Dallas, TX (Aug 08, 2018) - Founder of On the Mark Strategies Mark Arnold is stressing the importance of following up on annual strategic planning processes for banks and credit unions. He explains in a recent video that the organization must be “ready to assume greatness” during the planning process to achieve results. This could be the key to unlocking the potential for the effective marketing of a credit union.

Arnold relies on a three-step process that he developed to deliver lasting solutions. He emphasizes an approach that involves “education, engagement and energy,” to “provide credit union industry specific trends which help educate” teams “on what growing and successful credit unions are doing.”

A cohesive marketing strategy and strategic planning process is vital in maintaining professionalism, reliability and trust. For banks and credit unions, building a strong relationship with the customer or member is important. Banks and credit unions provide services for individuals to improve their financial lives, and this relationship of mutual trust begins with marketing.

A marketing audit performed by On the Mark Strategies does not assess financial status. It assesseshow well a bank or credit union’s marketing collateral works in tangent with the level of service delivered. This audit includes the use of mystery shoppers who shop the credit union or bank’s branches and their competitors, looking for both competitive advantages and gaps between marketing and service.

Process
● Collateral Review –Review print and digital collateral. During this process, On the Mark Strategies also reviews the marketing budget, marketing calendar and future goals.
● Website Analysis - The reach of the website is measured by considering the web design and usability, visual aspects, ease of communication with customers, and SEO rankings which includesmetadata, broken links and more.
● Mystery Shoppers - With the use of mystery or secret shoppers, the audit reveals any gaps between marketing strategy and what is delivered in physical locations. On top of this, competitor shops are used to better understand how competitors are performing.
● Recommendations - After the audit is completed, the company provides recommendations to the organization to improve both strategically and tactically.

Getting Positive Results
The marketing audit provides an expert perspective on how well marketing strategies are reaching customers in multiple branches of the bank or credit union. It identifies both the strength and weaknesses of the brand to help make improvements.

About On the Mark Strategies
On The Mark Strategies team specialize in speaking, branding and strategic planning. You can call them consultants, but their clients think of them more as trail guides. Their experience as former credit union employees, combined with the customized programs they create in-house, enable them to lead financial institutions through the great unknown.