By Holly Conte
Founded in1947 by eight employees of an auto parts maker, Diamond Credit Union now serves more than 60,000 members in Berks, Montgomery and Chester counties in Pennsylvania through five branches and a full-service call center.
The $600-million credit union has long prided itself on providing “low-cost financial services with world-class service,” and it has the robust credit card program growth and top-of-wallet card usage to prove it. Diamond’s program has continued to grow and expand with the help of its longstanding partnership with the marketing and analytics experts on PSCU’s Advisors Plus team.
The Challenge
Advisors Plus was founded in 2004 with a mission to help credit unions meet their financial and business challenges through consulting and marketing campaigns. Advisors Plus works with PSCU Owners like Diamond via consulting engagements that include profit and loss analysis of credit and debit card portfolios, checking and credit card program reviews, contact center operations and branch sales training. Since 2010, Diamond and Advisors Plus have shared a commitment to provide outstanding member service through Diamond’s best-in-class credit card program.
Diamond offers an exceptionally robust suite of Mastercard products to its members. The credit union embodies a concept it calls “younity,” which refers to building personal relationships with members and the community by helping them improve their financial quality of life. Diamond feels that every member who qualifies for a Diamond Platinum Mastercard should have the opportunity to have one. Additionally, the credit union wants to provide its cardholders with every possible program benefit.
Given its strong pipeline of services and achievements, how does a credit union like Diamond continue to build member loyalty year over year and increase growth? PSCU’s Advisors Plus was tasked with assisting the credit union to do just that.
The Solution
Each year, Advisors Plus works with Diamond to craft an annual calendar of marketing campaigns designed to maximize Diamond’s card attractiveness and value to members in order to help deliver on the credit union’s tradition of providing customized service that results in account growth.
In 2016, Diamond adopted PSCU’s Adaptive Control System (ACS), which gave the credit union the ability to manage its cardholders’ credit lines using criteria such as FICO® score and ability to pay. Then, in 2017, Diamond ran several custom campaigns, including a post-holiday balance transfer, a spring usage campaign with spending rewards aimed at home improvement and travel, and a fall holiday usage and balance transfer campaign. Additionally, the credit union participated in Advisors Plus’s structured spring and fall account activation campaigns.
The Results
In August 2016, prior to the adoption of ACS, Diamond’s average line of credit was $9,245. By year-end 2017, this figure had increased to $10,565.
The effect of the line increases and the Advisors Plus marketing initiatives has been equally noteworthy across the board:
- Diamond’s 2017 outstandings grew $3.6 million, or 8.8 percent, over its 2016 level of $1.5 million, or 3.9%.
- Purchases grew by $5.06 million, or 11%, versus 2016’s $2.6 million and 6.1% growth.
- Open accounts increased by 6.5% in 2017, compared with 2016’s year-over-year increase of 4.6%.
In fact, in 2017 alone, Diamond grew its new card accountsby 15% while also posting double-digit gains in balances and monthly purchase levels.
Outcomes like this leave Diamond eager for even more data-driven ideas for future growth and member loyalty through usage campaigns and its partnership with Advisors Plus.
Holly Conte is a Consulting Analyst for the Advisors Plus Marketing Services Group. She advises credit unions on strategic initiatives utilizing data analytics to drive business decisions. Holly joined Advisors Plus and PSCU in 2002, coming from 10 years in market research for the financial services industry. Holly holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Florida.