I recently joined a few of my Earth friends for what they referred to as a road trip. We don’t have roads on my home planet of Amicitia, so I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into. As it turned out, the relatively short road trip to the Lake Erie shore in Ohio was captivating, despite all the trouble I had fastening a seatbelt around my extra-terrestrial physique.
Now, before I get too far along in this post, I want to point out that although our particular road trip was based in the Buckeye State, this could take place in any of the 47 states where myCUmortgage helps credit unions become great mortgage lenders. In fact, I’m sure it could happen anywhere on this great planet of yours. (By the way, can anyone explain to me what exactly is a buckeye?!)
We had several destinations selected to visit during our adventure. Each of them had a little something different to offer and enjoy, not to mention they were only short distances from each other by way of an automobile. I suggested utilizing my teleportation device, but that idea was quickly discounted for various reasons, including not becoming a Jeff Goldblum experiment. Trust me, we have much more advanced technology than he had.
They also pointed out that the journey getting to your destination was the best part, a phrase I’ve heard before from one Clark Griswold. If I had eyebrows, I would have raised them at that point. But to my surprise, my friends were right about the journey.
We happened upon several unique and memorable sites during our drive, including a stop at a place called Vermilion, Ohio. Tucked in-between some of the more traditional vacation and tourist spots along Lake Erie, this place was a hidden gem. First, there was the old downtown that was lined with shops to fit anyone’s shopping desires and needs as well as satisfying the sweetest of sweet tooths. Then, there was the old lighthouse. We have similar constructs at home in Amicitia, designed to keep spaceships coming out of hyperspace from hitting any obstructions.
The most fascinating part of Vermilion to me was the waterways running through the portion of the town near the harbor. I’ve seen pictures of Venice, Italy, and this looked like a more modern version. Every home was so situated on a canal, and it appeared as if all of them had some type of watercraft attached to the backyard docks. We were all regarding the canals when one of our road trippers said, “Wow, I never thought something like this could be in Ohio.”
As I said before, there are locations all over the world with hidden gems such as this that often aren’t known to many. Credit unions fit this bill in many situations, particularly as it concerns mortgage lending. One of the reasons consistently stated by homeowners and buyers as to why they didn’t use the services of their credit union for their home loan needs was, “I didn’t know my credit union offered mortgages.”
In today’s competitive purchase market, we need to individually and collectively debunk this all too common myth and consumer mindset. There are many ways to accomplish this, solid marketing being at the forefront of your options. You need to take advantage of the many communications channels available to most credit unions. From statement stuffers to social media posts and campaigns to making a presence at local community events, you need to help members and potential borrowers realize what’s been right in front of them the entire time.
Once this realization is made, much like the seagulls I watched on Lake Erie, it’s highly likely more members will flock to their already trusted financial partner!
Check out some of my previous posts that include marketing tips for credit union mortgage lenders, including:
And please share some of your own marketing best practices and ideas in the comment section below so that we can all continue to work and learn together in our quest to help more credit union members with home ownership.