Things Not To Say

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.

 

 

Transparency, Authenticity, Honesty and Passion for Topics and Brands

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:

Diva Marketing Blog - "Where Does 'Transparency' Fit In The New Social Media Marketing Model?" The post highlights insights from 39 people active in social media.

Questions that raced through my mind:

• 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?

• What lessons have you learned?

Social Media, Patience & Education - Looking Back & Reflecting Forward

Following up on two recent posts by James Robert Lay about "Credit Unions, Twitter, Service and Brand Management"...

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 1^st 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:

1)     5 Sure-Fire Ways to Operationalize Social Media by Jay Baer

“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:

RSS Reader Market in Disarray, Continues to Decline
December 20, 2009 - ReadWriteWeb.com

“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 as  Crisis 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.

Twitter: a faster horse, trends, the classroom, & our future work force

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?"

Next, @rossdawson pointed me to "A futurist's view of the 'next big thing' in social media" by @VenessaMiemis and featured on www.businessesgrow.com.

When I came across:

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 you still undecided about or dismissing social media?

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?

Lessons Learned Thru Twitter - Twitter, Customer Service and Good Brand Management

- 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!

Tweet on my friends.

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.

 

 

 

 

The Competitive Edge - Member Experience 2.0

Guest post from Curt Tueffert, Brick Wall Motivation...

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. 

When Do You Brighten A Room?

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...

 

Guest post by Curt Tueffert, Brick Wall Motivation

 

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.

Invest in the Future

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.

- Credit union focused curriculum

- Networking opportunities
- Awesome faculty
- Student participation 

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!

How to Lead with LUV

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.

To read Gary Kelly's entire message click on this link Managing for Bad Times

What do you think your credit union can learn from Southwest Airlines? Blog back and tell us!

What's Enron Got to Do With It?

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:

The Re-Purposeing of Marketing

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!

Did You Know? Now That You Do- How Will This Affect Your Credit Union?

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!

Increase Your Credit Union Service, Make Members Happy...

...and bring them back for more. Seth Godin reminds us one of the easiest and most cost effective ways of doing this is so old fashioned.

Call you members.  Or better yet, have your MSRs and loan reps write notes to mail off during periods of down time.  Ask, “Is there anything else we can help you with during these rough economic times.  We want to work together to see this through with you and are your team.  Please feel free to call me anytime if there is anything we can help with.”

You can even take old fashioned service, and make it fashion forward and “tweet” to your members.  Or begin blogging and communicating in a real and personal way.  Don’t just sell a product or service.  Sell a memorable experience that connects with your members on an emotional level. 

Members are not going to remember a savings or loan rate.  They’re going to remember someone at your credit union, who connected with them and went above and beyond the status quo.

So what are you doing to connect with members in a cost effective way?  How are you reaching members on a personal level?  Shout back and let us know.

Going Above and Beyond with Your Members

What does it mean to go above and beyond with your members? To highlight an example of this, here is a true credit union story between an employee and a member.

Let’s call the member John, a 92 year old retiree, and the credit union CEO is Pam. John was having quite a hard time recently, his wife had just passed away after a long battle with cancer and to be able to pay for treatment, John went into significant debt. To try to keep his head above water, he took loans from the corner “quick cash” lender and was taken advantage of. Beyond this, John’s daughter was having a tough time, so he loaned her money to help her out. Now, John was at the credit union trying to get a loan to pay for all of this, he was “borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.” John had been through a lot and needed more than just a loan, he needed help.

This is where Pam steps in to save the day. Pam helped John to not only secure the loan that he needed, but she also setup a financial plan with him. She took the time to work with him to develop a strategy to get rid of his financial problems. Pam could have just lent him the money he needed and sent him on his way, but she knew that she could really help John. Pam is but one example of the many credit union employees that take the time to listen to their members and give them the help that they really need.

Going above and beyond for your members, especially in times of financial crisis, is one of the best ways to establish a lasting relationship.

 

Wow Service and Service Selling

When is the last time you remember receiving excellent service? When Rory Rowland asked this question at the Sabine Chapter meeting earlier in December not one person could think of a time when they received excellent service.  As unfortunate as that may be, this is not how you want your members to feel.  In this video Rory outlines what it takes to Wow your members and measure up to the goals you set. 

Check out the video below to see Rory in action.  Shout back at us with ways your credit union is working to provide the ultimate WOW experience.

Retention Strategies That Drive Member Satisfaction & Loyalty

With annual member growth rates below 2% and the majority of credit unions experiencing a net loss of members each year, retaining satisfied loyal members is top of mind with savvy marketers.  Why are members leaving?  What drives their satisfaction and loyalty with your credit union?  Are you offering what it takes to hold them for life?  Discover what growth-oriented credit unions are doing to stop the outflow while gaining additional, profitable business from valued members.  A marketing strategist with nearly 30 years of credit union experience, Jeanne Murphy covers essential strategies on developing lifelong relationships that retain loyal, satisfied members.

Can U Rel8? A Gen Y Panel Discussion

In this session, you will listen to young people discuss their future as it relates to financial services.  For a change, we're not talking ABOUT Generation Y, we're talking WITH Generation Y.  An actual panel of young people were asked real questions about real issues by you, the Credit Union Leader.

Check out the video below to learn more about how your credit union can reach Generation Y.  Feel free to shout back and share different ways your credit union is working to meet the needs of younger generations. 

Do You Give Your Credit Union Members an Experience Like This?

When it comes to credit union ownership, some members may not even understand the principal and what it truly means. It’s important for credit unions to continue to educate them about ownership and this can be achieved through a unique membership experience. What that experience is will differ from credit union to credit union depending on their location, market and current membership base.

It is the experience you provide to your members that will help your credit union differentiate yourself from the other FIs around you. If you offer the same boring “bank” experience, how will your members know that you are any different than the bank down the street?

Check out the ultimate experience for fans of the rock band Weezer below. They recorded a Yahoo! Live set that allowed fans to rock out with the band.

What a great way for the band to connect with their fans on a personal level and create buzz. Formed in the early 1990’s, Weezer has continuously evolved and transformed themselves to connect with their fans in a very different way.

According to Wikipedia, “In 2002, the band took an experimental approach for the recording process by allowing fans to download the demos from their official website in return for feedback.”

The fans who participated truly took ownership of this album. What kind of ownership experience are you giving your members? How are you letting them "rock out" with you?  Shout back and share your thoughts below.

Can your members find you… on GOOG-411?

How many times have you been out on the road and needed a phone number or help finding your destination.  In the past, you had only a couple options. 

1. Stop and use a pay phone – better have quarters… do they even exist anymore?
2. Ask the gas station clerk – hope it’s not at night in a bad part of town
3. Call 411 on your cell phone – you just burned a dollar or two

Of course times have changed and 411 is so old school … which is why it is ranked up there with the other two.  411 has gotten more expensive over the years to use.  Depending on your carrier, it can cost you a dollar or more to look up a phone number or directions. 

Now there is a new way to find the info you are looking for when you are out on the road.  It’s called GOOG-411 and is brought to you by no one other than Google.

Who would have thought that a search engine company would expand to a FREE 411 service?  Plus it is totally voice automated and gives you more than just a phone number. Watch the video below to learn more.

As Google expands their market reach outside of the search engine computer based world, GOOG-411 is helping to expand their brand.  This was such a creative and innovative way for them to reach a new market.

With that being said though, can your members find you on Goog -411? I was out the other day and needed to call a CU I was visiting and let them know I was running a bit late (thanks to Houston traffic).  So I whipped out my Motorola Q9c pocket PC phone and called 1-800-GOOG-411.  I spoke the info but the service could not find the CU. 

I thought that’s weird, it is giving me all these other CUs around them in the same market but not the one I need.  This is what inspired this posting.  From a member service stand point, as members become more technology savvy, it is important that your CU be found through all possible channels.

So check out GOOG-411 today and see if your credit union can be found.  Just call 1-800-GOOG-411 and follow the voice prompts.  If your CU can not be found, GOOG-411 uses listing information provided by Google Maps. To edit your information in GOOG-411, please refer to the editing instructions for Google Maps.

Other options for mobile solutions that will help members find info they need on the go are mobile banking.  This does not mean you need a full blown mobile web site with interactive banking but can be just a very simple informational mini web site with basic information such as phone numbers, atm search, etc.  This gives your members what they need when they are out on the road.

We would love for you to share how you are currently helping reach mobile customers while they are on the go.  Share your thoughts and ideas below.