Whether you’re a CUSO, credit union, community bank or some other form of financial marketing professional, you’re likely asking yourself how you will improve your communications efforts in 2010.

Top on our team’s list for the new year is integration. Sounds like an overused buzz word, right? I know.

But if you can look past that, what you’re left considering is a sure-fire way to align each of your marketing tactics to support your ultimate communications goal.

By focusing on an integrated marketing effort, you avoid the temptation of one-off projects – the kind that distract you from a unified, objectives-based program.

Integration considers both internal and external audiences, current and prospective customers, consumers and industry analysts – leaving no one behind and ensuring each of these stakeholder groups is receiving the same message about your organization at as close to the same time as possible.

While seamless integration takes tremendous resources, we don’t have to aim for perfection, just a step in the right direction. For TMG, that will mean further engaging our clients, delving deeper into our objectives to more accurately assign relevant tactics and making a commitment to sound planning to better coordinate our communications.

It’s going to be a great year!