What is Cost per Funded Account
Cost per funded account is the total marketing cost for a campaign or channel divided by the number of new accounts opened and funded in the measurement period. A funded account has money in it, either a deposit account with an opening deposit or a loan that has been disbursed. The metric closes the gap between cost per lead or cost per application, which ad platforms report easily, and the results a credit union board cares about. It requires campaign source to be tracked through account opening or loan origination to the core, and it is most useful when reported by channel and product next to the value of the relationship gained.
How to Calculate It
The formula is simple: marketing cost divided by funded accounts. The decisions behind it are where credit unions differ, so make them once and keep them consistent.
- Cost. Include media and the production and platform costs tied to the campaign, and state whether agency fees and staff time are included.
- Funded. Define the threshold, such as a minimum opening deposit or a disbursed loan, and the time allowed after opening.
- Accounts or members. Decide whether to count each funded account or each new member, since one member may open several products.
- Source. Count only accounts whose source can be traced to the campaign, and report untracked accounts separately rather than spreading them across channels.
Why It Matters More Than Cost per Lead
A channel with a low cost per lead can have a high cost per funded account if its applicants abandon account opening or are declined. Ranking channels by cost per funded account often reorders them.
The metric also connects marketing to the questions a board and ALCO ask: what did growth cost, and was it worth it? Paired with member lifetime value by acquisition source, it shows whether a channel brings in relationships that pay back.
Making It Reportable
- Track source from the click into the account-opening platform and the LOS.
- Match opened accounts to funding status from the core on a fixed schedule.
- Report cost per funded account by channel and product monthly, next to the prior period and the plan.
- Add the value of the relationship, such as balances after ninety days or products per member, so inexpensive accounts that never grow are visible.
- Use the same definition in ad platforms through offline conversion import.