A personal offer with impeccable value can help your members—and improve the bottom line. See how Coulee Dam FCU earned $33,105.87 of interest income with a $5,467 investment!
As a credit union, you know your members. And when it comes to buying a car, you know how easy it is for members to close the deal with dealer financing. Unfortunately, when members go down this road, they can end up paying exorbitant interest rates.
Nine times out of ten, you can save your members money with a better rate!
By offering your members a better financing rate via a prescreened offer—one that presents a clear rate comparison, you encourage them to save. You also give members a way out of a high-rate auto loan.
Consider the process:
Your member may qualify for a $20,000 car loan @ 2.99% with a payment of $425 for 60 months. Conversely, a dealer might charge 4.99% for that same loan but stretch the term to 72 months. This still targets the member’s desired $425 payment, but that extra year of interest adds a considerable amount to the total paid. It’s not surprising, since salespeople are incented to sell the financing, not necessarily look for the best rate for your member.
Our prescreened direct mailings save your members money and improve your bottom line!
Many members have become unwittingly locked into an expensive interest rate on their auto loans. And with your mission of people-helping-people, what better way to assist than providing your members with a lower, more affordable rate?
Americans are struggling, and as a nation, we’re in difficult times. By reducing your members’ rate and interest payments, they gain budget relief, and you improve your loan-to-share ratio. It’s a win-win! Our prescreened direct mailings can help you get the word out—with an eye-catching design and easy-to-understand offer.
Consider, too, the power of Direct Mail.
According to Compu-Mail.com, direct mail’s household response rate is currently 5.1%. This is the highest response rate the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) has reported since coming out with the response rate report in 2003. Also, by better targeting customers 1:1, you can increase your response rate by up to 50%. Finally, by adding a person’s name, full color, and sophisticated database information response rates increase by up to 500% vs. not doing any of these things. (Read the full report here.)
It’s clear that prescreened, targeted direct mailings can boost your bottom line, while providing a meaningful offer to your members.
Case-in-point: Coulee Dam FCU
In October 2020, $162 million asset Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union, Coulee Dam, Wash., launched a successful, prescreened auto loan direct mail campaign. It combined the power of prescreened data and a personalized, four-color direct mail letter, yielding exceptional results. Based on its selection criteria, the credit union could offer a lower rate to 1,435 members. Of these, 34 members responded to the offer (2.37%), 32 were approved, netting more than $33,105 in projected loan interest. With an investment of $5,467, it took just five loans to recoup the promotion’s cost!
There’s no reason for your members to pay more than they should.
“Dealer rates are often inflated to generate higher commissions for their salespeople, and most vulnerable are the members who base a financing decision by payment only,” explains Vanessa Marcolin, VP/Marketing & Education for Coulee Dam FCU. “And frequently, we find they’re not aware of the rate they’ve locked into. They may walk in to buy a car, and their main concern is finding a car and getting approved with a monthly payment they can afford. Our goal is to get them out from under this expensive option while paying needless additional interest.”
Marcolin was incredibly pleased with the results of her credit union’s recent campaign. “It was turnkey, and we had complete control over the selection criteria,” she adds. “It also enabled staff to see how the process works (at the dealer) and be involved in helping our members save money.”
Prescreened Auto Loan Marketing
Direct Mail, Personalized Letter
- Number of letters mailed: 1,435
- Print investment: $5,467
- ROI: 505.55%
- Total responses: 34
- Response rate: 2.37%
- Loans approved: 32
- Approval rate: 94.12%
- Total loan volume: $697,651.96
- Average loan amount: $19,783
- Average rate: 2.52%
- Average term: 4 years
- Total interest income (projected): $33,105.87
More components to success:
- Colorworks’ data partner, as well as Experian and TransUnion, provides free data counts for clients.
- A powerful calculator will estimate ROI for your mailing in advance.
- Clean and creative design will compare an individual’s current rate to your lower rate, side-by-side.
- Affordable pricing since we do the printing and mailing in-house. Our prescreening costs are also less.
Embrace the strategic value of prescreened mailings!
At Colorworks, we have the expertise to incorporate the right elements to make your prescreened offer a success.
Contact us at 800-243-0171 or click here to get started. Just as you know your members, we know you. Every credit union is different, and we’ll work with you to implement the custom strategies right for your goals.