An article in the July 2007 issue of Credit Union Management Magazine entitled “The Name Game” examines credit union name changes over the past few years. Reporter Bryan Ochalla poses the question: “Have members had it with credit union name changes?”
A quick glance at a few of Weber Marketing’s recent successful name changes suggests that it isn’t the case. Achieva Credit Union (formerly Pinellas County Teachers Credit Union), iQ Credit Union (formerly Clark County School Employees Credit Union), TruGrocer Credit Union (formerly Albertsons Employees Credit Union), and OnPoint Community Credit Union (formerly Portland Teachers Credit Union) are all Weber Marketing clients who smoothly transitioned to new names without controversy.
Ochalla’s article also asks readers the question: “How do companies like Weber Marketing come up with names like Optiva and Veristate and why do credit unions decide to go with them?”
“We try to pick names that don’t get anyone in legal trouble,” says Pilcher. “That can be quite a trick when most of the common words are taken. It’s like trying to find a good URL, especially when you’re in a sort of ubiquitous industry like financial services.”
The final decision on a name is always made by the client. Weber Marketing usually develops about 300 names for each client and shows them roughly 75 of those names throughout the course of the project. “We give the credit union choices,” says Pilcher, “and they can go the direction they want – safe and conservative or something a bit more creative and distinguished.”
Another feature article, “Winning Vendor Relationships a Two-Way Street,” in the July 2007 issue of Credit Union Business magazine discusses the multiple tools Weber Marketing uses to manage relationships with their credit union clients.
“Our clients can’t afford to fly out every time we need to talk,” says Pilcher, “So we’ve become exceptionally good at managing long-distance relationships.”
Usually, Weber Marketing will initiate relationships with new clients with in-person meetings to give everyone a chance to put faces to names. But because of the nature of the work, urgent face to face communication is rarely needed and the majority of the communication is handled via phone and e-mail.
“We’ve found that our relationships and communication styles work out really well for everyone,” Pilcher says. “There are a few times when an in-person meeting would be a little easier or more convenient, but in today’s digital age, it’s not really a significant problem.”
Twitter: Randy Schultz
WMG in print: On naming and partnering
An article in the July 2007 issue of Credit Union Management Magazine entitled “The Name Game” examines credit union name changes over the past few years. Reporter Bryan Ochalla poses the question: “Have members had it with credit union name changes?”
A quick glance at a few of Weber Marketing’s recent successful name changes suggests that it isn’t the case. Achieva Credit Union (formerly Pinellas County Teachers Credit Union), iQ Credit Union (formerly Clark County School Employees Credit Union), TruGrocer Credit Union (formerly Albertsons Employees Credit Union), and OnPoint Community Credit Union (formerly Portland Teachers Credit Union) are all Weber Marketing clients who smoothly transitioned to new names without controversy.
Ochalla’s article also asks readers the question: “How do companies like Weber Marketing come up with names like Optiva and Veristate and why do credit unions decide to go with them?”
“We try to pick names that don’t get anyone in legal trouble,” says Pilcher. “That can be quite a trick when most of the common words are taken. It’s like trying to find a good URL, especially when you’re in a sort of ubiquitous industry like financial services.”
The final decision on a name is always made by the client. Weber Marketing usually develops about 300 names for each client and shows them roughly 75 of those names throughout the course of the project. “We give the credit union choices,” says Pilcher, “and they can go the direction they want – safe and conservative or something a bit more creative and distinguished.”
Another feature article, “Winning Vendor Relationships a Two-Way Street,” in the July 2007 issue of Credit Union Business magazine discusses the multiple tools Weber Marketing uses to manage relationships with their credit union clients.
“Our clients can’t afford to fly out every time we need to talk,” says Pilcher, “So we’ve become exceptionally good at managing long-distance relationships.”
Usually, Weber Marketing will initiate relationships with new clients with in-person meetings to give everyone a chance to put faces to names. But because of the nature of the work, urgent face to face communication is rarely needed and the majority of the communication is handled via phone and e-mail.
“We’ve found that our relationships and communication styles work out really well for everyone,” Pilcher says. “There are a few times when an in-person meeting would be a little easier or more convenient, but in today’s digital age, it’s not really a significant problem.”
For more information, contact Randy Schultz or Jeffry Pilcher at (206) 340-6111.