To deal with digital marketing, credit unions need to have an understanding of where they are standing in terms of digital marketing transformation, how their processes stand, and what they need to do to perform better. The digital marketing maturity model helps credit unions understand the same and increase their effectiveness in performance.

What is a maturity model?

• Maturity models help assess current effectiveness and indicate what capabilities need to be acquired to improve performance. The first step is the assessment and then that assessment is used to prioritize capabilities to improve performance.
• They are structured in a series of levels of effectiveness. 

Potential Pitfalls

• Different departments need to come together and their perspectives should be considered together.
• Use of the model does not guarantee success, it is just a tool to measure. It is just a tool to help you understand the challenges you make.                               

The digital marketing maturity model for Credit Union

There are four basic stages of digital marketing

A] Ad-hoc – Digital marketing is largely ineffective, with no special plan or technology in place. This marketing has little impact on the credit union.

B] Basic- Digital marketing is beginning to have an organized impact but the results are limited, since plans, actions, and team performance is in isolation. 

C] Managed –Digital marketing efforts have become a significant part of the overall marketing effort and it has led to deepened relationships with clients and the community.

D] Optimized – Digital marketing is the primary approach and is closely knit with other organizational initiatives. It becomes an efficient and effective means of client engagement.

Categories/Dimensions of Maturity Model

1. Strategy- Your defined and measurable goals for digital marketing
2. Team- How are resources allocated?
3. Process- How is digital content treated?
4. Technology- How is the technology deployed and data collected, used, and sent back for feedbacks?
5. Outcomes - What impact is digital marketing having on your Credit Union and whether the goals are being achieved?

Combining the stage and dimension, here are the performance standings -

Adhoc Stage.

• Strategy- There is no specific digital plan and no action is taken on measures.
• Team- Less than 15 percent of the overall budget. No digital specialists on the team.
• Process- One-off content, social media posts are infrequent. Limited targeting.
• Technology- Digital tools are out of the box are unaligned and not integrated.
• Outcomes – Social media followers are less than 1 percent of members. No important metric is calculated.

Basic Stage

• Strategy- There are digital marketing plans. Metrics track lead quantities per activity.
• Team- 1 to 5 percent of the overall marketing budget. Part-time digital marketing roles.
• Process – Thematically linked content is delivered over a variety of channels. Social media posting is active. Groups targeted are limited but defined.
• Technology- Best of breed applications selected but not integrated. Processes are coordinated.
• Outcomes – 1 to 5 percent of members follow on social media. Member lifetime value trends downwards and Customer Acquisition Cost trends upwards.

Managed Stage

• Strategy- Digital marketing plans are integrated into overall marketing strategies. Lead quality is both measured and reported.
• Team- More than a third or almost two-thirds of the total marketing budget. Dedicated digital marketing team members are present.
• Process- Aimed at the specific buyer, social media is monitored and engaging, messaging is targeted based on consumer information.
• Technology- Applications are integrated. Data is shared between applications.
• Outcomes- From 5-10 percent members follow social media. Member Lifetime Value and Customer Acquisition Cost are steady and predictable.

Optimized Stage

• Strategy- Digital marketing plans are designed to support corporate objectives. Revenue, growth, and engagement are measured and reported.
• Team- More than 60 percent. It is the primary focus of the marketing organization.
• Process-Content is aligned to achieve strategic objectives. Message targeting is personalized.
• Technology- There is a unified technology platform. Marketing data is present across various organizational platforms.
• Outcomes- More than 10 percent follow the social media of the organization. Member lifetime value is trending upward and Customer Acquisition Cost is trending downward.

How can the digital marketing maturity model help your credit union?

Presently, Credit Unions are in the early-stage processes of digital marketing strategies. There is little coordination employed among organizations, even though various technology and applications are in place. There are a lot of challenges at present.

Some digital marketing priorities include- marketing data integration, business intelligence, and data science, marketing segmentation and targeting, customer experience,  content marketing, SEO marketing, social marketing, and technology information. Here is how you should utilize the model-

• Complete the assessment on the CUlytics website and see where your organization stands.
• Set goals across the assessment categories.
• Determine which category will have the greatest impact on organizational objectives and focus plans in that area.
• Retake the assessment to track and improve.

CONCLUSION

It is important to remember that a maturity model is a relative measure. A poor message will not be improved with better digital tools and technologies. This model can be evolved with time and you have to understand this assessment is essential for improvement and connect the dots between the assessment and objectives.

WATCH OTHER RELATED ON-DEMAND SESSIONS AROUND DIGITAL MARKETING CASE STUDIES HERE.