OMG! Who really IS our competition?!?

If we asked you about your competition, who would you have on your list? (Before you read further, try making a list. Once you have at least 5 names down, keep reading.)

Did you start by listing other local CUs, and somehow ignore the large banks and local/regional banks that are competing for the same target market? Or those specialty lenders and factory financing when it comes to mortgages and car loans? What about those investment firms like Fidelity and Merrill Lynch that are promoting select banking products? Not to forget those fintechs/neobanks/software companies like Chime, SoFi, and Paypal offering loans and credit cards without having any physical branches.

When you really stop and think about it, trying to list all of your competitors can be pretty exhausting.

So how does an Overwhelmed Marketer get a good understanding of who exactly is their competition, without getting even more overwhelmed?

Take a good hard look at your CU.

Every credit union has their core products, the ones that keep the lights on and those paychecks coming. Your CEO and CFO are great resources to tap for information about what financial products are doing well, which ones are not, and which ones the CU would love to grow.

But if they focus too much on being the PFI (primary financial institution) for their members, you might ask them to define what that means, so that you know what is important to them.

Yes, in ancient times, people used the only bank in town for everything they needed. These days, very few people only use one financial institution. Even if they have their savings and checking accounts at your CU, they likely get additional financial services from many different places. That’s the reality, no matter what your CEO might prefer to hear, and now you need to know where that money is heading. Don’t let old school thinking warp future expectations.

Find out where those dollars are going.

Ideally, it would be nice to get an overview of where all those monthly payments are headed. Where do members have their mortgages? Do they have car loans or leases? Are they moving larger amounts to someone else’s CDs/Money Markets/Investments? How much is going out to which credit card companies?

Ask around to see if your core system can give you any data and insights into where else your members are moving and borrowing money. Getting that aggregate transaction flow data may just take a few clicks, or it might be a little (or a lot) more difficult, but this is incredibly valuable data, so it’s worth pursuing.

Make a list, then check out your competition online.

Start with a Google search using keywords related to the products and services are most important to the CU, and see who turns up and who doesn’t. The ads at the top will show which competitors are willing to pay for that position, and the websites that appear right below the ads are likely your biggest competitors.

Take a look at their websites. Read their blogs and social media. Research specifics about their products, so that you can compare what they offer to what you offer.

Then compare their sites to yours. Dig into Google Analytics to see what are the most popular pages. Compare your products with theirs, and offer suggestions for new ideas in order to stand out.

Have time to dig deeper into your competition?

Consider subscribing to analysis tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Similarweb to learn more about the keywords your competitors are targeting, their organic presence on search engines, what backlinks are coming in, and which marketing channels they use. Want to see how you compare to a specific competitor? Try SpyFu or Accuranker to see how many keywords your domains have in common, and where you both rank. More focused on social? BuzzSumo can help you track shared social content by topic or brand, potentially identifying competitors you hadn’t considered before.

Build a plan that you can accomplish

Competitor analysis can help you identify both threats and opportunities. But the most important next step is to establish a plan of action to stay ahead of your competition. A plan that you can actually accomplish, promoting the products and services that your CU is best at.

In other words, don’t try to do everything at once. And don’t try to be David slinging stones at Goliath. Set your goals as a progression, so that success is likely, not just a possibility.

Keep on trackin’

Use Google Alerts (or other alternatives) to stay alert for new content related to the products you are focused on. Be sure to set up notifications for your own brands as well, in order to track consumer sentiment and manage your brand reputation.

The best part? You’ll get notifications sent to your inbox, rather than having to manually patrol dozens of websites and social media pages.

Now that’s more like it.

Kent Dicken
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