CU*ONLINE is the Web Design & Maintenance division of Alonzi
Technical Consulting.
All Rights Reserved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Banner ads are here to stay
A banner ad is a promotional graphic that appears at the top of a web page, announcing some special credit union event. Why use
banner ads? For one thing, they're effective marketing tools. They also liven up a page and, if rotated through on a regular
basis, they're ample evidence that your site is a vibrant, active resource for members.
Where are the best places to position banner ads on your web site? The two key factors are visibility and relevancy. The two
most visited pages on any credit union site are (1) the home page and (2) the sign-on page for your home banking product. You
should also consider placing banner ads on other less visited pages if they're relevant. For example, if you have a special Car
Sale this month, you may want to promote it on your Car Services page.
We have a few sample banner advertisements
online. Some of these were real banner ads, others are simply samples that Karen threw
together. (She used actual CU names in her demos, so don't be startled if your name shows up!)
The purpose of these examples is to show how easily we can create an attractive and effective banner ad. If you're
interested in getting a banner ad on your web site, contact Karen at cumaster@cuonline.com. Note that placement
options will vary depending on your web vendors.
<< Back to Top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** What's missing on your site?
Do you ever wonder if the credit union down the street is doing something to excite members that you could be doing too, if only
you knew about it?
You COULD surf the web and check out other CU web sites for an hour a day, or you could scan the brief list below! Here are a
list of ideas and features that you might consider posting on your site if they're not already there.
- ATM Locator
Help your members find surcharge-free ATMs. CUNA has an ATM locator on their site that you can link to, as well as
MNCUN. (Your card vendor probably does, too)
- Disclosure Statements/Privacy Notices
MN law may have forced you to mail these in your statements this summer. Post them on your web site along side your web privacy
policy!
- Disclaimers/Service Fees
If you have online applications, you should also post your fine print. Whether you post your disclaimer documents online or
simply link to a page of service fees, members should know what rates they will be charged and what fees may be accrued before
their application is fully processed.
- Target Marketing Pages
If you provide special services to a target audience (e.g., young members, retirees, or the self-employed), create a special
page for them! Typical CU web sites break down services by type. While this is useful when a member is researching loan options,
it may not help a prospective member wondering how you intend to serve his particular needs.
So recap those special interest options on a target
page! Tell a teenager how to save in the summer, and throw in a few links to other web sites of interest to this target member. This
is a great page for which to create banner ads, too!
<< Back to Top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Optimize your Intranet
Do you have a place on your file server where employees can access certain files, such as time-off request forms and phone
lists? If so, then by definition you have a company intranet.
An intranet is any information available to more than one person via the company network. This data doesn't have to be available
through web browsers like Internet Explorer, but there are advantages in some situations.
Web browsing software is free to download and install on your teller PCs. If you don't buy MS Office for all your computers,
everyone can still look up information using web browsers. And you can set up a single web address for employees to remember
remember, rather than a combination of network paths and filenames.
Most intranets contain a table of contents in HTML format. The links in the table usually call other files in a variety of
other formats. If an employee clicks on a link to an MS Word file, their web browser will load MS Word as long as the
software is installed on their PC. Files from anyplace in the office can be linked in this manner, but only employees with
network rights to these files will be able to open the links.
Employees can fill out online applications for time-off requests and reimbursement forms. Most database programs can generate
reports in web format, so information such as employee lists will
never be out-dated.
Knowledge that's always current, always accessible, and always secure. Those are some of the advantages a web-enabled intranet
can offer your credit union. For more information about web intranets, contact Karen at
cumaster@cuonline.com.
<< Back to Top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** New domain name hype
Are you considering whether to register your domain name under .biz, .tv, .net, etc.? What is hype and what is legitimate in
the world of domain names? Ralph Wilson, an industry expert in the world of e-commerce, weighed in on the issue in a recent Dr.
eBIZ article.
“ICANN, the international domain organization, has approved for this coming fall the release of the .biz and .info domains.
Ideally, the new domains will allow businesses to acquire a more appropriate domain name. The original .com names (and, to a
lesser extent, the .net and .org names) are pretty well picked
over, though you can still find good ones if you're creative.
However, many businesses have a lot invested in their trademarked brands. They may never use one of these new domains,
but they can't allow some other company to use their trademarks without diluting their value. So for them, the availability of
new domains means vigilance, purchasing more names, and, if necessary, legal challenges.
Don't make the mistake of purchasing a trademarked name in your industry for speculation or use! First check the US Patent and
Trademark Office database (www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm) or
a database of your country's trademarks.
Hype is generated by domain name registrars who stand to reap big profits if they can generate a domain name gold rush mentality. Is
.com enough? Yes, if you have a clear, memorable domain name. If you don't, here's your chance to get a better name.
Some domains like .cc, .tv, and .ws are really country domains. While I expect .biz and .info to gain popular acceptance, I don't
think that will happen for the country domains that are used as
general domain names.
Don't fall for the hype. Unless a domain name helps your business gain acceptance and trust, keep looking."
<< Back to Top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Site Search] [Who We Are]
[Our
Services] [Referrals]
[Privacy] [Home]
Copyright © 2001, CU*ONLINE. All rights reserved.
To contact Karen Alonzi at CU*ONLINE, call or write to Alonzi Technical
Consulting's new address at:
10417 Sumter Avenue S.
Bloomington, MN 55438
Phone: (952) 829-0819
Fax: (952) 829-5429
