Rock-Bottom to Elite: How a Cooperative Escalates Services with Marketing
Cooperatives are commonly known for their remarkable services for the local community. Such services involve agriculture, insurance, financial services, grocery, education, healthcare, housing, and utilities.
These cooperatives help thousands of people to meet their needs. There shouldn’t be any doubts that cooperatives are like your shoulder to cry on especially when unexpected things happen.
An example of this is the Angat Development and Credit Cooperative, a type of cooperative that
utilizes lending services since 1988.
ADCC is a credit cooperative in the Philippines that caters to the needs of every Angateño. But because of the pandemic, problems were met.
The situation didn’t stop ADCC from providing its services. They utilized partnership with Estatoora, a business consulting firm, and began their operation to rise above the pandemic and continue with their endeavors.
Looking Back
Long before ADCC reached its 4,000 regular members, hundreds of hardships brought them to where they are today.
They started with a 5,000 Philippine Peso as working capital. Before they were known as ADCC, they were first called Agricultural Cooperative and Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
They started accepting other members aside from farmers. They believed that with more members, they could offer more services.
From there, they met another problem that became their stepping stone to something greater later on.
“You won’t be able to imagine that by the time we started as a cooperative, an amount of 250 Philippine Pesos, which a farmer borrowed, is left unpaid for almost a year,” shared Ms. Gerlita Montano, the Chief Executive Officer of ADCC.
Credit cooperatives are important, especially to small borrowers. The presence of ADCC mainly in Angat, Bulacan has built a reputable image.
Still, problems were present.
Before having their own building where they can fully operate, they had a small stall in Angat Market. From this set-up, Ms. Montano took the risk to find a place where they can build their own cooperative.
ADCC Today
ADCC continues to grow in number. From having their very first website by Estatoora, to providing exclusive and advanced customer care services.
Marketing today has a bigger impact on any kind of service that is being utilized by consumers in the industry. In fact, the three roles of marketing would help you grasp marketing itself.
- Get attention
- Help them figure out if it’s a fit
- Lower the risk of taking the next step
Marketing will help you sell your products or services to your customers. You get the chance to build brand awareness and bring your brand into the spotlight.
But marketing itself is not only about social media where you post your brand and find clients. Good marketing is not a one-time fix.
You can build a long relationship with your clients and it’s a continuous process. In marketing, you can improve your services and flourish them along the way.
For ADCC, “Our services became better-known.”
Estatoora envisions ADCC to have a stronger social media presence in the future since the pandemic slowed down the transactions of its members.
More benefits and projects are also on the line for its members, applying the real description of the cooperative.
Cooperative Marketing in the Future
There shouldn’t be any more doubt that marketing in cooperatives should be utilized.
ADCC aims to help its members. But before you attain to help your members, you need people to sign up and be a member of your cooperative first.
This is where effective targeted marketing takes place.
You sell your services to people who are interested. An increased number of members in a cooperative is a good sign that the cooperative is trustworthy and reputable.
“Estatoora introduced marketing to our cooperative. We took a partnership with them so the cooperative will be recognized by people. By that means, ADCC was known globally and it actually helped us,” commended Ms. Montano.
If there’s anything that ADCC can share with people, especially those who are in a cooperative, that would be, “Cooperatives should be service-oriented. Let us not forget the real meaning of cooperative. Our members should be prioritized. You can’t enjoy success if your members are not succeeding.”
Conclusion
Yielding success requires effort. From being a total zero, you can start filling your jar with smart choices.
Cooperatives have roles that benefit their members. From providing goods and services to protecting the rights of people being a producer and consumer.
To achieve poverty reduction, reach more people through marketing. You can never go wrong with marketing especially when you aim for the common good.
There are firms that can assist you right away and can provide you the best marketing strategies. They can also give you relevant solutions that are beneficial for your cooperative and members.
Inspired by ADCC’s story? You can do it too! Jumpstart your marketing journey here!
If you want to know more about business and marketing, we have plenty of resources for you:
