations to come.”

Email excellence

Florence (Ala.) Federal Credit Union’s International Credit Union (ICU) Day giveaway started with a simple idea: celebrate members.

“We’d already anticipated celebrating ICU Day, but it was going to be a simple lobby type of celebration,” says Gwen Crenshaw, marketing director at the $69 million asset credit union. “I wanted to do something that served two purposes: celebrate members and continue the discourse around the credit union difference.”

Members enjoy both the credit union’s highly personalized service and giveaways, Crenshaw says, so she combined the two, centering an award-winning email campaign around ICU Day.

Members entered for a chance to win a $250 gift card by answering a 10-question survey.

Florence Federal used the responses to find new leads, see what members like about the credit union, and determine what members would like in the future.

“The purpose was to focus on what members want and structure future initiatives around what they find most useful,” Crenshaw says.

The only expense for the ICU Day giveaway was the cost of the $250 prize because all marketing was done through organic posts via Constant Contact and Facebook. It led to more than 1,000 leads from current members.

The credit union held another ICU Day giveaway in October 2023, with a greater focus on mobile deposit and person-to-person payments. The main purpose again was to celebrate members.

The promotion shows that success doesn’t necessarily require a big budget, Crenshaw says.

“Just because you have a small budget doesn’t mean you can’t get quality information and use the resources available to you,” she says. “Members know we’re in it for them. They enjoy their interactions with us, so they want to follow up and read our emails. “They’re involved in the credit union because they trust the services we offer.”