Retail Merchandising

(ree-teyl mur-chuhn-dahy-zing) noun

Image of a retail schematic for Andrews FCU

There seems to be some general confusion about what exactly retail merchandising/visual merchandising is. Ask most people, and their response is something along the lines of 'interior design for a business.' They aren't wrong--but that is just the surface.

I found a blog on ddionline.com that described it very eloquently, so I thought I'd share it here.

"To me, successful visual merchandising is a pragmatic balance of art and science and should be, in many instances, weighted more heavily on the science side. I commonly use the analogy of a cupcake to describe this balance. The bottom portion of the cupcake represents the science, or the primary foundation of visual merchandising: space planning, product placement, adjacencies and organization. It is the general merchandising framework of standards, 
systematic practices and planning that creates this foundation. The top portion of the cupcake—the frosting—represents the art form, the display and appeal that helps to attract and differentiate. You need the solid foundation of the cake (the science) to support the frosting (the art). Since it is front and center, most people see the frosting only—which is good, but to successfully leverage the true function of visual merchandising, you must apply the framework of the science behind it. Visual merchandising creates the in-store experience. It is a 3-D expression of the brand. It creates organizational efficiencies and ultimately motivates purchase decisions that result in sales. Bottom line, effective visual merchandising is intended to create a positive customer experience that drives sales."

Read the full article here.

Websites by Kearley!

We've been busy here at Kearley. And just to prove it, here are a two brand-spanking-new website redesigns that we launched in the last couple weeks. Check them out!

Enrichment FCU

Freedom FCU

3 case studies on pURLs

Recently, we have had success using pURLs as a component of loan promotions, and more for some of our clients. So I thought I would use this opportunity to share with you what a pURL is, and how it works. As always, if you have any questions email us at bigideas@kearley.com.

Personalized URLs are links to landing pages that are designed and personalized for a specific person. You can use them as part of a direct mail, or email campaign to interact with your target audience and drive them to your website to learn about specific products and/or services. Direct mail including pURLs can increase ROI as well as give customers more opportunity to interact and respond.

Ethan Boldt of DirectMarketingIQ says that direct mail remains the only medium that physically gets into people’s hands, so including pURLs in them has added value. He points out that among higher response rates, pURLs also offer an easy way to track the success of a campaign. (Read the article here.)

In one case study, California-based Mahoney Co. brought in $13 million dollars in sales following a pURL campaign. In response, the company decided to utilize their pURLs for more than just direct landing pages. John Mahoney, president of Mahoney Co., says he wants to build an ongoing connection with their audience using pURLs. (Read the article here.)

Utah-based Zions Bank saw great results from using pURLs as part of an onboarding campaign. The campaign generated a response rate of 5%, and in response, more customers offered up their email address to receive direct communications from the bank. (Read the article here.)

Have you used or seen a pURL campaign? What did you think? Did you have success with it?

Web Dos & Don'ts

Consider the websites you frequent most and how you use them. Do you ever get frustrated? Have problems finding what you're looking for? If yes, than you are already familiar with what is probably the most important principle of web design: Usability.

What makes a site usable? What doesn't? This isn't an end-all be-all list of web design snafus and successes, but here are five dos and don'ts that should give some basic guidelines to good web design.

DON'T hide the log-in from your site visitors so they have to scroll and search for it.

DO make the log-in more visible by increasing the font size or setting it apart visually in another way.

DON'T use pop-ups to present content, your users will be too lazy to disable their pop-up blocker.

DO respect your visitors and the time they spend on your page by not interrupting it.

DON'T use a font size that is too small or a color that is too bright to be legible.

DO choose a simple, no-frills font (like arial) and be consistent with it throughout your site.

DON'T have more than one flash animation per page.

DO make sure the focus of each page is on the content.

DON'T overwrite or use obvious marketing language in web content - it will be skipped over.

DO use concise language and bullet lists.

Want to know more? Check out this article that outlines 10 Principles of Effective Web Design.

Getting people to like you... on Facebook

Image via CrunchBase

Someone sent me this after seeing it on socialmediatoday, so I thought I would share. As it turns out, though I'm sure some of us have had the inkling all along, earning Facebook likes for your business isn't exactly rocket science.

5 Tips to Getting More Likes on Your Facebook Page

What I learned?

• Be fun, people like fun
• Content, content, content
• Ask questions
• Self promote
• Put your Facebook URL on everything

If you have anything to add, let me know in the comments below!

2012 Credit Union Blog Round Up

Welcome to the new year! New years is probably one of my favorite holidays because of what it symbolizes: a fresh start, a clean slate, a do-over. A time to reflect on last year's successes and mishaps and make changes for the future. Make new years resolutions to do more, learn more, and grow.

In that spirit, I want to kick off this year by giving our readers my top 5 credit union blogs to watch in 2012. Personally I plan on keeping a better eye on these blogs myself. I chose them because they are updated frequently, and have a wealth of useful and informative content.


1. The Financial Brand
If you aren't already following the Financial Brand, you're in for a treat. Though content isn't only centered on Credit Unions (yes, it also pertains to those 'big banks' we in the CU biz love to hate), it follows news, trends, social media marketing and case studies, and MUCH more. Not to mention, the "Webinars" tab at the top of the page can introduce you to all kinds of valuable information.

2. The Credit Union Exchange at cutimes.com
Here you can find a wealth of information and the opinions of industry experts.

3. Mark Arnold
This guy is full of industry knowledge and expertise on everything from customer service to branding to organization.

4. That Credit Union Blog
Some of the focus here is on east coast credit union news, but overall the info is good and they have several contributors with something to offer, from info on general management faux pas to specifics on the industry. Check out '23 Credit Union Truths', or listen to any one of the episodes of 'Current Issues in Credit Unions.'

5. Laskos on Credit Unions
Since our focus at Kearley is marketing and advertising--a blog that focuses on these attributes specifically is just my cup of tea. Though not updated as frequently as the aforementioned blogs, Laskos provides a good, critical eye on the best and worst of credit union PR.

Hope you enjoy! Please leave links to any of your favorite credit union related blogs in the comments below.

Happy Holidays from Kearley!

Image via Wikipedia






















This time of year is busy for everyone, but it is important not to forget that the holidays are also a time to give back. Between decorating the tree, wrapping gifts, and spending time with family, the Christmas season is also about remembering the less fortunate.

At Kearley, we do our best to use our talents to give what we can back to the community through non-profit work. One of the organizations we have supported this year is Dallas Challenge. Dallas Challenge provides resources and support for at-risk youth in the Dallas Area to "stay in school, off of drugs, and out of the criminal justice system." They provide after school programs, counseling and more to keep kids out of trouble and give them the foundation for a happy, successful life.

In the spirit of the season, I'd like to invite you to help us support this wonderful cause. Dallas Challenge is selling Christmas Cards featuring original artwork to help raise money for their life-changing programs. Click here to find out how to place your order today!