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When I was introduced to SCMS, my first thoughts were:
I have a degree – no more school for me – “CompSci til the day I die”.
I have friends – I do not need more.
I am not good at networking – what would I say?
How will this help me and my credit union?
My first summer day of SCMS:
I met great people – yes, the first day.
I now had lots of instant friends who were in the same world as me – credit union.
We had fun while we were acclimated to more credit union business.
What I learned:
Time definitely does fly.
You are never too old to learn.
You know more than you think you know.
Your questions can help others.
Sharing is still a wonderful feeling.
You are never too old to meet new friends.
How SCMS helped me:
I was new to the credit union industry and SCMS was the orientation I needed.
I learned more than I thought was possible.
We are a small credit union but I have made contacts and never feel isolated or alone.
I know where to go for help when we need it.
And I never have to re-invent the wheel. Resources are there waiting for me.
What happened to me after SCMS:
Those instant friends are now my BFFs.
I started out as Technical Operations Administrator and am now Manager of the credit union and now confident in this new role.
When our staff turned over 75%, leaving me as the sole leader, I had no need to panic because I knew at least 10 people who had gone through this before and they became my mentors. I had and still have a great support system of people who supported me through SCMS and continue to support me in anything I need. Without my SCMS support, I would have had a major meltdown, but I did not because I knew where to go.
Guest Post - Iris R. Netters, Class of 2008 One of the "Great 08" Class Members Manager, New Mount Zion Baptist Church CU
Do you have talented staff under the age of 30? Are you looking for opportunities to hone and develop their leadership skills? The Texas Credit Union Foundation (TCUF) and Southwest CUNA Management School (SCMS) have joined forces to invest in the future of the credit union system through the SCMS C2C Scholarship – Connect to Collaborate!
The Scholarship? Up to $2,899 (tuition for 2010 SCMS summer session) – The full amount of tuition paid by the student’s credit union will be reimbursed for one student though the TCUF SCMS C2C scholarship. Odds are better than 1 in 55 to win! At the end of the 1st year session of SCMS, the student’s classmates will vote on who exhibited the most leadership on campus. Simple majority wins. In the event of a tie, the scholarship will be split. We will announce the winner during the July 21 graduation ceremonies.
Who is eligible? Credit union professionals under the age of 30 as of August 1, 2010 who are enrolled in the July 2010 first year SCMS session. The credit union must be affiliated with their state league. Enrollment closes at 55 students.
What’s in it for the student?
Connect - opportunity to network and learn side by side with current and future credit union leaders and the school's highly acclaimed faculty.
Collaborate - peer to peer mentoring.
Added value for the 1st year students under the age of 30 - a special leadership packet – top secret contents! - additional bonus opportunities are in the works, like an invite to join 2nd year faculty member, marketing and branding expert, Mark Arnold, for lunch on campus. - VIP seating with industry leaders during graduation.
What’s in it for the credit union?
Connect your rising leaders to a phenomenal credit union network.
Collaborate with your student(s) as work is done to create a strategic business plan for your credit union.
To encourage and mentor up and coming credit union leaders, SCMS C2C will also hold a casual chat for all SCMS students and alumni under the age of 30 on July 20 after the annual alumni/student auction dinner. Watch www.scms.coop additional details. Wait until you see who is coming to campus to spend time with this group!
I don't know about you, but I am surrounded by books I plan
to read. Great books sit waiting to provide aha moments, challenge my thinking,
or to provide much needed escapes. Gifts waiting to be opened and explored, they
look at me wide-eyed as if to ask which book will I devour next?
I have collected a number of business books in the last year
that all seem more than worthy to spend quality time with. Yet, before I open any
of the books, another one lands on my radar and finds it way home. My list of
recommended books continues to grow. I trust the sources. They must be good reads.
Right?
And yes, I must confess, I’m a cycler. No, Lance Armstrong
doesn’t need to be worried that I might be a hidden threat. For as long as I
can remember, I’ve cycled between fiction and non-fiction reading. Lately I’ve
been reading historical fiction. The books have taken me on great adventures
back in time and broadened my perspectives.
Was my recent escape to fiction driven by guilt that when I
got bogged down reading “Einstein”? A trusted friend recommended the book. I
know she would not do that lightly. Yet half way through I laid it down and it
sits by my chair. I can’t completely let it go. It sits starring at me. Einstein
and I will reunite somewhere down the road.
During a recent CUChatUp
blog talk, the participants started chatting about business books. Book
recommendations started flying. Inspiration! Around the same time, I had
received one of those delightful Amazon emails about new books. I'm so weak and
they know me so well. This one mentioned "Getting Naked: A Business
Fable...about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty" by
Patrick Lencioni. I'm a fan of his "Five Dysfunctions of a Team".
It hit. The perfect storm - energy sparked by a community of
friends who like to read and make a difference and a new book by an author I
like It’s time to cycle back to business reading.
The call to action. The call to community. The LinkedIn Group “Credit Union
Leaders Book Club” was born. Using the discussion feature of LinkedIn, this is
a community where credit union professionals and friends committed to
professional and personal development are encouraged to grow together. Being
part of the community adds a sense of accountability and responsibility. We’re
spread out across the country and all have busy schedules. The online
discussion gives us more options to learn from and share with each other. On March
15 we start our 1st book discussion, covering one chapter a week. Our community
will determine the next book.
Feel free to join our group and share the challenge with
your team. Together we can learn from and challenge each other forward. Feel the energy. Make the commitment.
I recently had the chance to visit with Jim Welch,
keynote presenter for the 2010 TechMecca
Conference & Expo in Austin. A "growth leader", Jim has a strong
background in sales and marketing, with over 25 years cumulative experience
between Hallmark and Proctor & Gamble. I was particularly interested when
he mentioned something about pet phrases about things not to say when going for the sale. See what he had to say.
There are words we
should all avoid using with customers because they erode their loyalty.They are the words that will cost us
customers and their business.Here are
some great examples of words that lose customers every day:
“But I saw it this
way.”
“You have to look at
it from our point of view.”
“Here is why we took
that position.”
“But I didn’t intend
to…”
“Let me explain why
we did what we did and why we believe we are right.”
“I’m not sure, that
is not my area of responsibility.You
need to check with…”
“We had to stay
within policy guide lines.”
“That requires
Supervisor approval and they are not here right now.”
“I need to put you
on hold.”
“We don’t have that
service available now.Please check back
next month.”
“No, I’m sorry but
we cannot solve your problem.”
“That violates our
policy and we cannot do it.”
“I don’t know the
answer to your question.You should
contact…”
“We are really busy
right now; can you call back later this afternoon?”
“We can’t do
anything about that problem.”
“You have a good
point, but…”
“That is not
available right now.”
“You’ll have to
contact that department to find out.”
“I can’t help you
with that issue.”
“If you read our
customer agreement, you will see that is not covered.”
“You have to…”
“No, that is not
correct. It’s right here.”
“We’ll have to call
you back later.”
“To be honest with
you…”
“If you had…”
“Calm down, please
do not be emotional about this.”
“That is our final
decision.”
“If we did what you
are asking for, we would have to do it for everyone.”
“You will need to…”
“We have a computer
problem right now.You will need to
check back later for that information.”
“That is not our
problem.”
“We have no control
over…”
“You will need to
check with them.”
“I will try to solve
your problem.”
“I’m not sure, but I
think…”
“We are not allowed
to make exceptions.”
The one big thing
all of these words have in common is that they are about us and not the
customer.These phrases look at this
issue from our side of the table only.Successful growth leaders engage the customer and go through a
co-discovery process to find the solution together.We often find out that we can turn lemons
into lemonade and build a stronger customer relationship going forward.The greatest customer loyalty of all is built
by resolving problems together.In the
end, the strength of our customer relationships is the fuel that drives our
growth engine every day.
Have you found yourself or your staff using any of these phrases? Been of the receiving end of these statements?
Thanks Jim for giving us a refresher and reminder to think about how we phrase our responses to members, customers, co-workers, family, and friends.
Shout out if you have other phrases that should be added to this list or have phrases that work well in difficult situations.
Thanks go out to ConversationAgent by Valeria Maltoni for a little morning inspiration! Time to put your thinking caps on.
Transparency, authenticity, honesty and passion are commonly thought about and addressed as people navigate a wide variety of social media channels. If they are not being thought about, warning, do not pass go. Please slow down and give these areas serious consideration. You owe it to your customers, employees, board of directors, share or stock holders. What are the norms for your business environment? Your team?
Take a moment to hop on over to a blog referenced by a tweet from @ConversationAge:
Should your organization have degrees of transparency?
Is it important for your audience to know who writes copy for your communication channels? To know who is responding to them?
Do you have content strategy? Communication goals? Are you having conversations and building relationships?
How personal should your social media, public conversations be? As work and personall communication channels blurr, when are you simply yourself and when are you representing your company? Both 24/7/365? Are we ready for that?
Those who know me, know I did not embrace Twitter and Facebook until this last summer. Had enough on my plate already without adding any additional distractions or diversions from the work at hand. Many conversations, yes, real conversations, diving in, listening, learning and lots of coaching later, I now champion both tools. And, yes, I'm still learning.
As director of a leadership development school for credit union professionals, reaching my target market is crucial. The ability to develop a relationship with future students before they come to campus helps us to maximize their experience. You do become vulnerable when you put yourself out there. At the same time, you also gain strength and support as you spend the time to establish relationships and learn together. All relationships take time to develop.
As senior director of training for the Texas Credit Union League, finding new speakers and topic ideas help me to better serve our membership. When I’m looking for subject matter experts, tweets and blogs help me get a better picture about the speaker, as well as topic ideas to meet the needs of our membership.
As someone who likes to use financial services, I appreciate when I see tweets alerting me to special hours of business, challenges with websites/ATMs, financial management tips, and more. Time is precious. I like it when someone cares enough to save me time.
As a member of a various communities, it's nice to know where and when there are opportunities to serve and give back.
As the mother of a freshman college student, twitter is how I get campus wide alerts.
Some of my aha moments included:
1)Twitter provided a no cost way to set up crisis communications when we had students on campus. (Grateful the need to use did not arise.)
2)Twitter provided a way for me to bring subject matter experts into the classroom for brief periods of time who could not have been there otherwise.
3)After linking Twitter to Facebook, I was finding some people were more likely to respond to tweets through Facebook. Hmm. Unproven conclusion – until social media tools and applications are sanctioned in the workplace, people are more likely to respond on personal time through Facebook (unless they have cool phones).
4)Innovation and new ideas are important as you work to position your company forward. By strategically selecting who and what topics I follow, I’ve found solid information with minimal time.
5)Engaging with the right people through social media grows valuable relationships. It’s always been important to reach people in the manner they wish to be communicated with. I have treasured contacts who prefer Twitter or Facebook for 1st point of contact. From there we migrate to other forms of communication as appropriate.
6)Sometimes you just need a little laughter to break up your day or to know that there are good news stories out there.
Before writing this, I did a little research on tweet posts over the last 24 hours from folks I follow:
“And in 2010, we’re going to move from experimentation to methodology. It will be the year that the real-time Web and social media become operationalized.”
I agree with Jay that 2010 will see a lot of social media strategic decisions made and processes refined.
2)As someone who loved the efficiencies of RSS feeds for storing key topics in a summarized fashion, I find myself following into the same scenario that Richard MacManus describes in:
“One of the interesting trends of 2009 has been the gradual decline of RSS Readers as a way for people to keep up with news and niche topics. Many of us still use them, but less than we used to. I for one still maintain a Google Reader account, however I don't check it on a daily basis. I check Twitter for news and information multiple times a day, I monitor Twitter lists, and I read a number of blogs across a set of topics of most interest to me. “
3)@MattRhodes directed me to “Social Media asCrisis Management Tool” FreshNetworks - “I have a client who once said to me: “We want to use social media to attract more complaints”. This may seem an odd thing to say, all too often attracting complaints is a reason people cite for being anxious about using social media. But this client knew that one part of their service didn’t always perform as well as they might hope. They also knew that nobody ever really complained to them. They must be complaining somewhere, they thought, and we’d like them to be complaining to us.”
He goes on to note some uses for social media in context of crisis management:
·Keep people up-to-date
·Represent your brand
·Engage people talking about you
·Communicate strategically through hub and spokes format
All this to say that conversations are happening.
1)We have to be better about telling the good stories and turning around the bad ones. Social media tools provide opportunities to do so. It’s time to hone our skills to take advantage of these dynamic, rapidly evolving forms of communication.
2)New information is coming at us faster than we can absorb. Social media tools help us gather data and information rapidly. However, don’t let social media be your only research source.
Be deliberate. Have a strategy. Join the community. Looking forward to exciting things in years to come as we work together to innovate forward.
As we get close to closing out 2009, we have been looking forward to 2010 and beyond. What is the future of your credit union? A lot of focus has been on Gen Y. However, let's look past them into an even younger generation of future credit union members.
Watch the video below for a snap shot into the decade in review through the eyes of kids who were born in 2000. It truly provides an awesome insight into how they see the world from their perspective.
In closing, what are your thoughts on this past decade? What opportunities await us as credit unions in the future? What potential challenges must we overcome? We can move forward together through innovation, communication and collaboration.
My mind is racing as I think about the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead as we innovate, communicate, learn, and grow together.
Others may question the value of Twitter. It was not that long ago that I didn't even want to consider another communication channel. I was too busy and there was too much trivial communication. Now, I'm thankful for an ever-growing, thought-provoking, community of connections and viewpoints shared on Twitter.
Browsing through Twitter updates this morning, I came across @BertDecker's reference to a quote by Henry Ford:
"If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse."
Fortunately, Mr. Ford chose a different path, pioneering a new form of transportation. Might social media be to communication, like the Model T was to transportation, where Twitter is the higher speed evolution?
Next, I spent some time reviewing @MichaelHyatt's pointer post to the free ebook, "What Matters Now: Things to think about (and do) this year". More than 70 big thinkers collaborated to provide a picture of where we are headed, including Seth Godin, Chris Anderson, Tom Peters, Elizabeth Gilbert, Guy Kawasaki, and more.
The ebook begins with a spotlight on generosity. Logic would indicate that people start focusing on looking out for number one when the economy is tough. It turns out that the connected economy doesn't respect this natural instinct. Instead, we're rewarded for being generous.
Covering such areas as dignity, momentum, consequences, compassion, DIY, accountability, responsibility, collaboration, change, context, authenticity, and more, the ebook is worth taking the time to read. Slow down, contemplate, and give some serious thought to the concepts. Take time to ask yourself, "What does this mean to me?"
Many young people are not being taught how to benefit from the power of the web as a tool for building a network and for learning. I mean, anyone who uses Twitter or belongs to an online community of some sort has seen that sharing information and learning from one another is not only fun and rewarding, it's addictive. Kids need to be shown how to navigate that world too.
It's not just the kids who need to be introduced to or taught about the value of social media. All ages can benefit when they find the right focus and discover the best channels to use for their goals and interests.
I was compelled to pay it forward today, sharing insights I found valuable with others. Now will you share with me? Has someone's tweet inspired, challenged, and helped you position forward? It's your turn to pay it forward, shout out and share with others.
Are banks and credit unions in your target audience? Are you looking for new and creative ways to attract potential clients and help keep existing clients loyal ? TechMecca has just the contest for you. Create an informative video of value to the financial industry and you are on the road to stardom. Now is the time to create some buzz and become a rock star!
A number of business professionals I work with are still questioning the value of social media. If you are one of the doubters or naysayers, take a moment to read Jeff Bulla's blog on "45 Social Media Trends and Predictions".
He gives some great food for thought as you consider the strategic implications of social media for your organization.
For those who have already embraced social media as a strategic business tool:
What have you learned from your social media journey, both positive and negative experiences. As we move forward, learning from each other helps all of us position foward faster.
How are you leveraging your social media efforts?
Are you using measurements to evaluate your social media impact? If yes, please share what they are and why you chose them a metrics.
No matter what form of social media that comes to mind, blogs, twitter, facebook, and so on, they are simply another form of communication. In a recent conversation with Amanda Vega she described social media as being similar to conversations at a cocktail party.Some conversations are more engaging than others. And yes, some conversations may send you desperately running away in search of more interesting people to be around. There are even times when you have no real interest in any conversation at the party and you flee from the event.
As with any communication medium, there are those who prefer one form or another. As you weigh the value of social media, ask yourself “how do people I want to serve, sell to, or have relationships with, communicate?” If no one in your world tweets or spends time on Facebook, by all means, you don’t need to go there. In today's competitive market place, identifying how people prefer to communicate is a solid strategy to position your business forward.
A big part of who I am is built around developing relationships with credit union professionals, speakers, and service providers.
A younger credit union COO I know probably won’t answer a phone call unless you are already listed as “OK” when your phone number pops up, doesn’t care to read paper based mail, and prefers not to use email. I had to make a decision. Is he important enough for me to want to have a conversation with? Absolutely! Because I do value the relationship, I choose to communicate the way he prefers - via Twitter. Does that mean we don’t email, talk on the phone, or visit in person? No. However, we have established a way to stay connected and strengthen our relationship through Twitter and Facebook. Because of the relationship, many more channels of communication and business opportunities become open.
Another of our CEOS just wants a phone call. He said if I called him he'd send me a student every year. Easy enough. I'm happy to place the call to keep the relationship and build the business. And yes, I learned this through good old fashioned face to face communication and asking for the business.
As we go forward and wrestle with various forms of communication, it's not as easy as what form will I choose. It is all about strategy. No matter the form of communication, or how many channels you feel are appropriate for your business, spend some time assessing the form, style, value, and direction for each. Take a tip from Seth Goodin as he compares social media to a hammer, "The best way to find the right tool for the job is to learn to be good at switching hammers."
Ask yourself where are the conversations occurring that are important to me and my company? Be deliberate. Form the relationships and join in the conversation by both listening and speaking. Bring value to the conversation and be real.
If you have already embraced social media, what are you doing to enlighten others about the business value of the medium?
- Building the Business Case for 140 Precious Characters
Checking this morning's tweets, I came across @ConversationAge Twitter, Customer Service and Good Brand Management http://ow.ly/yz2H.
She got my attention and I followed her link. For those of you serious about brand management and customer service, I recommend spending some thought time reading Valeria Maltoni's post. She addresses how those 140 character twitter messages have the potential to directly impact your brand and can function as a customer service tool.
She gives great tools about how to track tweets about your company. Maltoni goes further, nothing that "online monitoring is broader than Twitter", as she mentions additional web monitoring sites.
Keep exploring and learning as online communication channels grow and develop. Join the conversation, develop the relationships, and keep positioning forward!
New term for me today - Forwarding Quotient (FQ). Are you strategically and thoughtfully taking time to forward content of value to your clients, peers, work team, and friends?
As I read along, I was nodding in agreement. Whether we grow our relationships through face to face contact or online connections, special are those who know us well enough to share pertinent information that build us up, help us with projects, or provide inspiration and spur innovation.
I've found useful information through posts to this LinkedIn group. Scott's post, his choosing to participate and not just observe, gave me value. HBP posting timely articles with attention grabbing headlines keep me coming back.
Have you made the commitment to participate in social networking communities? Twitter? Facebook? LinkedIn?
Do you add value by forwarding information or commenting on blogs that grab your attention?
Do you have a lesson learned, aha moments, informative articles that will help someone position forward?
Add value. Be a contributor to the communities and dialogues around you. Share!
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?
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:
While I was at the REAL Solutions partner meeting, James Robert, co-author, asked “Hey, why don’t you do an interview?” So… I was pondering what questions should I ask. Then I thought I will try something different this time. I am going to do this interview “Jeopardy Style”. I will provide the answers and let the questions come to me. I supplied the answers to the following: Brent Dixon , founder of The Haberdashery, Denise Gabel, Chief Innovation Officer at the Filene Research Institute, Lois Kitsch, REAL Solutions National Program Director, and Kathy Darwin (no relation to Charles), CUANM’s REAL Solutions Program Coordinator.
Answer: REAL Solutions
Brent: What program is out there that embodies the philosophy of the credit union movement?
Denise: What is a philosophy and program that supports credit unions and consumers?
Lois: What is a program that recognizes the future needs of members and the ability for credit unions to meet their financial needs with affordable products and services through credit unions and state leagues?
Kathy: What do credit unions do for their communities?
Answer: Opportunity (which by the way I did not say opportunity for credit unions, just the word opportunity)
Brent: What is one of the greatest things credit unions can walk away with given the current economic times?
Denise: What are the current economic times for credit unions?
Lois: What is the reason why credit unions should reach out in serving emerging markets like young adults, low-wage families, “New Americans”, and Senior Citizens?
Kathy: What do low-wealth households look for?
Answer:Credit Unions
Brent: What is one of the best kept secrets for consumers that are out there today?
Denise: What is the consumer’s best-friend with money?
Lois: What is the best vehicle for change to provide economic opportunities for American families?
Kathy: What is a not-for profit financial cooperative?
Answer: The Fonz (in the spirit of Milwaukee…)
Brent: What bronze figurine would I most love to pose in a picture with?
Denise: Who is an icon of a leather jacket?
Lois: Who is the young adult who needed financial education, but was cool when young?
Kathy: Whose bronze statue stands in a park in Milwaukee?
Well there we have it-the questions from some innovative credit union minds… Does anyone out there have some other interesting questions to these answers: REAL Solutions, opportunity, credit unions, or The Fonz? If so blog back and ask us!
Calling all nominations for the 2009 C.U.M.A.- Credit Union Movie of the Year Award. Last year Larissa Walkiw, spokesperson for Commonwealth CU’s Young & Free campaign, won the very first C.U.M.A. with The Difference Between Banks and Credit Unions – Part One
. Who will be the winner this year? Who will take the coveted C.U.M.A. home? Blog back with the link to your nomination- to do this post a comment to this article and include a link to the video you are nominating. You can nominate any credit union film you have seen this year- it doesn't even have to be from your credit union. Feel free to nominate more than one. We will have an online vote next week. The winner will be announced Tuesday July 21 at the SCMS Alumni & Student Scholarship Auction & Networking Dinner. The deadline for nominations is July 17, 2009.
The only rules are:
The video is no longer than 5 minutes.
It must have premiered between July 2008 and now
It promotes the credit union industry in a positive way
It is uploaded to a public viewing site: Such as YouTube or a public credit union website.
Member experience is a sum total of the products, people, and processes they come in contact with when they create a relationship with you and your credit union.We are faced with a fresh new year, a new president, and a new (and challenging) economy.How will that impact Member experience?Here are 4 Great Member Experience Insights for 2009.
Insight #1: Without Members We Don’t Have A Business. We Have A Hobby (Peppers and Rogers, Return on Customer). Members are more and more adept at differentiating value and price, service and delivery, and other decision points to align with partners like you. More products are becoming commodities, Members are bombarded with marketing messages, and information is just a few keystrokes and web pages away.Everyone has to strive for the best Member experience regardless of the economic times.We all impact the experiences of all our Members.
Insight #2: The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing. The Chinese term wei gee portrays the dual nature of a crisis; Danger being one element and Opportunity the other.Members are being challenged right now, they’re cutting back, and you can either prepare for danger and ride it out or advance and seize the opportunities as they present themselves.Our collective Member Experience will present more opportunities to delight our Members in these times.Front line sales people, Member service professionals, investment teams, loan processors, underwriting, and all levels of management can choose to create great Member Experience touch points…daily. The upside is adding Member and keeping the ones we have. The downside of not providing great Member Experiences is the loss of Member trust, and eventually the loss of Members (see point #1)
Insight #3: The Time To Get Creative Is Now. As budgets shrink and marketing departments take more control of the price/value proposition, you have to get creative in how you position your credit union (and message) in the member’s minds. By creative I mean nimble.Can we present an alternative solution to meet the Member’s needs?Can we listen more and talk less?Can we practice an increased degree of empathy in all of our departments?They are under pressure to perform and therefore, so are we.The more we can strengthen our value proposition, the greater chance we will get to solve our Member’s challenge.
Insight #4: The Way To Our Member’s Heart Is Through Our Employees. When our employees are not engaged in the Member experience, our Members know; yes they are that smart.“While you can make some customers happy through brute force, you can not sustain great customer experience unless your employees are brought-in to what you’re doing and are aligned with the effort. If employees have low morale, then getting them to “wow” customers will be nearly impossible”. (CxP Law #4 – 6 Laws of Customer Experience).It is everyone’s responsibly and mission to help each other get grounded in why we are here, how we can create awesome Member experience, and then do it again and again. Walt Disney said “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.”
People are getting more impatient.Google.com drives the demand for “I want it now.” An article mentioned a Gen-Y teenager who said the problem with Mc Donald’s is it’s just too slow. We are faced with both employees and Members who expect and often demand a great Member Experience.Let’s give it to them; today, tomorrow, and everyday after that.
What are you passionate about? How do you dream and take your credit union to the next level? Take a moment to check out Matt Davis, The Credit Union Warrior's blog presentation - "Oprah, Chicken, and the Future of Credit Unions". Ponder. Imagine. Find inspiration.
Where is your vision? What are your thoughts? Together we have a tremendous opportunity to position credit uions forward!
Southwest CUNA Management School Grad School - Social Media Lab: Credit Unions Get Down & Dirty
It’s time to stop talking about social media, roll up your sleeves, and experience some of the tools first hand. James Robert Lay, Brad Garland, and Kent Sugg team up to divide you up. Attendees will divide into work teams to create various social media elements. You’ll discover that with some strategic thinking, nominal investment, and time, you can effectively take advantage of opportunities afforded you through blogging, polling, podcast, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and more.
Unlike other events where you or your staff attend and get excited about the potential of social media, only to return and hit a dead end because you have no idea where to start, you’ll be in real life scenarios to help you better understand and work with social media when you return home.
Visit the school site for the full Grad School curriculum, schedule and related details.
Open Invite to Credit Union Professionals to Attend the SCMS Fireside Chatwith Robert Gallman and Susan Mitchell - no charge to take advantage of this event and experience the excitement of SCMS!
Swing for a cause - the development of credit union leaders! The 21st Annual SCMS Scholarship Golf Classic is open to all.
It's not too late to enroll as a 1st year student! Plan now to connect with tomorrow's leaders. Enroll today!
The choice is yours. What attitude do you bring to the table? Are you and your team committed to serving your members/customers? Sometimes we all need a reminder...
It has been said that there are two kinds of people, those who brighten a room when they enter it, and those who brighten a room when they leave. The question is; “Which one are you?”
People bring things into the room, into a conversation, into a meeting, into a connection with our members, vendors and fellow employees. Typically, they bring in an attitude. Attitude is usually the first thing that brightens a room on entering or exiting.
Have you ever been in a meeting where one of the attendees kills the flow with their facial expressions, body language or comments? They walk around like Tigger without his tail, like they just sucked on a lemon. There is a diagnosis for these types of people who brighten rooms when they leave; Emotionally Constipated! You know them; they roll their eyes at any and every positive message. Their sarcasm is cutting and hurtful beyond the light hearted words that are used for humor. The glass is always half empty. They have a world view of scarcity instead of abundance. They are quick with comments of what they cannot do instead of what they can do. If the diagnosis is emotional constipation what is cure? From this writer’s perspective, a good start is ATTITUDE.
Think about the meetings, the sales calls, the phone conversations with someone with a great attitude. It brightens the room when they enter the meeting, makes the sales call more engage, and builds a stronger connection on the phone. The best thing about attitudes is that they can change. The worst think about attitudes is that they can change. The good news is that we can have a powerful impact with the simple change of an attitude.
I Am Passionate About Member Service! Are you? Since we are all in the member service business, we have a choice. Are you passionate about it? Do you have an attitude that brightens a room when you discuss member service, or are you so emotionally constipated that just the mention of member service brings anger, resentment, bad experiences, and apathy?
Here is my secret to having a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) about almost anything. It comes from a speech by Lee Iacocca when Chrysler was in tough times. He addressed the crowd and made the comment “Yesterday ended last night.” Meaning – it really does not matter what happened in the past, today is a new day and a chance to brighten another room, to impact someone with a great, fresh, powerful, positive attitude.
Do you have tips and tricks for keeping yourself and your team's attitude remain positive? Shout back and share your secrets.
Thank you Winter for sharing Sir Ken Robinson's video, "Do Schools Kill Creativity".
Share Sir Robinson's message with graduating seniors. Challenge them to take a moment to view the video, asking what Sir Robinson's message means for their future.
For my friends with a passion for innovation or a heart for education, slow down and give this video a view. Wrestle with the message. Find application. Dream.
For all of us, how do we foster innovation as we work to position the world around us forward?
Are we doing all we can to weather adifficult economy? In previous articles, I've pointed out that some people fare better than others. A few of us are even defiant in our approach. I recently saw a lady wearing a button that read "I refuse to participate in the recession." I guess that's better than wearing one that says "I've lost the will to live!"
Most of us are doing the best we can, but "the best we can" might not be good enough. We might need to do things better than we can, which means we have to look at how we think, examine what we believe and even get some help.
Do we hunker down, cut back all our expenses, let a few people go, watch the news and prepare for the world to end? Or do we increase our efforts, pinpoint our markets (which means targeting those who actually have money) and make sure our bosses, customers and employees can see our value?
Click here for the full post, including Garrison's Practical Pointers for Surviving a Tough Economy.
It’s time to rethink strategies and find innovative solutions to today’s challenges. Seeking ways to maximize the return on how time and money are spent is crucial. Southwest CUNA Management School (SCMS) is an environment where applied knowledge and networking are structured to help students find innovative and sound strategies to help position their credit unions forward.
This is the year to seriously consider enrolling yourself or key staff in SCMS — the place to connect with professionals dedicated to the future, an industry think tank.
Two innovative credit union communication tools students initiated over the last year:
YouTube Video (Bank vs. CU Novella) - Kudos Alex Rascon, (SCMS Class of 2010 president, GECU)
This blog, CU Grow - Thank you James Robert Lay and Natasha Melugin (SCMS Cl of 2009) for your vision, commitment, heart and passion!
- Opportunity to be part of shaping the future of credit unions!
The school is intense. Less than 80% of a first year class make it to graduation. Successful completion of the school is something to take pride in. A three-year commitment, this summer's session is from July 12-22.
SCMS offers professional and personal development opportunity, providing a strong base for credit union leadership. Take the challenge. Make the commitment. Enroll today!
When I fly Southwest Airlines I can't help but read Spirit Magazine. Even though it is wriiten for an airline, there have been times I actually bring the magazine home (and yes this is permitted). It was no surprise in the recent edition the message from Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines, would be timely and at the forefront explaining Southwest's stance through the current economic crisis. Kelly's message parallels the credit union industry in many ways. Kelly states,
One of the sweet agonies of childhood was receiving a large gift of money from a relative. (At the time, $25 was a huge amount.) Like a typical kid, I would immediately begin calculating how many model car kits or (when I was older) eight-track cassettes I could buy. Of course, my parents had their own calculations: the compound interest the money would earn in a savings account. With hindsight, I see their wisdom, which was forged by the Great Depression.
While the country is in better shape than those dark days, we still are in the midst of what experts are calling the worst recession in the last 50 to 75 years. Some household names are already history, and by the time you read this, others may be. Still, in the midst of all this gloom, I feel very, very good about the Southwest Airlines brand and where it is headed.
Of course, no one knows the future, and I will be the first to tell you that no one could have predicted the unusual way this financial crisis erupted last fall. But I can tell you emphatically that Southwest Airlines was prepared for it—just like we were prepared to survive the aftermath of 9/11 and the first Gulf War in 1991. My parents knew that family finances would have their ups and downs, and companies are no different. One of the Cultural legacies that our Founder and Chairman Emeritus Herb Kelleher has given us is to manage during the good times so we can survive the bad times. And in our industry, bad times always come along—especially when you least expect them.
Sound familiar? Yes, the economy is in a bad place but lucklily the credit union industry as a whole is prepared to handle it. As a whole we are at 11% capitol and strong, safe, and prepared to serve our members.
Bregman covers advantages smaller organizations have in today’s economy. He paints a picture of a trend in large companies where distrust and concerns are mounting.
Now, imagine you're a client wanting to buy from one of these companies. You call up your client contact to talk about the sale. One of two things will happen:
You have a relationship with her and so you talk and get a sense of her insecurity, fear, and distrust.
You have no relationship with her because the company is so big and you talk to a different person each time you call.
Either way, you'll probably get the sense that your contact may not be there in the future to fulfill her commitments to you. And that won't make you comfortable committing long-term dollars (or any dollars) to the company?
He goes on to contrast the larger company against a scenario where companies are willing to invest over a million dollars in a smaller, 100 person software development company, Passlogix. In this environment:
Customers and potential clients:
Know and can access the CEO.
Know who to contact in the company for additional assistance.
Get a feeling of trust whether they talk to the CEO or the employees.
We live in a time when trust can vanish in an instant and is hard to regain. Is your team clear about how to build the relationship, make reasonable commitments, and follow through?
Bregman goes on to say -Small is the new big. Sustainable is the new growth. Trust is the new competitive advantage.
What are you doing to inspire confidence in your credit union’s safety and soundness, both to your member owners and your staff?
Are you keeping your staff informed and equipped to respond to members and potential members?
How are you positioning your credit union forward?
With the current market and some corporate credit unions in conservatorship; how do you differentiate your credit union? What message do you send to your members to let them know just because they hear the word “credit union” on the news it doesn't mean yours?
Jack McAdoo, former CEO of Enron FCU, has experience in dealing with the media and negative press in credit union world. Talk about stressful situations; the Enron credit union was inside of the Enron building at the time of the Enron collapse. The morning after the news of Enron filing bankruptcy, there was a line wrapped around the credit union of people ready to pull all their money out. He and his team saved the credit union, which is now Startrust FCU, through an event most credit union CEO's have nightmares about. According to the NCUA, Jack accomplished the impossible. McAdoo guided the credit union through a successful name change, relocation and field of membership expansion — all within a seven-month span. Jack is currently CEO at Beacon FCU in LaPorte, TX. I recently interviewed Jack McAdoo about his experience:
Challenges are here, both in the economy and in the workplace. As we deal with challenges and seek solutions, opportunities often present themselves. Now, more than ever, it's important for us to creatively connect both inside and outside of the credit union movement. Together we can find and capitalize on opportunities. I have just the place for you to connect with professionals dedicated to the future.
To help position your credit union forward and develop leaders, consider enrolling yourself and key management team members in Southwest CUNA Management School (SCMS). The SCMS curriculum has been celebrated for years. The growing list of professional credit union leaders to have emerged from the three-year school continue to shape and develop the credit union movement in innovative and positive ways.
To maximize both your personal and professional ROI for this intense school, students should arrive on campus with a strong determination to focus on:
Being ready to capitalize on the broad networking opportunities. Students and alumni represent a wide range of credit union expertise.
Planning to take advantage of the vast expertise offered by faculty. Many bring international experience to the classroom, challenging students with crucial topics. Faculty also encourage students to pursue innovative concepts.
Arriving prepared to actively participate, incubating ideas and contributing to the overall educational experience by offering their own unique perspectives.
Being a part of creating and shaping the future of the credit union movement.
When students arrive determined to take advantage of all SCMS has to offer, the rewards both personally and professionally extend well beyond the year of graduation. Shape the future and make a positive change in the credit union by enrolling in SCMS today. Enrollment is limited to the first 50 students. Seats have been going fast. Only 26 1st year student slots remain.
Students and alumni are encouraged to take full advantage of networking options by also utilizing the SCMS groups in LinkedIn and on Facebook.
Watch for information about the SCMS Grad School on July 22. One of this year's sessions will feature a hands-on workshop about how to create various social media forms of communication.
Hot cup of tea in hand. Overlooking a sea of traffic in the early hours. Cruising through email as I prepare to race through the day. Hit the breaks. Slow down. A headline catches my attention, The Re-Purposeing of Marketing. It was in a little box in an email from the MarketingDailycommentary. They had me at the first sentence...When you have a genuine purpose at the heart of an organization, it takes marketing to an entirely different level."
Credit unions have been built around passion and purpose. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the basics to keep our message strong, serving our members, and reaching out to attract and serve new ones. As we bring in new staff, we need to make sure to always articulate, educate and demonstrate the credit union difference.
In case you don't know about credit unions, yes, our customers are members. They are member-owners. Our purpose is to serve and maximize the wealth of all member-owners. Our purpose is not to maximize stock holder wealth for a limited few.
The article goes on to state, "Purpose makes everything easier but it's not easy work. Having a purpose will give an organization a north star that will make decisions come easier and alignment happen faster." Is your team clear about your purpose? Where the north star is? Are your strategic plan, leadership direction, and marketing plan aligned to create a passion and loyalty from those you are here to serve? What is your brand? Would your products and services be missed if they went away?
As you prepare to address your membership with your annual report and annual meetings, will you have their attention at the first sentence?
Thank you Roy Spence and Haley Rushing for the article!
Very interesting video on change and where the world is going. Now that you do know, how does this affect your credit union? Do you know? Blog back and tell us how!
Gathering together to support each other is even more important in hard times. Looking back, the companies that emerged from the Great Depression stronger and earlier than the competition had this in common: Looking to the future, workers bonded together around a common, well-articulated mission. Meetings are how this is done, and how business is done. It’s how economies are stimulated, and how employees and business partners are motivated to create positive results. For the complete white paper, check out tbaglobal.com'sThe Value of Meetings. (Thank you for IAEE for highlighting this.)
Times are serious and business operations are changing. As prudent leaders, strategically managing your ROI is critical. The National Environmental Health Association has posted a list of questions to help you asses the value of a meeting for yourself and your credit union. Here are a few of them:
For the conferences [events] that you are considering attending:
1. Will it be beneficial for you to meet some of the people who will be attending the meeting?
2. Can you imagine: “crucial conversations," which you would want to be a part of even if only to listen, taking place at this meeting?
4. Is high-level interaction available to you at this meeting, and would it be beneficial to you to have such an experience?
5. Is the education available at the conference relevant to your work responsibilities?
6. Could this education enable you to do your job better and/ormore cost effectively?
10. Would some of the conference offerings enable you to return to your workplace as an effective change agent?
12. Does the meeting take time to recognize its leaders and achievers with awards so that you might better understand what excellence in your line of work looks like?
14. Does the conference provide important updates on where the profession is?
When dollars get tight, organizations typically head straight to marketing and training as they start slashing budgets. Though tempting, it's important to look out on the horizon and keep positioning your credit union forward. As a credit union movement built on the philosophy of “people helping people”, we need to continue to practice what we preach.
One new concept might prove priceless for your credit union. Gather together locally and at conferences and seminars to:
·Share and learn from each other, speakers and vendors.
·Collaborate to solve problems, creating synergy with innovative solutions.
·Look for those ideas, processes, and strategic alliances to help you make your credit union more efficient and/or provide better products and services. You owe it to your member/owners and your staff.
·Stay engaged and help strategically position credit unions forward.
Get creative when it comes to marketing to maximize your results. There has never been a better time to shout out the credit union story.
With the season for Association and League annual meetings starting, make the decision to attend. Arrive prepared to make a difference. Plan to both speak and listen. As challenging as these times are, they are also exciting. Don’t let this moment in time pass you buy as you quietly sit on the sidelines.
Resourcefullness abounds in the credit union movement. Collaboration and creativity have been hallmarks of our industry. We have member/oweners we are accountable to. Do you have the next great innovation/idea to help position credit unions forward? Or do you think you are not high enough on the management chain, your voice would never be heard? Think again! Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, wrote about how Thomas Barnett changed the Pentagon. From the bottom. No status. No rank. Just a reasearcher. The key - passion for change!
Silence is not golden. You have a forum. Your voice can be heard. It's time to get in the game, to "slinky up" (anti up, belly up, step up, roll your sleeves up - you get the idea - only have fun while you're doing it).
Credit union and SCMS faculty rock star, Denise Gabel, writes: Feeling stimulated yet?
Whether you supported it or not, Congress and the Obama administration have served up a massive spending package aimed at the economic crisis. Rather than waiting for that money to trickle down, Filene wants to help credit unions innovate in the new environment.
Thank you all so much for all your comments and feedback on WWUP- What Would you Pick- the post asking for suggestions on a new credit union tagline. I received so many clever and fun suggestions. The Task Force met recently and we went through each suggestion one by one. One of the main topics that came up during the meeting was whether or not a credit union message should contain the word bank in it. There were several arguments on both sides of this subject. One of the arguments was that we (the credit union industry) have always tried to differentiate ourselves from banks and if we include the word bank (bank as in a verb term) in a tagline that will defeat our purpose. Another argument is if we use the word bank negatively this will this cause us to seem like we are attacking the banking industry? However, if we are trying to explain what a credit union is to a non-credit union person it is hard not to use the word bank, even if we are saying that is what we are not. What do you think? Blog back and tell me if the word bank positively or negatively should be used when trying to get the word out about credit unions.
I am currently serving on the Texas Credit Union League Youth and Millennial Task Force. One of the tasks we have at hand is to create a new tagline for credit unions. Currently some of the taglines used for credit unions are "People Helping People" or "Where People are Worth More than Money." Although, these are true they do not resonate to the majority of the youth market, who is unaware of what a credit union really is… So, if you had to pick a new tagline for credit unions that would captivate the younger mind, what would you pick? Below (not in any order) are a few that I have played around with for fun. Blog back and tell me some of your ideas for a new tagline. Who knows it may be the new tagline for the industry.
$-greed= credit unions
Wanna be cool? Join a credit union.
Bail Out Free since 19__...
Why make others rich? Join a credit union.
You have a choice- credit unions.
Ready for a change? Join a credit union.
If you like to own stuff- Join a credit union.
Credit Union = Economic Justice
Some places let you keep the change- We let you own it- Credit Unions
During these tough economic times, credit unions continue to spread a ray of light by connecting and building relationships members and communities. Social responsibility is an excellent way to connect with the community and build relationships throughout.
It is awesome to see Credit Unions reach out and build relationships by giving back to surrounding communities. What are you doing to give back to your community to build relationships with others? Shout back and let us know.
The recent edition of Tom Peter'sTimes nails it. To deal with tough times, we need to focus on moving forward and creating an environment where our businesses thrive. Bemoaning the economy or competition solves nothing and may even help lead to a slow fade as opportunities pass us by.
Are you focused on identifying and serving your customers (members in credit union land)? Is excellence simply a buzz word in your mission or vision statement? Or is excellence something delivered through every level of your operation to provide service and products customers have come to expect?
Are you positioning so that in two years you can look back with pride the path you chose to take?
As usual, Peters provides "food for thought" and asks strategic questions. Take a moment to wrestle with the information he provides then give a shout back about what you are doing to make a difference and move your business (credit union) forward.
The Marketer of the Year Award is sponsored by the Texas Credit Union League to recognize outstanding work in credit union marketing and communications. A three to five member panel of out-of-state judges select the winner, and the award for 2008 was presented at the annual Credit Union Marketing Conference. This year's Marketer of the Year is Musette Bracher with GECU in El Paso, Texas.
Check out the video below to see the award luncheon.
Beacon FCU definitely has a new breed when it comes to the idea of having a credit union “spokester.” Beacon’s newest credit union spokesperson is none other than the fabulous and adorable Harley Gayle. Harley Gayle rides Harley motorcycles with her owners. She has appeared in several newspapers and magazines including the Houston Chronicle. Gayle (one of the owners) is the branch manager at the Baytown BFCU office.
I spotted Harley at Beacon FCU’s second annual "BeaconFest". The annual event is an appreciation event for Beacon’s members. The credit union offered fun and games for the kids, hotdogs, a live DJ, a giant shred machine, and photo-ops with Harley Gayle. Although, there was a cash-grab machine, jumpees, and slides, the hottest item there was Harley Gayle. There was a line just to get a picture with the infamous motorcycle riding Chihuahua. She was in full Beacon gear with a Beacon t-shirt, pink riding helmet, and riding goggles. By the end of Harley's celebrity appearance she was ready for her ride home. Gayle stated, "Harley gets excited as soon as she hears the roar of a hog."
This was Beacon’s 2nd Annual celebration of members; a free event to all BFCU members and their families. The community was also invited to attend. An estimated 200 people attended the event this year.
I have heard from an "inside source" Harley plans to make another appearance when Santa visits the credit union. I wonder who the kids will be more excited to see, Harley or Santa? Kudos to Beacon FCU for thinking outside the species!
Don’t be selfish… social media is not about you… it’s about relationships. It’s about others. Janine McBee asks, “Are you facing financial challenges when bringing up "social media" to your credit union powers that be? Are you being asked to justify any move toward social media by providing figures for ROI (return on investment)?”
When it comes to social media, it may be a while before you find the ROI you are looking for. However, there is so much more there in social media than ROI.
Jacob Morgan’s Blog on Social Media, Technology, Marketing, and Life provides some great insight: "Think of it like this, how much money would be willing to spend to keep your friends in your life? Think about your valuable experiences, your life stories, the things you have learned and the memories you have shared. How much is that worth to you? Can you quantify how much money you have made as a result of your friends or long term relationships? Now flip the question around, don’t ask how much money you are going to MAKE from your customers. Ask how much you are willing to GIVE to your customers. It’s not about you, or your brand. It’s about your customers; it’s about what they want."
Janine points out that, “He goes on to discuss how embracing social media tools requires a change in how we think about our customers/members. Yes I said customers. If we don't act like we are seeking and serving customers as we seek to attract and retain members, we are already missing the target.”
Jacob describes the approach to implementing social media well. "The first step in creating a social media strategy is not creating a blog or analyzing your objectives, it’s changing your mindset. It’s about realizing that your customers and your readers are doing you a favor by talking to you."
Janine refers to "Meatball SUNDAE" by Seth Godin where he writes, "It's been a decade since the underpinnings of this revolution were put in place. For the last ten years, ignoring most of what was going on with the New Marketing wouldn't have hurt you that much. Unless you were a travel agent, worked for a newspaper, owned a book store"...you get the idea. However, we are at a point to where we can no longer to a blind eye to “what is going on the real world”. Referring to the cliché “we’ve always done it that way” will not cut it anymore.
Janine points out that, “Credit unions need to explore new marketing mediums to attract younger members. At the same time, they need to make sure their products and services are designed to meet the needs and attract attention of younger generations.”
One way to find if you products and services are meeting GenY’s needs is simply by asking. Have a focus group… fire side chat… coffee round table discussion. Never the less, it is important to simply start the conversation. Yes… you can read blogs, books and white papers which provide good insight, but you will never know what your members (GenY members) need if you don’t ask.
Remember, social media is not about you but the relationships that you build and cultivate with your members. Relationships, above all other things, are priceless and are the glue helping to bind you to your members. If there is no relationship, there is no binding glue, and your credit union is simply a financial commodity that is easily replaceable.
How is your credit union using social media? Can you track usage to new accounts opened? Loans generated? Transaction revenue? Are you creating an inviting environment for your own credit union community? A place where people want to become members? Have a conversation? Speak their mind? Complain about what you are doing wrong or praise great service?
Do you have "lessons learned" to share? Shout back below and let us know.
Now is the time to vote and make your voice heard. Watch the video below we produced that embodies the credit union spirit and feel free to post on your on blog or credit union web site.
A big shout out to Janine McBee for pointing this out. She is reading Seth Godin’s book “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us”. Pretty nice title considering the theme of the Texas Credit Union League Marketing Conference. His subheading states “In Search of a Movement...a movement waiting to happen, a group of people just waiting to be energized and transformed.”
Janine states “A movement is thrilling. It's the work of many people, all connected, all seeking something better. I so felt like he was talking about our credit union movement.”
The book also notes that “Everyone is not just a marketer - everyone is not also a leader. The explosion in tribes, groups, covens, and circles of interest means that anyone who wants to make a difference can.”
Janine summarizes this thought with “At this point he made me think of our credit union network, how each of our contacts impacts our lives through leadership, direct or indirect, good or bad.”
Just getting back into the office from the marketing conference, this makes so much sense (more to come on conference thoughts later). What are you doing in your daily life to empower your co-workers to help them make a difference in your member’s lives. Shout back below and let us know.
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