Team

David Jones - CMO
Amanda Ager - Program Manager
Henry Leenstra - Marketing Representative

Deliverables

Design headers, icons, and graphics for the credit unions cross-sell email schedule. Helped the team with segmentation and user journeys for each new email template.

Project History

WECU had turned off their cross-sell schedule and in wanted to revamp it when they decided to turn it back on. This involved creating new email segments, audiences, and creative that would help drive leads and increase member product adoption.

Project Goals

1. create new segments of our audiences
2. increase growth of new product and services adoption
3. redo our creative for the cross-sell schedule

Results: May 2021 (One Month from Launch)

New Products & Services Adoption: 1,432  

Cross Selling Emails: 60,877

New Products & Services: 266 (Year over Year a 438% growth of new product and services adoption. )

Email Cross-sell Redesign End of Year Results 2021:

Email impressions: 3,722,916 million

Leads generated: 103,883

Lead rate: 2.8%

Design Process

To undertake this substantial project, our team executed a series of crucial steps. Initially, we conducted a comprehensive inventory of all assets and content. Following this, we engaged in structured discussions regarding the schedule, carefully considering how to segment our diverse audiences effectively. Finally, with all assets consolidated in Core IQ, our designated email building platform, we meticulously constructed our revisions.

Given the opportunity for a fresh start, I recognized the potential to enhance WECU's email templates. To delve deeper into the realm of email design and acquire valuable insights, I enrolled in a short course on Skillshare. This proactive initiative aimed to bolster our team's knowledge and skills, ultimately elevating the quality of WECU's email communications.

1. What made emails more successful and have better open rates?
2. What is good/effective email design and how does it function?
3. Segmenting audience, dos and don’ts.

Starter Emails (Age 18-28)

‍Manage their own spending for the first time, some trial and error, learning about saving/creating a safety net, creating habits and budgets, making practical purchases, and some of their first big purchases. Want a strong mobile experience. May have student loan debt.

Mover Emails (Age 29-38)

‍Building a foundation, making progress, making some first bigger decisions/purchases. Marriage, kids, other large life events. Might be opening a joint account. Transition from working toward individual needs to more familial needs. More sophisticated, responsible outlook towards purchases. More complex goals for spending and saving.

Maker Emails (Age 39-53)

‍Making gains/returns, diversifying, making big purchases. More financially stable. Potential for big gain and big upsets. Can afford to make bigger life decisions (career, travel, etc.). Taking care of family/kids future. Business owners. Less dependent on borrowing for smaller purchases. Involved in the community. Established roots and relationships. Taxes/insurance/wealth management.

Giver Emails (Age 54+)

Sustaining, giving back, aligning with values. More conservative, not willing to take risks, sensitive to market. Potential transfer of wealth. Retirement coming.

‍Discoveries

1. Understand Your Audience.
2. Place Products/Services Prominently.
3. Ensure Responsive Design Always.
4. Emphasize Content Hierarchy.
5. Keep Calls-to-Action Concise and Compelling.

‍Visuals

In my exploration of various email designs, I was drawn to those featuring larger headers, a strong focus on offers and lead generation, and a touch of humor, cleverness, or eye-catching tactics like animation. The idea of incorporating gifs particularly appealed to me, and I aimed for a diverse mix of stock photography and original illustrations in our email campaigns. Creating gifs for this project was a novel experience for WECU, adding an element of freshness to our communication. Personally, I find it essential to infuse illustrations with a local touch, connecting to the unique feelings of our community. An example of this approach is the "Welcome to WECU" header, where I crafted an illustration of Mt Baker, contributing to a sense of local identity.

Reflection

Engaging in a Skillshare course for this project was a highlight, providing me with the opportunity to delve into email templates and explore strategies to boost click-through and open rates. I found it intriguing that there's limited research on email design, prompting me to extensively sift through various sources on the internet. Moving forward, I'm eager to deepen my knowledge in this domain, refine the email schedule for optimal performance, and introduce a broader array of creative elements to ensure ongoing freshness and resonance with our members.