Monday's Are for Moms

Many thanks to Shari Storm and Verity Credit Union for hooking us up with some rocking "Mom Rocks" tattoos.  On Friday, some of us at the PTP NEW MEDIA office got tatted up to show some credit union love for moms everywhere. 

Many props go out to Tim McAlpine and Currency Marketing for another awesome social media initiative to help Verity connect and build relationships with women at their credit union and in the community. 

What an awesome time to launch this program as women baby boomers are the fastest growing demographic on the social web. I have first hand knowledge of this when my mom told me the other day that she now has a Facebook page. Whoa....

Check out the quick video below to see what Verity Mom is all about. You can check out Tim's blog post too for all the good juicy details.

How are you connecting with a sub demographic at your credit union in a real, authentic and personal way.  Shout back and let us know your thoughts.

Video - Your Member's Experience - Will it Win, Wow, or Worry?

While attending the Texas Credit Union League Annual Meeting, in Austin, Jeff Rendel (on Twitter: @JeffRendel), President of Rising Above Enterprises spoke on member experience.  The Member Revolution is in full swing.  Jeff works with associations that want more loyal, dues-paying members and with professionals who want greater professional growth. He also works with financial services’ providers that want deeper market penetration and engaged, committed workforces. A fantastic product or service may bring your members in the door, but only one factor will bring them back – an outstanding experience. Every member touch point offers your credit union an opportunity to maximize the member experience and establish a bond that will never be broken. Strategically managing the member experience is a business tool that integrates the entire credit union in its desire to connect with your members. In dissecting, designing, measuring, and improving your member’s experience with your product or service, your credit union can transform its image and brand, making you more essential – more indispensable – to your member’s life. In a world where first-rate member service is the expected norm, it’s time to abandon being just competitive and concentrate on becoming a required, central part of life. Won’t your competitors wish they were you?

Watch the video below to learn more:

Video - Mulitcultural Banking Centers

This past spring we attended the Texas Credit Union League Annual Meeting in Austin, TX.  Jim Blake,  President and CEO of HarborOne Credit Union, spoke on how they dealt with the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts by renovating their former Main Office into a Multi-Cultural Banking Center.  The center provides educational programs in ESOL, First-time Buyer Program, Fundamentals of Personal Finance as well as Credit Counseling.  These classes are taught in multiple languages. The center has provided free office space to multiple non-profits in the state and has become a strategic center in the region in helping minorities and immigrants improve their financial standing and avoid predators in the marketplace. Over a thousand individuals have gone through training this past year and Jim will explain how after a year the center has become profitable and they are significantly enhancing their relationship with the minority and immigrant community. Mr. Blake’s mantra is, “If it can’t be profitable, it won’t be sustained.”

Watch the video below to learn more:

Back to the Basics: Words to Manage a Credit Union By

Guest post by John Tippets, retired CEO of American Airlines Federal Credit Union

This article originally ran in TCUL's Lonestar Perspectives Summer 2009 Issue.

I earned my first paycheck over 50 years ago and have enjoyed a great career, from sales to marketing; from the mail room to the board room; from an accounting clerk to vice president; finally as the president and CEO of American Airlines Credit Union.  It has been a wonderful career and in a variety of ways, it still continues.

Over the years, I have learned that while there are no magic formulas, there are critical principles that I believe all credit union leaders should keep at the forefront of their minds as they lead their institutions.  

Encourage Habits of Thrift

If there would be one singular purpose of a credit union, it would be to encourage habits of thrift.  I believe we must incent and reward our members to “pay themselves first” – that is to save, save for a raining day, for a down payment on a home or a car, and save for their children’s education.  The virtues of saving and of living within one’s means are the cornerstones of financial welfare for our member/owners.  Encouraging, teaching and rewarding such should be a credit union’s top priority.

Fair, Reasonably-priced Credit

Fair and reasonably-priced credit is accomplished in today’s world by the letter and spirit of laws and policies, and with the benefits of tools, technology, credit scores and bankruptcy predictor models.  However, nothing has replaced the core principles of lending – that is the four “Cs”: character, credit history, collateral and capacity.  Lending also still requires the good judgment of loan officers and their understanding of their members’ needs and circumstances, and their compassion.

It’s the Members’ Money

Be prudent in actions and expenditures.  Think soundness and payback, and return to the members in all decisions, whether it is in spending, investing, lending, setting dividend levels, and setting aside earnings for capital.  The saddest and greatest violations of this stewardship that I saw in my years as a credit union leader has been the exploitation of members’ capital by executives and boards who have steered their credit unions into for-profit banks to the benefit of themselves and at the expense of the credit union’s members/owners.

Philia

Philia is a Greek word for the kind of love, mutual respect, trust and caring that we usually associate with family.  We spend 40 plus hours every week with our credit union co-workers and much of our days are spent in dialogue with member/owners.  No amount of policy, product knowledge or economic incentive can match the importance of brotherly (and sisterly) love and kindness in our branches, on the phones and in our executive offices.

Your Brand is Your Lifeboat

Your brand is your lifeboat and you should never abandon your lifeboat. Understand what your brand is and how it fits into your market, and set strategies appropriate to it.  Avoid making the mistake that a well-known and respected company made when it decided to change dramatically the packaging of their product - apparently unaware of the backlash they would get from their loyal customers who had an emotional bond with the traditional packaging.        

Know Your Members

Although this can be a challenge, it is an important principle.  Face to face interactions; rewarding repeat and multi-product using members; being present in and near their workplace; being proactive in and with their communities so as to have interactions beyond financial transactions is an essential element of our model.

If It’s Too Good to be True

If it’s too good to be true, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it.  This pretty simple rule, if followed in recent years by some corporate executives, might have protected our system better than any new laws or regulations, and perhaps today’s economic mess might have been much less severe.

Beware of Peer Pressures and Herd Mentality

If it doesn’t seem right, don’t do something just because others appear to be successful.  For many years, MCI seemed to be the most creative of the phone companies and Enron seemed to be a leader in the energy business.  Of course we all soon learned that things aren’t always as they appear. 

Beware of ‘Greeks Bearing Gifts’

 There are often hidden downsides and negatives of the seemingly “greatest thing since sliced bread.”  Unfortunately, some folks are enamored with the idea of getting something for free.  Keep in mind that often these “gifts” carry a hefty price tag and come with strings attached. In every decision that you make, it’s imperative that you keep your members’ best interest at the forefront of your mind and focus on protecting their welfare.

Do the Right Thing

In most cases, deep in our gut we know what is right, and what we should do.  Whether it is in matters of personnel, finance, lending, spending or any other aspects of our job…trying to do the right thing pays the greatest of dividends.  We will still make mistakes sometimes, forget something important or inadvertently offend, but if we genuinely try and do the right thing, we will sleep well in the night.

 

 

 

 

Helping People Understand Twitter and Other Social Media

When reviewing the weekly update from one of my LinkedIn groups, I came across the following post from David Pittman (Sr. Director, Marketing Communications, Initiate Systems, Inc.). I found his approach insightful and have his permission to share…

My company recently jumped headlong into social media, becoming active on Twitter, Facebook, and, LinkedIn, with soon-to-roll plans for other social media outlets. As the marketing communications director, I'm responsible for getting all this action rolling. That means I also field a huge range of questions from co-workers.

The most frequent type of question I get is "How is [X] different from [Y]?", especially "How is Twitter different from Facebook?" To help my colleagues understand the different social networks, I borrowed from my product marketing friends and created personas for each network. Each persona is the name of a fellow well-known employee, so everyone can quickly picture the personality of each social network and the 'feel' we will try to give to each in our communications.

Below are the personas I wrote, with the names changed to protect the guilty.

• Our blog is like Tom C: authoritative but with a humorous edge. Invites other opinions.
• Twitter is like Bill F: clever, witty and fun; easily interacts with other people; not afraid to ask thought-provoking questions.
• The website is like Ginger K: organized, has everything you need. Isn’t as outgoing as other media, but is always ready to interact with you.
• Flickr is like Emily G: has all the images, pictures and graphics you could want. (One person added, “And is easy to use.”)
• YouTube is like Dr. Robert H: has depth and technical knowledge, but also has a funny personal side.
• LinkedIn is like Alexandra T: knows everybody; exudes a professional demeanor; isn’t afraid to reach out and make connections.
• Facebook is like Ted P: cheerful, congratulatory and social. Reaches out to other people, encourages interaction among different people, has lots of friends; is able to integrate personal and professional.

What do you think of the characterizations he applied to each social network? What changes would you make?

Make a Difference. It Will Only Cost You $1... That's It!

It takes a lot to think huge and do something different to make a difference.  Carol Schillios is living on a roof for as long as it takes to raise $1 million to support women and their families in developing countries.

She won’t come down from the roof until she raises $1 million.  You can help. You can make a difference.  It will only cost a $1.  But don’t think of it as a cost.  Think of it as investment into the greater good of mankind with the spirit of credit unions and “people helping people”.  

Carol simply asks that you donate $1 to the Fabric of Life Foundation, and accompany that donation with a small act of kindness.

Click here to read some of the amazing success stories from the work Carol and her foundation have already done.

You can help. Donate a dollar. Spread the word.

1.    Donate a dollar (or lots of dollars if you would like), and perform a small act of kindness in “your world”.

2.    Spread the word and tweet what you did with your one small act, along with this link to Carol’s site http://bit.ly/qQaec and the hashtag #imupontheroof.

For example: Hooked the office up with @starbucks today because I love my team and they do great things http://bit.ly/qQaec #imupontheroof

3.    Simple “free” idea: Change your Twitter location to “Up on the roof with Carol.”

By using the hashtag #imupontheroof, we can all follow along and “be on the roof” with Carol.  She is online “up there” and will be reading your tweets, thoughts, blog post and comments.

Help spread the word and encourage everyone you can to do the same by emailing, tweeting, blogging, texting, Facebooking, MySpacing, YouTubing and any other “ings” you can think of.  
Together, we can make a difference and bring Carol down from the roof.

Shout Out to Carol

• Carol is on Twitter as @schillios.
• She’s also on Facebook.
• Her blog is upontheroofwithcarol.org

You Can Give Galveston a Hand

In the true spirit of the credit union movement and our passion of helping people and community, we will focus our efforts on November 4th for approx. 4 hours to rebuild and restore sand dunes along the beaches of Galveston Island.

Sand dune restoration is vital to the future of Galveston Island in that the sand dunes provide and promote a healthy shoreline by storing beach sand that replenishes the offshore sediment supply, which eventually re-nourishes beaches. Perhaps the most important ecosystem service of dunes is their ability to diminish the intensity of storm surges by absorbing energy, thus protecting homes, businesses and estuaries that lie behind them. Finally, sand dunes provide an invaluable habitat for animals, which use it as a refuge from the harsh environment of the beach and feed on vegetation or other animals.

So, why “Give Galveston A Hand?”  Because it is good for Galveston and a great way to spend time together with your peers to make a difference!

Click here to learn more about Give Galveston a Hand, get involved and leave your mark in the sand.

Building the Business Case for Social Media - Come on in, the water's fine

My venture into social media began a little over a year ago as a result of a conversation with two young men before they were about to do a presentation at Southwest CUNA Management School (SCMS) for alumni and students. The students had arranged for the presentation about the basics of social media. At the time this was all new to me and I wasn't ready to embrace any of it. However, James Robert Lay and Brad Garland impressed me. They were young, professional, passionate, and communicated well. It wasn't even the presentation that got my attention. It was how they approached business. Since then they have both become treasured friends and mentors.

One of the lessons I was reminded of when visiting with James Robert and Brad was to invest time in getting to know professionals outside of your own generation and beyond existing customer/member and vendor relationships. As relationships grow and new ones are formed, when we are looking for them, there are numerous opportunities to learn from each other. Collaborations can be a driving force to help position forward.

James Robert coached me through basics of blogging, eventually opening the door for me to blog on this site. As with most social media tools, the advice was to observe first. See how the media is used. Find blogs that interest you. Participate by commenting. Submit guest blogs. Learn how to stand up. Walk. Run. You decide each step of the way how quickly you want to progress.

I was introduced to RSS feeds. Cool. They saved me time by organizing blogs with information that was of interest to me directly into files in my Outlook. Now, when I have time, I can quickly review information, looking for new ideas and innovative approaches. To position forward we need to be finding new ways to do business.

LinkedIn is still my favorite, though this one seems to be more difficult to get folks to "buy into". To me it's more professional. One of the challenges is for folks who ventured into LinkedIn when it was primarily a HR recruiting/job hunting communication tool. They tend to think, been there, done that, tool has no value. It has evolved beyond it's HR/Job function, though it still has elements related to that. I like the ease of sharing news and starting/following discussions. I much prefer following a discussion here as opposed to weeding through email or twitter strings.

Facebook. Twitter. Waiste of time? Why bother? To maintain and grow market share, as well as position forward, we need to reach people beyond our traditional market(s) and contacts.

Before SCMS began this summer, I had just started to explore Twitter as a communication tool. During some idea generating sessions we used Twitter for live comments. As the process evolved, we realized that Twitter had power to bring expertise immediately into the conversation or to share "back home". No travel. No expense. Real time.  We had strategic "experts" join our classroom conversation from New York, Washington D.C., and California. The experts gained new ideas. Credit union employees were able to be part of the conversation, gaining insights, without leaving the office. All players won.

Recently Brad posted a twitter offering to help on projects. I took him up on his offer with a simple request for him, but something that would have taken me time to figure out. I wanted to sync twitter with facebook and had not spent the time to figure out how to do it. He made it happen with a few key strokes and I was off and running.

This morning I posted on Twitter that I was looking for ways to help folks see the business case for social media. Darrell Bahr picked up my message on facebook, sending me the following reply:

"Need case studies/examples. CU people are largely numbers people, so they need something tangible and proven/tested before they will try something so "radical". A few places to look:

Link 1

 

Link 2

 

Yes, I could keep going on. This just scratches the surface. But another lesson learned, you have to manage time. My other duties are screaming at me. 

 

Care to share ways to show the business value of various social media tools? I'm all eyes and ears - shout back.