Andy's Anecdotes

What I learned from a 5th grade basketball team

2012-02-02T16:56:00.000-05:00

Last night, my 5th grade boys basketball team won the city championship. Parents and fans congratulated me on my coaching and the big win. What I tried to tell them: I really didn't coach as much in the tournament to lead us to victory as they think. In fact, my only real coaching was at the beginning of the year in the practices before the games. The rest of the time I tried to be a leader, in how I reacted to the officials, setting a vision for how we should play the game and making sure they boys were aware of their role and our plays.

Upon further reflection, I realized how this group of boys winning the city tournament can be directly applied to leadership at work. At the very first practice, I asked the boys to determine their goals for the season. Each individual had an opportunity to speak and give their goals and expectations for the season. Then, like I good leader, I encouraged them to challenge themselves. Once one boy had the courage to utter, "Well, I would like to be city champs and get a banner" the rest quickly bought into the concept. Once we had a team goal, I set forth the strategies that would be needed to accomplish that goal. Things like playing as team, accepting your role, making others better, etc. I asked each boy to agree that they would be committed to these concepts. I reminded them whenever they would stray from the team agreed upon methods of winning. Finally, every time we practiced, broke from a huddle in a game or talked about the next game, we reminded ourselves of the common goal - Win the City!

And, they did just that, without me really having to be involved in the game. I set the vision, they did the rest. From a coaching perspective, it was the easiest championship one of my teams have ever won. It just shows how important it is to build the right team, get everyone to accept their role and take responsibility for their actions. All I did was encourage or give feedback in a timely manner and remind them of the vision for winning. It was the mix of individuals on the team that allowed them to be successful. Sometimes teams have lots of talent, but can't work together. As at work, assembling the team is the toughest challenge.

Experience Matters

2012-01-31T13:46:00.000-05:00

National pundits have been lukewarm to negative about Indianapolis hosting the Super Bowl, until they arrive and experience how Indy does sporting events. The hospitality, amenities, ease of travel, convenience, weather(50s last two days, golf courses open), almost everything has been better than expected. Comments from those on the ground at the Super Celebration events has been overwhelmingly favorable. It is once again proof that experience matters. How does that translate to Credit Unions? Many consumers view credit unions inferior in many ways (branches, ATMs, technology, etc). Most, after experiencing a credit union would never go back to a large bank. Their experience has made believers out of them.

And just like Indy's hope for another Super Bowl, it can all go away in one fleeting moment of a bad experience. High winds on Sunday almost caused an issue, but the people at the scene made quick decisions and saved the city from experiencing a tragic, reputation battering event by putting safety first. Most of the people appreciated the quick reactions and concerns for safety.

What are the high winds in your credit union that can create a bad experience? Is it the inflexibility of waiving a fee, matching a rate, not deploying the latest fraud detection service, etc? Putting your members "safety and well being" first will always be a winning strategy.

Be vigilant about the experience you create and find ways to engage consumers to experience your credit union. The experience matters most of all.

The world must not be ending in 2012 but the branch might

2012-01-25T15:55:00.007-05:00

The Fed's announcement that any rate hikes are now not likely until 2014 (or at least that's what analyst are saying their comments mean) is great comfort to me. They don't expect the world to end sometime in December of this year. While we are on other signs the end is not near - the Cubs didn't win the World Series, although there is still hope for that again before 12/2012 Cub's fans, the Clippers don't appear to be NBA title contenders, and the Bengals really don't seem to be for real. So, from a sports perspective, all signs point to the world continuing. (Yankees, Colts, Pacers if you are wondering my favorite teams)

Now back to the Fed's decision, the world will continue to change for financial institutions in 2012 if the Fed's policy spurs another reduction in mortgage interest rates further amplifying the need to lower expenses and survive on thinner margins. The death of the branch may be even quicker than experts are predicting if this news triggers more downward pressure on loans. Non-interest, non-punitive income will only carry FIs so far. The ability to have better efficiency ratios though expense reductions will be paramount for at least another 2 - 3 years. That kind of pressure will force more and more FI's to really deal with the branch dilemma more quickly than they will want to admit. I know we have that in front of us for 2012 and hope that we will make quick decisions on what our community hub will look like in the future. (I think we have to stop calling them branches, so I will be trying out different names in all of 2012.)

Preparing years for 1 week

2012-01-23T13:24:00.004-05:00

(Having taken all of 2011 off, I have decided that I do missing blogging. I wanted to make my first post of 2012 about the Super Bowl and decided 1/23/12 would be the first of many 2012 posts)

The teams are set, the volunteers are trained, public safety officials are working around the clock...the sports world is about to descend on Indianapolis for perhaps the biggest event in the sports world outside of the Olympics, at least the most covered event. We have hosted NCAA Final Four championships and NBA finals but the Super Bowl promises to bring the most attention to Indianapolis since the Colts left Baltimore.

I hope we can handle the criticisms that are sure to come before, during and after the event. Hopefully, we will get just as many accolades for our efforts. This will be a true test to see if an organization (loosely defined) can be flexible and reactive to events that are happening real time. Much will rely on the accessibility of real time information, ability to determine if it is social media hype or a true concern, and how empowered the entire host committee (leaders to volunteers at the zip line) are in being able to make front line decisions.

Wow, just like running a financial institution in today's "everyone with a twitter account, blog, Facebook page, etc" is a the voice of all the members. I will certainly be following everything very closely, it is my city and state whose reputation will be forever (in today's world, that might only be for a couple of months) linked to how well we host the Super Bowl. Hope we don't have an ice storm!

A Long Year

2011-11-12T10:39:00.002-05:00

It has been almost a year since my last post...why so long? I wanted to decide where I wanted to go with this blog and I also wanted to try other tools to see what worked and what didn't work for me. I have decided to come back to the blog.

2011 is winding down and 2012 looks to be a challenging year economically for most people. Some say the election will provide a strong indicator of where the country wants to go. I am not so sure. I am most concerned with the popular vote not the electoral vote when it comes to mandates. Without a clear mandate for direction, I am concerned that the country will falter along doing very little.

It is like my work situation. For a couple of years we weren't focused on the big picture and our stated vision. In the last 12 months that has changed drastically and we have improved immensely because of that. The future looks incredibly better than it did just 12 months ago. Moral of the story...strong leadership that follows a vision that is motivation will always be a winning strategy.

Attitude determines Altitude

2010-12-21T08:23:00.003-05:00

We have all heard the saying our attitude determines our altitude as it relates to our personal persona...perhaps it is about time we get our business persona to follow this rule. As an industry, credit unions seem to be stuck in the woe is us mentality. We could stay in the status quo and keep worrying about the next new regulation or the next loss of traditional income or some other calamity. Or we can start planning to be the best credit union for our members and know that as long as we have a long term focus with accountability for short term results, we can and will continue to be relevant to our members. And if we are relevant to our members we will be profitable, we will grow and we will continue to exist.

The past is in the past, we can learn from our mistakes, be more aware of all the potential risks in our decisions and then we need to move on. The more everything changes, the more it really remains the same. We must meet the financial needs of our members and potential members to be successful. That has been true since the beginning of credit unions and will continue to be true when Gen Y starts turning 60. So, lets have an attitude adjustment and quit feeling sorry for ourselves and start responding to our members and finding out what will make us relevant in their financial lives. (Oh, and that is going to be different for each segment of the membership, so we need to find out where we can compete and where we need to retreat.)

This is our attitude for 2011!

Where will we be in 2011

2010-11-06T10:07:00.003-04:00

The mid-term elections shed light on what the people are thinking...it's the economy and in particular the unemployment rate. Hopefully this will provide the impetus for the President and Congress to be more pro-business, pro-growth and not so much focus on regulations in the next two years. A rising tide lifts all boats and if our economy were to pick-up, the private sector might be able to fix some of the social problems our Congress and President were trying to fix in the last 2 years. It is still unknown where we will be in 2011 but we should move forward with cautious optimize. And more importantly we need to get out of the bunker, start thinking about growth and use 2011 to propel us to a much better 2012 and beyond. We are in control of what our future holds and our decisions and attitudes about 2011 will have a major impact on our success or lack of in 2012. 2008 - 2010 performances were more driven by decisions made in 2005- 2007 than decisions made during 2008-2010. If we don't change our way of thinking and vision, 2012 might not be any different. It might be too late to make 2011 what we want...that outcome was more driven by 2009 and 2010 decisions than what we do in 2011. Now is the time to make bold decision, to have a long term focus and control your destiny going forward.

The Cost of Waiting

2010-07-27T08:43:00.003-04:00

What is the cost of waiting to develop a new idea, account, program, etc? That is a question that the finance people can provide a precise number for anytime you ask them. But what about all the costs that don't fit into a spreadsheet? Being the first to market with a cool product that provides intangible brand value. Having to spend less to get market share because you are in a Blue Ocean. The sense of pride and ownership that your employees derive from the excitement of being out front. All of these are costs of waiting. They don't fit nicely in a spreadsheet and they won't ever be considered by the finance guys. My contention, these costs are much higher than the the real dollars we can measure.

What's my point? Do something, anything, even if it's not completely the best solution. Doing nothing is a strategic decision and most people don't get motivated about doing nothing. Forget about doing an ROI to determine if you should wait or go. If you have an idea, go as far as you can with it knowing you will make 100 changes from inception to 1 year post live date. Innovation is sloppy, unknown and can't be put into a spreadsheet.

Can credit union's really be do-gooders all the time?

2010-04-16T13:04:00.004-04:00

We in credit union land like to talk about the good we do, distance ourselves from the banking community and proclaim we are the hero's in this financial crisis. Are we kidding ourselves or not? I don't believe the average consumer cares who is the villain and who is the do-gooder. They want and need responsible organizations to help them live their lives. Do we really do that much that is different for consumers than anyone else?

What is the value add we bring as CU's? If all we bring is a higher level of service, I don't really think that is a sustainable business model. Are we lending to people down on their luck who can't get a loan anywhere else? Only credit union's with 100% approval ratings can say that? Do we look at the reason for poor credit history and make an exception? Not if our regulators have any say in the matter. As an industry, we can only be as "good" as our regulators allow us to be. And our regulators have to have this stance because there are valid reasons for their concerns and limits. It is a balancing act of being good in order to be able to do good. If we did good deeds all the time, we might soon find ourselves out of business because we weren't being good in sense of fiscal responsibility and stewardship. In the end, credit union's have to balance doing good with being good in the terms of fiscal stewardship and the protection of the common good over individual needs.

No one said that being a hero, er credit union was ever going to be easy.

The mob mentality of social media

2010-03-15T13:20:00.004-04:00

We just experienced the "mob" mentality of the social media world in the past week. On our Facebook page, we talked about one of our new programs, One Guy/Gal. The purpose of the program is to use people who are the age of the people we want to attract to the credit union. One part of the message talked about using different social media tools if they so desired. Somehow, one of our Facebook fans took that as us having teenage design and run our social media marketing. And after a tweet on this subject by that person, the Twittersphere was filled with several others "piling" on about the ludicrous behavior by us. Fortunately, someone who saw the tweet actually took the time to read the entire Facebook promotion. They then tweeted how everyone was wrong and had they taken the time to actually read what they were commenting on they would have understood it better.

It is classic mob behavior and shows how easily all of us can become followers and never question whether there is any truth to what is being talked about or not. In most cases, the axiom that the "Truth shall set you free" is a true statement, but in the world of social media, finding the truth is next to impossible unless we think for ourselves. And for us, it was a couple of days before any of this conversation showed up on any our sources to detect these types of conversations about our brand.

New Year and New Resolutions

2010-01-18T21:35:00.002-05:00

Having taken almost three months off writing my blog, one my wonder why I am evening doing this post. Well, first, I like the opportunity to at least share thoughts and connect with others some of the time. And secondly, things are really changing with financial institutions and especially credit unions. Now, more than ever we all need to collaborate and work together with one common goal...helping our members with all aspects of their financial lives.

That is my resolution for 2010 and I hope I will devote the time to blog about and also to make changes at my credit union that will move us towards the common goal.

Why do we have to be legislated to be member friendly

2009-09-23T16:43:00.004-04:00

Overdraft honor or courtesy pay, regardless of how much you charge, it is the feel good "drug" of the financial services industry. We all have become addicted to the fee income that it is producing and have adopted the mentality more is better. And we can't get enough and have become totally dependant upon it. Now, we are at the point that we might have it taken away from us. Shame on all us for not thinking member first, bottom line second. What should we do...get ahead of the legislation and do what is right for the member. Don't wait to be told what you should already know is the right thing to do. Build it now and go through the painful rehab process that it will take to get away from this fee. What's the first step in the process...admit that you have a problem? Hello, I am XYZ Credit Union and I am a fee addict.

Don't mistake my comments...members want this service and should be allowed to have it they want and financial institutions should be allowed to charge a fee for it. My premise is that members need to have more control on when, how and what is part of this program. That is true member advocacy.

Interesting Twitter Research

2009-08-20T11:17:00.003-04:00

eMarketer just ran an interesting article on Twitter. If you are like me and still trying to make sense of how to use Twitter both personally and professionally it provides a brief look and confirmation that yes, 40% of all tweets are babble. More importantly though it does suggest that there is value in some tweets. The problem is that the babble overwhelms you and quite possibly can mislead you in regards to your opinion of Twitter. Our strategy to date is to be informational and perhaps move to conversational if the member wants to converse via Twitter. Our view is: open the channel and let members decide what they want to do on it. In some respects it is similar to our experience with chat. At first members would ask basic questions only via chat. Today, we are exchanging confidential information, opening accounts and doing loan applications because the members trust the security of the channel. It still remains to be seen if Twitter will gain that status or not.

Why do we do what we do?

2009-07-27T08:46:00.003-04:00

Sometimes in our rush to do the latest trend we forget why we exist. I have been meeting with the all the branch managers of our organization this last month and the message I have been trying to get across to them is that FORUM exists to help members lead their lives. Our part is not glamorous or really that complicated. We are the facilitator for them. We are in the facilitation business not the lending or checking account business. Why do I make this point? Because we have nearly 30% of our checking account that are inactive. (Our definition is doing less than 10 transactions per month that change the balance.) When digging into those number prior to my meetings with the branch managers I came to the realization that our staff might have thought we were in the checking account business. Open as many checking accounts as possible even if the member really doesn't plan to use the checking account seemed to be the mantra. That works if you are in the checking account business. If you are in the facilitation business, you only open accounts that members are truly going to use because your checking account will help them live their life easier, less expensively, etc. And for that matter you only suggest accounts or services that help the specific member you are dealing with at that moment in time.

The problem is that we forget why we are in business. We are not in business to make loan goals or grow checking accounts. We are in business to help members buy cars and pay for groceries. Staying focused on the real reason for existence means that loan goals and checking account goals and any other goal will be that much easier to attain because every member at some point needs a car, to pay for food, to save for college or live in retirement. Have the goal of facilitating all aspects of your members financial transactions. That is why we should be doing what we do.

Making quick decisions can be good...or not

2009-07-03T09:05:00.004-04:00

Quick decisions can be good but only if you have a full understanding of the information that is available to you and if you know that you can trust the information source. One example is limited documentation first and second mortgage loans. The whole limited doc program was originally developed to give better service to consumers and shorten a lengthy process for obtaining mortgages. Unfortunately these quick decisions have come back to haunt many financial institutions because they didn't really understand the risk. This risk can't be detected with typical underwriting tools because this risk was an external operational risk. Institutions trusted the source of information too much and didn't fully underwrite based upon the risk that it could be inaccurate.

Quick decision making can have be inherently more risky...it is just that the risk is different than credit risk. Yes, it eventually comes to credit risk but that was not the most important risk to mitigate in this situation. And quick decision making is not a "bad" goal either. However, there are several ways to improve the speed of decision making and not all of them bring an increased level of risk.

Catching up, refocusing, and reigniting

2009-06-25T13:43:00.003-04:00

I just realized that it has been almost two months since my last post...it's not like there hasn't been a lot going on to talk about. Rather it seems like there has been too much happening to even have time to reflect on what is happening. For instance, the quick passage of key and perhaps landmark regulations and laws from the new Congress. It seems they are in committee one day and being signed by the President the next. I sometimes worry that we are more concerned about taking any action than the right action. That can be drilled to our own credit union industry and even our own credit unions. During this financial crisis sometimes leaders can feel the pressure to make a decision, any decision and then follow through even if it doesn't make sense after more information is presented.

That is why I am taking this time to catch up on what I have missed, refocus our efforts on the core mission and then reigniting the engines to move forward with purpose and direction. Porter says something to the effect doing nothing is a decision so I understand not wanting to be caught in that trap but I also think we have to re-evaluate how determine the true problems before making decisions. This probably means a fundamental change in our decision making process. My advice to myself, slow down, really understand the problem, use the lens of the new world order to drive the decisions and then kick it in gear.

Remote deposit capture is more than cool

2009-05-05T14:05:00.003-04:00

We are just about ready to go live with remote deposit capture and the response has been overwhelming. We started with a group of beta testers...50 is what we wanted, within a couple of hours we had over 400 who wanted to be part of the test. I don't think the response was from the offer of getting a $5 check as the first deposit either. We are now in the second phase of testing with just over 500 members. We surveyed our first 50 members and the majority were more than pleased with the service. Even those that required a little time to get their scanner to work properly were highly likely to use again. And most of our beta testers deposited more than just their $5 reward check. We knew members would be open to the concept but our biggest concern was their willingness to spend a little time in getting the process to work for them. We are pleasantly surprised that the members so far have been willing to spend the time to make this service work for them. We know these are the early adopters but we have gleaned valuable knowledge to help the fast followers enjoy the same experience and have the same positive response to this service. Remote deposit capture is not only "cool" but also a great service that is in demand. RDC can help make a difference in capturing checking accounts and overcoming lack of branch and ATM locations. Think about it for your credit union, if you have a high penetration of online users, this is a service that will likely be highly valued by your members.

What's keeping me busy

2009-04-08T14:57:00.003-04:00

Members and consumers in general are really interested in not repeating the mistakes they made in the past. That made me think, how does this apply to the credit union world?

Credit unions, natural person or otherwise, should think about being more aware of the mistakes they made in the past and be sure not to repeat them too. Lots of people are spending time trying to find who to blame and wondering why this had to happen, etc. I don't mean to simplify this too much, but let's move on already. Our members still need cars, homes, new appliances and safe places to keep their money. Let the bean counters figure out how to "book" all the entries. Turn your focus back to the member, find ways to help them with what they need at this moment in time and don't forget about all those great ideas developed last year or the year before. They were GREAT ideas then and they are still great ideas now. Push on as going backwards or staying put are both recipes for disaster.

Paraphrasing Michael Porter, "Doing nothing is a decision." Don't stay busy by doing nothing. Focus on the member and stay busy creating solutions that they need to be financially successful.

Recovery starts at home

2009-03-06T08:07:00.003-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to be a guest on the Greg Garrison show, a local show on WIBC radio. I was thrilled to do the show because the entire premises was on building confidence in local financial institutions and in getting consumers to think about purchases that they need, like a new vehicle or replacements for essential home appliances, etc. Yes, the economy is in a recession and yes unemployment is rising. However, if we go back to normal levels of consumption then some of those issues will be mitigated. I firmly believe that the US economy is always about Main Street and not Wall Street. Wall Street might be the body of the car but Main Street is the engine pushing the economy down the road. And yes, the Big Three auto makers are important because they and all their suppliers employ the people who drive the Main Street businesses especially in the rust belt.

My view, if we start at home with fixing our local economy by adding and keeping jobs then that will start the ripple effect to the rest of the country. Or better yet several local economies start prospering at the impact is magnified. Main Street maybe didn't get us into this financial situation but we are the ones who have to fix it. And because of that, I applaud Greg Garrison for what he is trying to accomplish with his show every Tuesday morning at 9AM...build confidence back into the local consumer.

Micro business is not micro deposits

2009-02-05T15:14:00.003-05:00

An interesting article in the Raddon Report on micro businesses. Very interesting stats and I think a very interesting idea. Too often credit unions only view business services in the terms of commercial lending and analysis deposit or treasury management services. The micro-business segment is completely forgotten by most institutions but likely fits better with most credit union operations that the other types of businesses. Maybe the search for liquidity, increased net interest margin and fee income is right next door to the credit union branch.

Getting "it" back starts with savings

2009-01-29T08:29:00.003-05:00

"It" would be economic prosperity. I know that there is the notion that we have to spend our way out of recession. The money that is spent on this endavour doesn't have to come from being fully leveraged in debt. The money to spend could come from ways we save in our monthly budget. FORUM is starting a savings challenge called Save it Up. The winner of the challenge can earn up to $5,000 plus all the money they have saved by completing the savings challenges. We are introducing this challenge February 1st so stay tuned for more details. We will launch with a blog, website and then move towards other media marketing during the month of February.

Saving money out of our monthly budget might provide the stimulus we all need to spend our way out of this recession. Of course, a few tax breaks would be appreciated too!

Keeping the focus where it should be

2009-01-11T18:34:00.003-05:00

During difficult times organizations can take one of two courses of action. One is to focus on internal processes, budgets and actions. The other is to continue to look outward and find a way to help your stakeholders regardless of whether the action is a prudent "business" decision. That is what organizations do in the good times to be successful. The same formula can be successful in the hard times too. I feel extremely lucky that my organization, FORUM, is taking that approach. Our business plan for this year is focused entirely on ways to help our members through these difficult times. These initiatives are not about cutting expenses or doing less...they are about doing the most we can for our members. We understand that if our members thrive, the credit union will thrive as well.

And the bonus benefit of this approach is that the staff of the credit union can and have totally committed to this approach. The response has been outstanding. Not because it is a change from what we always do but because it is different than what most employees thought would be our course of action in 2009. It's all about keeping the focus where it should be.

Are there opportunities today?

2008-12-11T18:29:00.002-05:00

For credit unions I think there is a tremendous amount of opportunity. And the opportunity is not about gaining market share or share of wallet. It is about being the leading voice in the revitalization of the saving economy. There's the old saying..."he got his money the old fashioned way, he earned it." We have always been about helping members but today's economic downturn has turned that focus into a passion and it shows. I recently have had the chance to talk to a couple of our retail delivery leaders. When I asked about 2009, I got the same response. The staff is fired up about truly focusing on helping people. We are working on a couple of major education and counseling efforts that we will launch in 2009. (more to come on those in another post) By sharing those ideas with all levels of organization early we not only are getting their great input to make them better but we are also creating a common battle cry for the organization. In these tough times, retaining top talent is difficult and we have found just having a more defined focus helps us keep our best people loyal.

I go back to what the folks at Filene said 2 years ago at CUNA Mutual's Discovery conference. CUs need to get back to their roots. They maybe were thinking more about the common bond roots but I also think they were talking about our original purpose too. So props to Mark, George, Denise and gang for being way ahead of the curve. If we had only listened more closely!

Shouldn't the CU Bailout come from within?

2008-11-26T15:15:00.003-05:00

There has been lots of talk and concern about CU's not getting any of the bailout funds, etc? I am not sure where I stand on this issue to be honest but part of me believes that any credit union bailout should come from within the industry not from outside taxpayers. One of our key differentiators is supposed to be that we are not for profit financial cooperatives and that is why we don't need to pay taxes. To me if that is to hold true then we need to help out our larger cooperative movement from within instead of looking to the government for funds.

Now, I am all for getting access to resources that will help our members or changing of regulations that can help us. Wouldn't this be a great time to enact some of the CU legislation we have been wanting...permanent tax exemption, expanded lending powers, etc because it has been shown credit unions are the safe harbor in this environment.

I am sure this issue is much more complicated than I have made it seem to be here and yet there still is an opportunity for our movement to create our own, self funded, cooperative bailout plan. The question, who takes the lead on making this happen? NCUA, CUNA, state leagues? A group of credit unions leaders?

Is anyone planning for 2009

2008-11-23T15:37:00.002-05:00

November has been a month that seems to have almost ended before it even started. Traditionally it was the month that we finalize our year long planning process for the next year. This is been a different year to say the least. But, regardless of what is going on, we have to plan all the time. For tomorrow, next week, next year and five years. I think that is where some organizations can stumble. They get so caught up in short term thinking and make short term decisions that they never make it to the long term...in planning or as an organization. We planning for all the time periods I mentioned before and it is worthwhile if you take a scenario approach to the process. You have to considered several different futures and have plans for each possible outcome. This is one area that marketers need to get better at in my opinion. We develop a monthly plan for then entire year but we develop it with options so that we can revise it even on a weekly basis if the situation demands it. Even though we didn't think our last 6 months of 2008 would be like this, we had enough options in our marketing plan that we were able to make adjustments as conditions required and help insure that marketing is contributing to the overall success of the credit union...not marketing for marketing sake.

What is a tangible example of this? One very important one is that we are focusing on the CU difference in how it helps us get through these economic times differently than banks. That is not something we had on the marketing agenda last November, but it was now.

Plan long term, execute short term is our motto.

Is there a real opportunity for credit unions?

2008-10-28T20:27:00.006-04:00

Much has been made in credit union land in executive meetings, trade association meetings, CEO round tables, blogs and the CU press about the great opportunity standing right in front of credit unions. Credit unions are the most logical choice because they are all good, wholesome and member focused. And consumers are looking for that, they are just waiting for us to tell them we are all that right? Maybe, or maybe this great opportunity isn't really that easy. Shouldn't we be focused on showing and doing what we do instead of saying what we don't do? I firmly believe that the credit union difference has to be experienced, not "marketed".

This is why I am concerned that this "opportunity" may just be a mirage. I haven't noticed any marketing or other efforts that truly show consumers the fundamental differences between banks and credit unions. And what I have seen is something that a lot of sound financial institutions will also be saying as well. I do believe there will be opportunities but if our focus is only on what we don't do, why would consumers ever choose us because we don't show them what we truly can do for them.

Social media misses the mark?

2008-10-10T08:42:00.003-04:00

At the 2008 FORUM Solutions Symposium, a considerable amount of time was spent on social media, online outreach and community activism. I was disappointed though that not one single presenter mentioned or discussed the role of texting in the upcoming generation. I have my theory on that but more on that in a minute. Our own unscientific research indicates that those 18 - 23 spend more time texting than any other communication channel. In a poll of a random sample of 35 high school seniors, 75% indicated that using a mobile home banking program on a cell phone or even an iPhone was not appealing. 60% indicated that they would be highly motivated to move to an institution that would allow them to send text messages to get balances or conduct transactions. (Of course, real time instantaneous responses were a given.) I know this is unscientific and a very very small sample but as you do ethnographic research (Sit in a Starbucks for a few hours in the evenings.) one notices that texting is very prevalent.

Back to my theory. What the 24 - 29 year old's accuse us 35 - 45 years old's of doing to them, they are doing to the 18 - 23 year old's...thinking that what they think is cool and the only way to interact is the way all should interact. It is just a thought but I am not sure email, blogs and Twitter are going to be the best communication choice for the second half of the Gen Y cohort. And for those under 18, texting is the be all, end all communication device. Email is so yesterday to them, even if it is within Facebook or MySpace. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that they won't be using these same channels but this groups main connection might just be with their text community. At the speed of disruptive innovation in this space, who know what will be the next thing.

Symposium 08 was not a letdown

2008-10-02T22:48:00.004-04:00

The FORUM Solutions/Trabian Symposium has just wrapped up and all I can say is "WOW". A lot of great ideas and information sharing. And Ron Shevlin did a completely awesome job with his role at this event. I think that addition to the 2008 Symposium was a great move by Doug True. What I liked most about this was that Ron challenged everyone, even those he might completely agree with to help flesh out even more of what they were talking about. I am sure there are several blog posts already or soon to be posted on the ideas. Look around the blog sphere and see others take on all the ideas.

Collaboration and community were two key themes I felt that were running through the entire symposium. Whether it be Young and Free or Thrift or Hyperlocal Credit Union...the point was that collaboration could help CUs get there. And VanCity's amazing focus on community issues making them the player in Vancouver is something that shows what community can be all about. Social media was another topic but one that I felt left a little to be desired because I don't really think anyone has it figured out for prime time...it still seems to implemented in too much of a marketing format instead of a true social media effort.

Not to be a Pollyanna but maybe...

2008-09-21T21:06:00.005-04:00

Any one with kids, especially a girl will understand this reference. Basic storyline is that a young girls comes to a town full of doom and gloom and turns the entire town around because of her positive outlook. (For the skeptics amoung you, don't go down the path that a Pollyanna is a naive person.)

How does this relate to credit unions? We all need to be using the Pollyanna principle. Tell members about all the positives, and yes there are positives even in this turbulent time. For one, their credit union. We may be struggling but we are still financially sound, we are there for them and can provide the help they need. We also need to remind them that they need to take a longer view with their investments and 401k. Have them talk to one of your investment reps if they don't feel comfortable or are not getting any information from their current advisor. Look to add more information to your website that can help them serve themselves. We are not where we want to be with that but in the next few months we hope to more and more of that information. We also have a "We can Help" program for members who have loans with us that are behind. We are doing everything we can to help members keep their homes, cars and their good credit.

There are so many ways to be a Pollyanna even in these turbulent times. Try it, your members are looking for it.

Fishing for Clients

2008-09-14T22:07:00.008-04:00

When will vendors treat us professionals instead of fish to reel on with the right lure. Hey, I have been to the same sales classes too so I know where they are going. Problem is, they forgot the one important rule that I think you must follow in all sales efforts. Find out the true pains of your potential client and then be honest with your solution. I have very few sales people who call on me that will actually say that they don't think we have a fit at this time. When I hear that from someone, they go in my contact list. When I have a need, I will be calling them.

My favorite is the calls that they have a promotion that goes great with loans, they will solve our our lending problems, etc As soon as I say we are 127% loan to share, there is a long pause and then always the following: "Well, we have seen a few of clients have success with this on the deposit side and just as member appreciation." That really gives me a good feeling that this is a product is going to work. And what gets me the most is the quick offer of a pro forma that always shows the most outstanding results.

I understand everyone needs to make a living and most of these products are very good products but they are not all right for FORUM Credit Union. Honest discussion and collaboration is something that is sorely missing in many organizations. We need vendors who want to be partners not just sales people. Those are truly few and far between and need to be cherished.

Where do you go to work on new ideas?

2008-08-27T16:21:00.004-04:00

For the FORUM marketing department it is always one of three places...Starbucks, Panera or McCalisters. These are the places we go to get away from the confines of what we can do and try to get at what we should do. I don't know why getting away from our ordinary work and meeting spaces allows us to focus more on our new ideas but it always does. Maybe it is a self fulfilling prophecy or maybe it is because we know that we are dedicating this time to this only and it is not for the day to day stuff. Whatever, it is always a productive 90 minutes and we always keep it to 90 minutes. And I am not talking off the wall, never going to happen discussions. Yes, we laugh, joke and have a good time but it is extremely productive.

Why can't we capture this in our normal environment? I don't know, maybe getting away from what is comfortable helps us forget about the restraints of budgets, processes and technology constraints. Or maybe making the effort to focus on thinking is what is really happening.

So, where do you go for new ideas and thinking? If you don't have a place find one that is fun. And good food or drinks is also a must have in a good thinking spot.

Can you handle the truth?

2008-08-25T07:58:00.003-04:00

That is one of Jack Nicholson's signature lines from "A Few Good Men" and one that applies to all of us in credit union land. Can we handle the truth...and what will we do with the true when we hear it, see it or experience it? Do we dismiss as an isolated incident, do we say that's not our area and ignore it or do we take action?

FORUM does a tremendous amount of surveys to our members. We attempt to open channels of communication to get feedback even outside of surveys. Part of our brand is "Your Voice" so we promote that we want to hear from our members. That is all the easy part. The difficult part is what do you do with the truth when you have it. Many of the surveys go out with my name on them. The conversations I have with members because of that are always enlightening. From phone calls to late night email conversations I always find that members give the truth according to them. And that is where I think many companies fall down when hearing the truth. They don't realize that consumer perception is the truth even if it is not accurate. That is the tricky part of finding the "truth". Whose "truth" matters? In a service business, the only truth that matters is the consumer's truth. That is where change is most difficult...dealing with a member "truth" that isn't entirely accurate from the credit union perspective.

You may ask what made me post about this. It is that I am currently dealing with one of those "truths" in our CU that another department doesn't believe. Change is hard, especially when it is based on not completely accurate information.

Nano's, rates and cash

2008-08-03T11:06:00.002-04:00

For the last two weeks a local competitor has been running newspaper ads and has multiple billboards in our market touting open a checking account and get a free iPod nano. We also have a competitor touting a very high checking account rate and then there is the competitor offering the old standby, $100 cash. I am not saying we have never offered these ourselves but I just don't see these being that effective anymore. Consumers are more savvy than that and as marketers we need to give them a little more credit. We are working very hard on building our unofficial spokesperson program...our version of members getting their friends, co-workers and family to open services with FORUM. Let's face it, our checking account isn't superior to any other checking account in our market. What makes our account different is the way in that we serve the member. Service is a retention tool and can only be a marketing tool when it is your members doing the telling, not the credit union trying to tell that story. Hey, even my 7 year old thinks a nano is not where it's at any more.

Is the branch dead for financial services?

2008-07-20T23:01:00.002-04:00

That is a question that has been debated for the last 20 years and will probably be for the next 20 years. The recent news about Starbucks closing 600 stores is somehow made parallel to bank branches. Let's face it, closing 60o stores out of over 10,000 is not really that big of a deal, especially if it is under performing stores. So for me, I don't see how this fits with financial services. Now what I do see is that branches of the future need to be different and for us at FORUM, they probably need to smaller and even more nimble. What if during the holiday season, we had a kiosk branch in the mall where people were shopping and what if during the summer we had branches near summer activity spots. We have a great walking, bike riding, etc trial called the Monon Trail. Why don't we have a walk-up/ride your bike up branch.

People still want a branch, they just don't visit them that often, so why don't we visit them where they go. Maybe we could rent a counter at the local hardware store. Or on Friday nights be at local high school football fields or gymnasiums. My point is, why do branches have to be phyical standing entities? Maybe it is because we are stuck in the bricks versus clicks debate. To me it is not bricks vs clicks, its clicks+bricks and we need to use those two items in tandem.

The "branch" isn't dead, I just don't think you will recognize it in 20 years. Look at gas stations 20 years ago and the gas stations of today.

It's not the economy, it's the dreams

2008-06-30T16:27:00.002-04:00

Six months will be in the books at the end today. Did you accomplish what you wanted to in the first six months? How much have your plans changed in the last 90 days from what you thought you would be doing back on January 1st (or January 2nd for those of you too “tired” to think on January 1st). I know mine have changed greatly, or at least it seemed that way until a couple of weeks ago. Yes, housing is in a slump, gas prices are over $4 and people generally think the economy is in the tank. But, you know what, my job isn’t to lower gas prices, increase home values or improve the economy. My job is to help people with their money, specifically help them use their money to accomplish what they want and need.

We all need to look at the tools at our disposal and focus on what we do best, helping members achieve their dreams. It sounds so simple doesn’t it? It’s not really that simple because there is so much noise in the market that now no one hears anything. My next six months are going to be focused on what I have been focused on in the last six month – expanding share of wallet and market share. We need to find reasons for members to join FORUM: better checking account, convenient location, unique savings options, better CD rate, better loan terms, small business accounts, etc. There is not one single silver bullet that we can employ with laser like precision to accomplish both growth objectives. We have to meet the needs of each unique individual. I am not saying we need to be all things to all people, I am just saying we need to be all things to the segment of the market that finds us relevant. And if that segment of the market is not big enough for us to survive, then we need to add more “things” to capture more than one segment.

Being in the dream fulfillment business sounds corny but not all dreams are big. Everyone has something they want to achieve in life…their credit union should be a part of that life. I see FORUM’s role in each members’ life being one that helps them facilitate what they want to accomplish, an enabler not a roadblock. Roadblocks can be not having the right products, not letting members know about the products that can help them or having more than the one simple rule of “seeing how we can do this”. Policies are required, but as credit unions we should all live by this simple rule. If not, how can we be in the dream fulfillment business.

Finding the next best thing...

2008-06-19T13:03:00.005-04:00

Check out this site, thisnext. Ever wonder how in the world to find the next best thing. I stumbled across this site, it has been around for a couple of years, looking for an item. This is not the item I was looking for but it is what made me realize there is way more going on than I could ever think to look for...

The Wine Rack - secret bra flask

Does this post have anything to do with credit unions? Yes, why aren't we doing more to find the next best thing we can offer our members. Doug True talked about it in his post about me too, me too. We need to be looking not at what the competition is doing but at what and how our members are leading their financial lives.

Ideas that help members financial lives can come from doing ethnographic research. Filene, in conjunction with Design Concepts did a great project on this. We need more of this across credit union land. And sometimes we don't need to wait for a member to express the need, we can create a product that fills a "hidden" need. In doing so, we create long term member loyalty. Not sure how that shows up on the net promoter score but for me, it shows up in that members stay longer and give you more share of wallet.

I know there are lots of opportunities to see new ideas that are being developed in the consumer financial space...but for ideas that you can develop shouldn't you also include insights from the members you have or the members you want to attract.

Product and service innovations can be simple

2008-06-06T07:51:00.003-04:00

I recently read an interesting article on making innovations simple. They looked at the iPod, Google and the Internet and came away with the premise that these three innovations had three common themes that made them successful.
1. Simple user interfaces
2. Reuse of existing information and/or technology
3. Created by a small group

I like these three ideas for innovations. Why? Because I think they can be very member centric and if we use these ideas to create innovations in products and services they will more likely be accepted by members. Our Weekly 5 Club, a prized based savings account is one example that really used all three of the themes above. And it has been very successful.

Now, if we could just to find a way to reuse all of that green bar report paper and dot matrix printers from the past.

First it was Mac vs PC, now its DirectTV vs Cable

2008-05-29T22:34:00.002-04:00

Mac vs PC ads are funny and at first I thought they did a good job of not insulting the intelligence of consumers. Now I think they are starting to move towards insulting which is a turnoff for me. The Direct TV ads started off insulting to consumers' intelligence and continue to set new lows to me. Are they funny? Absolutely. Would I get Direct TV because of it? No. They run down cable but I think they don't do a good enough job of selling the Direct TV benefits for me. If they didn't run so many ads, I wouldn't even remember it was for Direct TV. I think both campaigns show how cluttered the marketplace has become and how some advertisers will do anything to cut through the clutter even if in the end it is insulting and not really that beneficial. Funny is good if it builds upon your brand. That is what I think Apple has done for the most part with the Mac vs PC ads. Being funny that distracts from your brand message in the long run can do more harm than the benefit. That is where I think Direct TV is...I think less of them because of the humor they are using even if it is funny my opinion of Direct TV is less because of their advertising.

A sad note on email fundraiser

2008-05-27T21:13:00.002-04:00

Thought I would give some closure if you were following my earlier posts about the email fundraising efforts for a local 19 year old needing a transplant. They needed to raise $500,000 by April 4th. The family more than exceeded that goal ($855,000) in total collected funds. Unfortunately, their son didn't stay in remission and he couldn't have the transplant. He passed away over the weekend. It makes one thankful for what one has and it also shows that even in this day and time people can be rallied for a very important cause. My thoughts and prayers are with this family in a very sad time.

Listen, but have a backbone

2008-05-16T08:49:00.003-04:00

Recently read an article from iMedia titled "Your key demographic speaks its mind", about a mini-survey they did using Peanut Labs an online social network survey organization that was targeted to Gen Y. Lots of great questions and interesting responses but the one that caught my attention: To what extent do you prefer content providers to act upon every suggestion made to them as opposed to those outlets showing clear authority in the content they provide?

Results: 56% - I want users' suggestions to be acknowledged but only implemented on the site's own authority/judgement. 34% - I want to know that they are incorporating users' suggestions as much as possible.

Why did this catch my attention? It should alleviate the fear that organizations have of opening up to their members and asking for suggestions. I like what Starbucks and Dell have been doing to transform their companies. How can we get this mentality in credit unions? We don't have to implement every suggestion but we do need to respond to every suggestion. Member engagement can't be measured any more by the services per member metric. That is just a measure of wallet share, important, but long term loyalty lies in transparency and partnership. That is my problem with the Net promoter score...it is a "feeling at this time" about a member. Important, but not the end all be all measurement criteria.

Bottom line: Listen to all but still make your own decisions and your will gain respect. (Oh, yeah and make sure you let people know when you are using suggestions so they can see that you really do listen.)

Show them the money

2008-05-12T16:10:00.003-04:00

One of our larger SEGs has a relationship with two banks and us for "banking at work" programs. Recently, the two banks have been trying to one up each other on the offer to get new customers. The first bank started with $50, the second came back with $75 and now the first bank is back with $100. It only requires opening a checking account and starting direct deposit and there is no minimum opening balance. They are have representative on site just like we do. I am afraid to think of what the next offer will be.

How are we reacting? First, we are not trying to match the cash incentive. We are taking a relationship based approach and give away a variety of incentives as existing members and new members take out new services. Secondly, we are trying to offer unique products and show value. I have to say though, these offers will start to impact our ability to attract new members. Our existing members love us. (That is how we know the banks are coming out, we get emails from our member letting us know.) But at what price will our members be tempted and at what level will we have to react.

Buying market share is not uncommon and we do practice that method to an extent but at what point will we have to change our game to overcome this? The incentive has escalated in just 3 months. It shows how relevant the checking account is to all financial institutions and how willing they are to "show them the money".

Grow Show Update

2008-04-29T21:41:00.004-04:00

Great group of credit union professionals at the Grow Show 2008. The CU Journal always does a first class job with their conferences. And the speaker lineup was great.

If you would like a copy of any of the slides or materials in the slides, just send me an email: andym@forumcu.com. I am happy to share any information anyone would like to have.

I found it interesting that of the credit unions in the audience, nearly 80% attributed their membership growth to mergers instead of organic growth. I know we are struggling with it at FORUM and is why we are continually looking for ways to connect with our members and potential members. One topic that we all need to focus on is retention. i3 had an idea of connecting CU members to new credit unions in other cities when they move. Maybe that idea will get traction someday.

Grow Show 2008

2008-04-25T11:00:00.003-04:00

I am headed to speak at the Grow Show on Sunday on the topic of using members in marketing and sales of the credit union. It will be an exciting lineup of speakers and I hope I can deliver value to those in attendance.

When preparing for this presentation I realized we really have just been refining a channel for organic growth that has always existed. The unofficial spokesperson is really just a more focused version of the summer membership drives we did in the past to get friends and family referrals from our existing members. It's interesting how we evolved to this concept. We took what we learned from all of our member referral promotions, the lessons learned and ideas from the i3 MoneyWorks blueprint and then put our own "brand twist" on the concept to come up with what we have. Failing fast was a key ingredient in arriving at a model that works for us. As others look to this concept or doing a version of this concept, I think the key is doing what works for your credit union and taking tips and ideas from all sources.

Looking inside only your own industry can stifle innovation. If you don't subscribe to www.springwise.com newsletter, you should. If you have a blog reader, devote time to reading blogs from those not even remotely connected to financial services. I have a few listed on my blog but there are so many others that I have on my Google reader to get a perspective outside the industry. The unofficial spokesperson would never have been developed if we didn't look outside our industry for innovation. The MoneyWorks idea was partly inspired the Tupperware/Party Light/Pampered Chef model.

See you in Orlando.

Gas stations, slushy machines & credit unions

2008-04-17T19:33:00.002-04:00

First, this post is not about my vacation although there will be a reference to my vacation drive only for contextual purposes.

As I was driving down Highway 231 from Montgomery to Dothan, AL (only reference to my vacation) I began to notice something that struck me as odd. I was only on this highway for 90 miles but in that time I counted (about halfway down 231) over 15 abandon service stations plus another 5 or so that had been converted to tattoo parlors or flea market stands or fireworks shops. For those of you not old enough to remember, service stations were the precursor to today’s modern day mini-mart that also happens to sell gas. These were the service stations of the two or three bays to repair cars, full and self service pumps and vending machines for drinks and snacks. The owner was probably a mechanic, tow truck driver and a bit entrepreneurial.
What struck me was this thought? Why did these go out of business, the road is still highly traveled and people still need gas for their cars? That was evidenced by the large chain minimarts that were located every 15 miles in abundance. What changed?

This is what changed in my mind - consumer expectations/traveling behaviors and the reliability of cars. First, every stop for gas includes drinks and food. The fast food phenomena has made it okay for people to eat in the car when driving so why not get that hot dog and coke (Diet Pepsi if traveling with my friend Doug True.) while stopping for gas instead of making two stops. Secondly, cars are really more reliable now than ever before - onboard computers make it easier to diagnose problems before they happen thus eliminating car trouble on the road. That is why auto makers are continuing to give longer and longer warranty coverage. This is the Japanese effect on auto making. Better, longer lasting more reliable cars.

How does this all relate to credit unions? If we don’t change we could become the service stations I mentioned above. Ron Shevlin has a great post about branching and what I am saying is this even goes beyond that. What are outside forces that impact the way our members conduct financial transactions that could influence who they choose as a financial provider. Think about things like PayPal, ZOPA, Wesabe, Mint, Capital One’s Decoupled debit card, remote deposit capture for consumers using a scanner or cell phone, ordering pizza online, online chat medical advice, text based search, GPS devices, OnStar, and the list goes on and on. How are all of these financial and non-financial changes impacting what our members want from a financial institution and how they will use a financial institution in the future?

Maybe one day we will be talking about the importance of slushy machines in a branch near you!

Email fundraiser Update

2008-04-07T21:35:00.002-04:00

Wow, did our community respond! $715,000 collected (that is collected at the bank and on deposit) by the end of the day Friday. That is truly amazing and truly a testament to how we are all so connected. I don't know any of the details on the size of gifts but what I have heard is that hundreds of individuals drove to the bank or mailed the check to make this happen. A family now has hope and maybe a little strength in the knowledge that the first of two miracles they needed has occurred.

Email fundraising to save a life

2008-04-03T17:11:00.005-04:00

On April 1st I received an email from a trusted friend. The main point of the email, someone he knew had a 19 year old son who needed a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately the lifetime maximum for insurance for this young man has been reached. To get this life saving bone marrow transplant the family needed $500,000 by April 5Th. Just 5 days to raise that kind of money. The parents, a resource teacher and a grade school principal, are already tapped out with previous medical expenses.

Their friends began reaching out for them, asking people to donate just $25 or $50 or even $100 and then to send the email to 20 people in their contact list. This story took off and by the 2 pm I had received emails from 10 other people who were forwarding the request. That was over 200 people who knew about this story in just 4 hours and my wife received almost as many and most of hers were not duplicates either.

We did our part, made a donation and forwarded to others but this is where I wish as a credit union we could have done more. How? The donation was to be mailed to a bank or dropped off in person...how long will it take for them to know if they have the money? Wouldn't it have been a great service to these people if FORUM Credit Union could have offered an online fundraising option so that as this email when out people would have instantly donated. A fundraising option that would be trusted to not be a scam and that these parents could have know how quickly the community was responding to people they didn't even know? How much more would people have donated if they would have made the donation at the exact moment they read the story and were called to action. Waiting until getting home or to the checkbook means some intended to make a donation but life got in the way.

I haven't heard yet if the goal has been met yet or not for this young man. I pray that it has been, there is still one day left for donations. It leaves with a sense of how powerful even email can be to develop a community. I was at my son's lacrosse game that night and almost everyone at the game both for our team and the opponent had received the email and were talking about. The email started a word of mouth campaign on the subject.

Taking it for Granted

2008-03-24T08:37:00.003-04:00

Easter Sunday, every year for the last 7 years, my family treks back to Illinois for Easter celebrations with my parents, brothers and sisters. On every one of those trips including this years, we always stop at McDonalds for breakfast before leaving Indy and then late that evening we stop half way home for drinks and a rest break. Clean restrooms, fast service and a predictable menu are why we stop at McDonalds when we travel. Most gas stations and many other fast food chains don't have the focus on these basic concepts. Nobody wants something that is unpredictible or unreliable. And we only need a couple of experiences to jade our perception of an entire industry.

Why is this relevant to financial services organizaitons, especially credit unions? We have to remember that we are still taken for granted to be the small, unsophisticated credit unions of the 1960's. Even many of our own members still think of us that way. When I travel, I still stop at gas stations to fill up the tank, but for restroom breaks or a quick meal, it's always McDonalds. I am even willing to drive to the next exit or a little farther down the road for McDonalds but never for gas...first one, easy on and off, lowest price. (Now I will admit, my wife probably has more influence on the McDonald's for restroom breaks than me, but isn't that true of financial decisions.)

If we want to be the McDonald's instead of the gas station for financial services we have to remind our members all the time that we are different, unique and able to serve many of their needs with trained professionals. We want and need people to drive a little further for us because we can't outbranch the banks. Low cost, easy access is not where we can survive long term. Research tells us that members lack confidence in credit union financial advisors...it is taken for granted that they were one day a teller and then promoted to investment advisor the next. Member perceptions are a quirky and frustrating area. We have to break out of the mold of the "it's your grandfather's credit union" and be sure that we are being relevant across a broad demographic segment.

A Better Experience

2008-03-12T21:38:00.003-04:00

How often do we all feel frustrated by our efforts to get good service from an organization and are ready to provide consulting to that company? Then, we get back to our company and find out that maybe our own organization has a few hiccups in the delivery of service. Recently we had a member tell us about waiting on hold for ever (6 minutes) and then trying to leave a message and it doesn't work properly. Here we thought we had a process in place to make waiting on hold a better experience and it only made it worse.

I guess my point is that when we suffer less than perfert service we should use that as a reminder to see if we are doing the same thing. As insiders, it is often hard to find a way to make it a better experience for our members because we never use the channels our members use. Maybe if we all had to call our own call centers, visit our own branches or use our own materials we might find ways to make it better. After all, we are the ones with the most knowledge and power to make a difference.

Old Technology + New Use = Innovation

2008-03-04T07:55:00.002-05:00

There was a recent article in the CUNA Magazine about the most important technology for credit unions today. Know what the answer was? Not PCs, online tools, or email. The most important technology today as it has been for many years was the phone and the phone system. Members regardless of the age still want and use the oldest technology in use by any company – the phone. Today we have sophisticated phone systems, automated menus, skill based routing and much more. Unfortunately our members and consumers in general absolutely hate this. They want simple choices and the chance to talk to someone…and for the younger members that is exactly how it happens using online channels.

What if we used our phone system differently? What if we simplified just like we do with online chat or email. Call in and press 1 to solve a problem with your account or answer a question, press 2 to apply for a loan and press 3 to open a new account. From there, employees hand the member off to the appropriate person if needed. What if we used our phone system to deliver the “knock your socks off” personal service that we can’t give to most members anymore because they don’t visit our branches?

This would be a new use for credit union phone systems – making the phone call the personal touch service but using the oldest and most important technology our credit unions can utilize – the phone.

Boring to Bizarre Innovation

2008-02-21T15:32:00.003-05:00

I have never been a believer that innovation can be made into a system. Innovation comes from thinking and doing stuff. Wild and crazy stuff and boring and mundane stuff. Read springwise or some other trend watching site and you will see all types of innovation. From the boring, I could have thought of that to the really bizarre, why anyone would do that.

As a credit union, we need to look at both ends of the spectrum and in between. I think my staff thinks I am crazy sometimes with what I send to them. Most of the time, I don't really think it has any merit, but I am not the sole judge of what could be the next big thing. Something I send to them may actually spark an idea or thought in them that it didn't in me.

Can Credit Unions Make a Difference?

2008-02-19T12:28:00.005-05:00

Do we make a difference in the lives of our members? 80% of our members would say no, FORUM really makes no significant difference in their lives. Why do I say that? Just giving good rates or good service is really not a loyalty building event. It is just doing what is expected. A couple of years ago, I read the "Fred Factor", the story of the mailman who made a difference to the people on his postal route by the way he delivered the mail.

How can we get the "Fred Factor" in credit unions? It might start with making a difference to the employees of the the credit union. Yesterday we held our "Day of Celebration" (On President's Day when we are closed), a time when all the 350 employees of the credit union get together to celebrate the past year. Awards are given, words of praise are spoken and a speaker is brought in to deliver a message. I started thinking last night, did yesterday make a difference to our employees? I don't know if it did or not but we are trying to make a difference. I am not sure we try every day, with every transaction, through every delivery channel to make a difference or to be different for members. That is where I think FORUM and credit unions in general can make a difference...trying may be enough to seperate us from other financial institutions. Going back to CU roots, credit unions did make a difference in peoples' lives. I am not saying we have to be small, ran by 3 people shops. What we have to do is find ways to make a difference to a diverse group of individuals based on today and tomorrow not yesterday.

One of my favorite says is the definition of insantiy is trying the samething over and over and expecting a different result each time. How insane are most credit unions? They continue to compete on price and tout they have better service. The end results are the chillingly low membership growth numbers, less than attractive ROAs and an even tighter NIM. Didn't work in 2007, 2006, 2005...what's the plan for 2008? Market that our service is the best, offer a fabulously low rate to recaputure auto loans and offer market leading CD rates. (Exactly what we did on 2005 - 2007) but this year we will make it up in volume and the additional services we will cross sell to these members.

Credit Unions, lets be bolder. How about trying to be the Nordstrums, or the Southwest or the Amazon.com of the financial services industry? Make a difference to the members in how they interact with their financial institution...do field research like Intuit does with its TurboTax software...and give your employees the power to really be different.

Stimulus Package or Savings Opportunity

2008-02-08T12:49:00.000-05:00

Congress finally passed the economic stimulus package yesterday. Most Americans will be recieving a check from Uncle Sam soon. As credit unions should we just let members spend away to help the economy, or should we find a way to use this unexpected windfall to teach members about savings? At FORUM, we think getting them to save is a better idea. We are working on a program to use our Weekly 5 Club (our prized based savings program) to attract just a small portion of this stimulus check to start a regular savings habit.

We are testing an idea with the tax rebates during the tax season, we will then modify and start a program in mid-May to teach members about the virtues of a regular savings habit and using part of the tax refund check to fund it. Will keep you posted on the results.

Uncertain Times? Not really!

2008-02-05T08:11:00.000-05:00

The first month of the year seems to be doom and gloom...stock market on a tumble, rates falling, high deliquency, mortgage foreclosures, sputtering economy. Does that make for uncertain times? It shouldn't! Now is the time to push even harder with your bold vision. If you have sound policies and a strong balance sheet, don't retreat because of the economy. FORUM Credit Union has always been focused on not letting the economy be a major factor in our performance. We know that during these times the best opportunities to grow, expand our delivery systems and develop new methods to serve our members present themselves. That is why you will see our efforts continue with initiatives such as ZOPA, text banking and several other new products. The easist strategy is to cut products or services that could be impacted by the economic woes. We feel the better strategy is to work very hard at making adjustments to products that could be problematic, such as home equity loans or mortgage loans. Our members still need these services in a down economy, now is not the time to pull back. This is the time when pricing on both sides of the balance sheet become critical and credit union pricing committees become very important. Uncertain times? Only if you take your eye off of doing what is best for the member as a whole which is providing a financially stable cooperative that meets their needs.

Getting Ideas Started

2008-01-15T16:17:00.000-05:00

Sometimes getting an idea started takes more than just having a good idea. Have you seen the FedEx commercial where the guys says use FedEx and then the boss says the same thing and everyone agrees its a good idea? How often in our credit unions does it take the right person saying something is a good idea to get everyone else behind the project? You have to find those people in your credit union to get ideas going. It might take awhile and the link to your idea has probably been long forgotten but that shouldn't discourage you. I think any one's role in a company is to be involved with change however that needs to happen. Many of good idea are never completed because of a lack of resource allocation. If a great idea has to be fostered by someone else to get the resource allocation, so be it. Innovation is not the start of the idea but rather the implementation of the idea. And one thing we add around here, profitable implementation of the idea. Bottom line, get ideas started however you can.

Looking Back while Looking Forward

2008-01-07T13:03:00.000-05:00

Bold predictions and top ten lists have dominated the blogs, newspapers, radio and every other medium for the last few weeks. I always like to make a top 3 list in 5 areas...so here is my 5 top 3.

1) Things I wish I would have done differently in 2007:
1. Initial MFA roll out, we rocked at the end but should have been more prepared at the start.
2. Not focused some much on Web 2.0 as much as focusing on social concerns.
3. Spent more time on consumer trends across industries

2) Projects not completed in 2007 that I wish had been:
1. Interest rewards checking...a great chance to add to debit rewards program
2. myfinancespace.com idea of giving individual advice to real world questions
3. Cash dude, taking our credit union message to campus using students

3) What makes me concerned for credit unions in 2008:
1. Decoupled debit cards
2. Consumer backlash over fees and/or governmental controls on NSF and ODH
3. Not finding a business model that can provide a sustainable revenue generation

4) What I think are the biggest trends in 2008 to watch:
1. Growing consumer acceptance of PFM and social financial data sharing
2. Non CU and non Bank companies using PFM 2.0 to influence consumer financial decisions
3. High Tech with High Touch delivery channels for financial transactions

5) What I am most excited to work on in 2008:
1. New checking/PFM/card account
2. Social lending and social savings programs
3. Learning lacrosse (my oldest son has decided to play, I know nothing about it)

Getting More Time

2007-12-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been 30 days since I last posted. Seems like Nov 15 to Dec 15 is always the busiest time of the year for me. In my roll I am responsible for keeping the CU on focus for the business plan. It is amazing how difficult it is to get the final ideas fleshed out when you have limited resources. Time is just one the important resources we all need more of to be the best.

I realized as we were cutting out important new ideas that time was one of the biggest reasons. Many of our ideas depends on the development from many different teams and the spreading of that time can be very difficult. It is easy to say do what is best for the member and let that lead you...but best for what member and in what way? Isn't it important for the CU to have a solid financial base so that all members can enjoy more services? What if that comes in conflict with a new product that might satisfy just a niche group of members? Who wins? We are constantly dealing with the issue of not being all things to all people. That is easy to say but which people should we be focusing upon? I now know some of what a politician must feel. How do you keep everyone happy and yet do something meaningful.

I am glad I am not running for any office. Keeping 100,000 members happy is enough, let alone trying to make millions of people happy.

The Name Game

2007-11-19T11:43:00.000-05:00

Everything in the word must be trademarked by a financial services company. We are working on a new product and want a great name. We have submitted several that we felt were great names only to find out every single one has been trademarked by another financial services company. Yes, we did USPTO searches and Google searches on the names but many were obscure names that our trademark attorney didn't even find on the initial searches.

We don't want a made up name, it is important that this product has meaning with the name or at least projects a meaning to the recipient. We have named products and companies before, so we have experience with this process but at this point, we are starting to get frustrated. I feel like we have been picking names from a financial services directory.

Well, back to the name game. Banana rama, fe, fi orama... it's the name game.

Will Marketers Ever Get it?

2007-11-16T12:05:00.000-05:00

I struggle every year at this time with one question? What should we be doing to support the goals of the organization. I don't think that marketing is about the creative direction of the ad or the fancy promotion. Marketing needs to be involved with product design, delivery and service initiatives. As marketers, if we don't feel like all the rest matters, we are missing something very important to our success. I feel the marketing plan should be the last item created for the business, not the first. Marketing should be positioned as the Chief Strategic Officer of the organization to drive the vision and entire business plan not just the marketing plan.

Some credit union marketers are pouring over trinkets and ad designs instead of focusing on what the business is doing next year. Wrap your marketing plan around the business plan. Marketers should never work outside the business plan Be a business unit not a graphic design firm. Innovation in credit unions require a wide spectrum of talent and marketing can lend a valuable element to product creation, service delivery and other business aspects. Every new fee, checking account, loan policy, etc should include marketing's insights.

Way Overboard Sales

2007-10-20T19:54:00.001-04:00

Flying back from the FORUM planning retreat thru Phoenix. I had a little time to wander the airport before my flight so I decided to get a little exercise and walk to each terminal. All of the US Airways sets of gates had young individuals selling the US Airways miles program...selling would be a mild term. I was nearly accosted three times so they could give me their pitch. Hey, nothing against them making their sales goals but after saying no three times, I think I have been pitched enough. I know that most people wouldn't be "hit" as many times as me but it made me think about the experience our members recieve at the branch. How many times are they "pitched" a product or service and are tired of it? Doesn't a better communication tracking mechanism need to be in place? I think yes. FORUM Solutions is developing for us just such a product that will help us avoid this horrible experience. Roundabout is what we are calling it and I was excited before about but after today's experience, I am now passionate about our use of it.

PS Steve Williams rocks as a facilitator for board planning. More on that on another post as I debrief from a very good and thought provoking three days of planning.

What should CUs do Together?

2007-10-12T08:45:00.000-04:00

What should the credit union brand be if there were to be a national brand campaign? What about credit unions taking the lead in financial literacy for 3rd thru 5th graders? In Indiana there is a program called the Money Bus that is an interactive field trip on teaching financial literacy to younger kids. What if CUNA and all the Leagues made the Money Bus a national program with a bus in all 50 states? That would be a huge national branding campaign and it would also be at the grassroots level. Forget about TV campaigns talking about the virtues of credit unions over banks. Focus on making a difference at the involvement level and the credit union brand will be enhanced greatly with a much less costly initiative. Schools, children and financial education are the tri-fecta of a great opportunity.

see http://www.moneybus.org/

Vigorously Protecting Service

2007-10-01T20:50:00.001-04:00

Isn't it really easy to let member service standards slip only slightly? Members are so unreasonable sometimes right? That thinking can send you on a downward spiral that is not easy to recover from. And the thing is, it can happen so easily and seemingly innocently that you don't even notice it. I am not sure if it is happening at my credit union or not. I have noticed a few instances where our actions are not up to our previous culture of exceeding member service expectations. What did I do? I personally stepped in to make sure that we went out of our way to meet the member and not blame the member. What if I hadn't heard about these situations? That is why we need to protect our level of service. It is so easy to let it slip, especially as you grow and new people join your organization.

Can Coop Credit Union Advertising Work?

2007-09-11T09:27:00.000-04:00

Coop advertising or national brand advertising for credit unions continues to be a big debate. My problem with all the efforts I have seen is that it focuses too much on touting credit unions. What do I mean by that? It highlights the virtues of credit unions without linking those virtues to tangible benefits for consumers. If we are going to grow the credit union membership in the US we have to get people to experience the credit union. Just talking about it is not enough.

I say, forget the advertising that focuses on the virtues of credit unions and the power of membership instead focus on driving members to credit unions. What if we took all those dollars and gave every new member $500 just for trying the credit union for 6 months. That would cut through the clutter of all the advertising messages and make an impression. And we would actually get members in the door at a credit union.

Why can't credit unions get together on a coop message? Because the true "experience" of any credit union is unique to that credit union. We may all be from the same family but just like my nine siblings, not a single one is exactly same and that is important. My friends are not always my brother's friends and vice-versa. Same for credit unions as one credit union's membership is not necessarily going to like another credit union's experience.

Leagues, CUNA, NAFCU, CU Times...if you want a national campaign, then focus it on getting consumers to a credit union. The rest of the efforts are all nice but not really that effective. Hey, let's be honest, we think credit unions are cool and all that but most consumers are not thinking about their financial institution when the advertising would be seen. They are worrying about traffic, listening to the kids, or getting a snack during the commercials (if they don't have TiVo or DVR). We have to agree on finding a way to have effective advertising that is driving people to an experience. We can't create a brand is totally based on having an experience with advertising. Advertising can supplement and grow the brand. It can't develop the brand with consumers who know nothing about credit unions. It just won't work no matter how creative the message.

Is Web 2.0 Really new to Credit Unions?

2007-09-06T16:24:00.000-04:00

There is much talk on blogs, at conference and in print media about how web 2.0 is changing how consumers are interacting with companies. It made me think about the past history of credit unions. Before blogs, email and other technology the history of credit unions, the very existence of credit unions was built on listening to individual needs or defined communities' meets and solving their problems. Somewhere in time all credit unions have lost that philosophy and ability to react. Sometimes technology is really getting in the way and other times technology is not being utilized to capture that consumer sentiment appropriately.

Outside innovation or member designed solutions shouldn't be new to credit unions. We should be embracing and utilizing the Web 2.0 capabilities because they are an extension of what the foundation of credit unions were built upon. Sure the scope is wider, the community characteristics are different but our reaction shouldn't be any different now that it was in the past.

The talk of the web 2.0 bubble, whether you believe it or not, shouldn't impact the positive outcomes a credit union could reap from being more involved in web 2.0 member facing initiatives. The "power of the people" feel of web 2.0 should resonate with credit unions even if companies trying to reap profits from web 2.0 business models fail.

When 6% is Not the Best for the Member

2007-08-26T22:06:00.000-04:00

We have had an interesting discussion at the credit union lately. Offering a 6% checking account that requires 10 debit card transactions to earn the rate is very appealing as tool to gain checking accounts. However, for most members, keeping large balances in checking accounts is really a smart financial decision. It would only be rewarding a certain segment of members. And that reward would be less than say getting 10 cents for every one of the debit card transactions they completed.

Another concern is that to attract large numbers of checking accounts, you would need to almost be deceptive in your advertising which we really try to avoid. And when we slide slightly towards that mode of marketing, our members remind us.

6% sounds great until you take a second look. We feel a better approach is to give the members a choice: 6% or part of the revenue the credit union receives from the interchange income. We are working on getting the 6% with 10 debit transactions into action so stay tuned.

Making It Easier Doesn't Mean It Will Be Chosen

2007-08-19T22:30:00.000-04:00

My kids just started back to school. One great service offered by the school was the option to have the schools supplies delivered to the room using a service called Toolbox. Parents wouldn't have to look at various stores for the hard to find green pens or metal compass. All would be waiting at the child's desk the first day of school. Did our family use this service? No way! Why? It wasn't too expensive. It was from a reputable firm. And it was guaranteed. The number one reason, our kids wanted to have a choice. My oldest son's fear was he would get a purple folder instead of red folder. My other kids just wanted to shop for their school supplies and didn't want to miss that fun. (My wife might have a different idea about the fun level.)

How does this apply to members and credit unions? We often make something easier and then wonder why our members don't chose it. For example, we give them Internet loan applications but they prefer to call or visit the branch. Maybe they just like the comfort of talking to someone when getting a loan. Maybe they are afraid they will get the "purple folder" of loan applications...denial. Or maybe they just like talking to their favorite loan officer when getting a loan. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and maybe easier is in the eye of the beholder too.

Rewarding Behavior - What should be rewarded?

2007-08-10T07:37:00.000-04:00

Our Rewards checking program is designed to reward members for doing things that make their checking account less costly. The thought process is that we would then let the members share in some of the savings. We pay for e-statements, keeping a larger balance, signature debit card and having overall large balances with the CU. We also give a bump in to savings deposits and refund auto and signature loan interest to to encourage use of multiple services. This all sounds great but is it enough?

Should we also reward them for bouncing a check? It is profitable to the CU. Or using overdraft honor? Probably not because we want to encourage financial thrift. If that is our mission, then shouldn't we reward members for never having a NSF? But that doesn't make the account more profitable. However, wouldn't that make the member more grateful...kind of like getting the perfect attendance award when you are in school.

What about members who use their debit card to pay for recurring bills or use recurring ACH to pay bills instead of bill pay. Bill pay is a cost and using those other forms can save the CU money or even make it money .

Sounds to me like I have more work to do in taking our rewards program to the next level. I firmly believe that rewarding members just for their balance relationship is too short sighted. We need to reward behaviors and balances. Those large balance members may be the most costly segment of the membership we have available.

Community Matters

2007-07-18T22:20:00.000-04:00

There is lots of talk about web 2.0 and social media and so on but really it is just another form or extension of communities we already have. Everyone has several communities that we "live in" everyday. Our community at school, at church, online, kids sports and those temporary communities such as when a friend passes away. My point is that we can't focus all of our efforts on just one form of community. As credit unions we have to move about in all the communities and be an important part in any community that is formed.

Don't just look to be in the online communities. If you are not ready to blog, don't. I just read that companies are leaving Second Life. Why did they every go their in the first place. And don't recreate something that already exists. Make a difference or stay away is what should be the motto of all credit unions as they attempt to connect to the different communities that their members live in everyday.

Maybe Boomer, X and Y Don't Matter

2007-07-13T16:32:00.000-04:00

Recently I have discovered that my wife is much younger than I thought? I didn't find this out from her birth certificate or anything like that. She was in fact born in 1996. However, after sitting through several presentations talking about how to market to Gen Yers and what they do and how they buy, etc, I have come to realize my wife is really a Gen Yer (lucky me, huh).

Okay, all kidding aside what is my point? I don't think we should get so caught up in marketing to a specific age as we should be looking at lifestyles. My wife, friends at work, etc are more Gen Y than some of the people who are categorized by their age to be Gen Y. As marketeers we have to market by lifestyle but can't and shouldn't use age and income to determine that lifestyle marketing preference? So if we can't use age and income, what should we do? How about creating permission marketing and asking our members how they want to be marketed to and what they want to know about. And, yes, we find a place for them to make changes to those preferences as their lifestyle or stage changes. Silly idea? Maybe, but even if 20% of our members would give us true permission marketing in the form of what types, etc that they want then we would be better off than if we didn't offer it wouldn't we?

And, let's not forget that the people in the same household may not share all the same lifestyle characteristics. I might be married to a Gen Yer but I am definitely a Gen Xer so don't expect to market to me like you do my wife. This is a scary new world for us marketers isn't it?

Inspiration for innovation

2007-06-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

Is it innovation if you do something that is commonplace in another industry but has never been done in your industry? I think it is the smartest form of innovation. Often times we always looking for something that no else is doing instead of looking at what others are doing and applying to our industry. Credit unions need to get better at this because consumers will accept things that they are already doing in other industries and at some point will begin to expect it from their financial institution.

Why did I start thinking about this? I visited the local BMV to renew my license plates. Two years ago I did it online and it was a complete mess. Last year I went to the BMV office and waited 45 minutes. Yesterday, I went to the BMV office and the line to just get a number to be served was 15 people long. Ouch, I knew I was in for an hour long ordeal. Lucky for me to my right a lady was using a self service kiosk to renew her plates. I waited 2 minutes for her to finish and decided to try it myself. Wow, was I impressed! 5 minutes later I am walking out with my new registration and I am done with the BMV for another year.

My point, why can't a mortgage application be that simple? Why can't credit unions offer this simple type of technology as backup or overflow? I was even able to pay for the registration with a credit/debit card or they would initiate an ACH from by checking account. Can't this be a way for us to open new accounts at grocery story branches during non-branch hours? I don't know of any credit unions using kiosks to the extent the Indiana BMV is using these.

Where does inspiration come from? In everyday life and applying to your industry.

Prioritizing Projects...it's Easy, Right?

2007-06-13T21:11:00.001-04:00

We all have the same problem...too many projects, too few resources and changing priorities for completion of projects. As I am contemplating where to switch resources for a multitude of projects it seems I keep coming back to the same guiding principle...what is in the best interest of the members to get completed? Sounds simple right? Then I ask the next question, which group of members? As the members of credit unions have evolved into distinct niche segments making a decision in the best interest of the proverbial member is not as easy it used to be. Even the most plain credit union is a collection of niche members. Every member chooses to open an account with a credit union for a different reason and has unique financial needs. That means what is the best interest of member A may not be in the best interest of member B. Who wins? The most profitable? Is that most profitable now or lifetime value potential of the member? Whenever we make a decision in the best interest of the member we are also making a decision that is not in the best interest of another member. Is that wrong? I don't think so because in the end it will all balance out. Making decisions in the best interest of all members in the long wrong becomes detrimental to all members. There are always trade offs. As a financial institution we have to make those decisions to deliver excellence otherwise we end up with me too products and soon lose relevancy to all our members.

Alignment of Values

2007-06-05T15:50:00.000-04:00

We are currently going through organizational wide training on Extraordinary Leadership. Today's topic was values. We talked extensively about aligning values with the organization, work teams and personal values. It struck me though, we didn't talk about aligning organizational values with our membership.

What values do our members want and need from their financial institution? Is it the same for all members? What if it is different for each member? We have the one to one marketing and the customer/member advocate approach but does that really match values? Will consumers consider value alignment over other tangible reasons? In looking at our most recent survey, the top member service attribute was protecting my privacy and the number two attribute was the development of trust. This is over the number of ATM's, price, fees, etc. I think credit unions have the ability to make both of those slam dunks. Of course, some consumers will value convenience, etc but for those who don't, isn't this where we should be competing with the big banks? Can't we leverage social media and embrace transparency to connect with consumers looking for protection of privacy and trust?

Maybe mass customization is not about products but about creating ways to align and match the organizational values with the values desired by consumers. It is not about product or price but about trust, transparency and protection. Brand is not built with ads, logos or slogans. Brand is built by the values of the organization and how those values are promoted, practiced and delivered each and every day with every transaction.

This means we try to avoid deceptive advertising, we design products to make members lives better, we offer hope and prosperity not debt and fees. I am not advocating the lack of profit but profit is used to fuel the innovation that leads to greater realization of dreams for those who choose to participate. Can't all credit unions do more to curb poor financial decision making? We don't because the short term ROI doesn't make sense. Yet when we don't do this, we are in direct contradiction with our organizational values and the values our members are looking to receive from us. This is but one example of many where alignment of values is sorely out of kilter.

Can You Handle the Truth?

2007-05-23T13:53:00.000-04:00

I have been reading the written comments from our most recent member survey. I always read the negative comments and the neutral comments. (Our research analyst combines all the comments into one of three categories, negative, neutral or positive.) Never do I read the positive comments the same day I read the other two. I usually wait at least a week. I don't want to be lulled into thinking the negative or neutral have no merit. And I don't want lessen the impact of any negative comments just because there are more positive comments.

Why do I do this? I want to be able to handle the cold hard truth that we don't always get everything right and I don't want to distort the lens that I am using to read these comments. It is the great line from a "Few Good Men"...you can't handle the truth! And for most of us, we can't handle the truth. That is why I make myself live with the negative comments for at least a week. Somehow that gives me clarity on being more truthful about how to fix our problems. Don't get me wrong, 95% of the members love us. I just want to make the other 5% love us too and not write them.

One truth that I have come to realize from these most recent comments? We don't do enough of the little things to show appreciation for the members who have been with us for so long. We always are giving benefits to new people. That is a painful truth to handle. Now that I have accepted that, I will do something about it. Someone once said, "the truth can save you." I will add accepting the truth will save you.

Free Consulting...I don't think so

2007-05-21T21:32:00.000-04:00

Someone once said that customers who don't complain and just leave is a lost opportunity. I have a personal experience for that and I understand why customers don't complain. That would just be free consulting and why should they consult for your business for free when there are so many choices. On to my experience.

My boys and I had been going to the same place to get our haircuts for 10 plus years. The emphasis is on had. The last 4 times we have had to wait over 25 minutes when we had appointments. Why did we wait, because the place took in walk-in appointments and bumped ours back. After all, we are loyal customers and keep coming back, they don't have to impress us but they want the new business. My wife suggested that I talk to the owner and my comment, why should I give her free consulting. She was present for 3 of the 4 times and never did anything to accommodate me. And she knows we are loyal customers. The boys and I will be looking for a new haircut experience. How often do we alienate our current members in order to impress the new members? I wasn't expecting very much my requirements for a haircut are pretty basic, just start cutting hair within 5 minutes of my scheduled time. Probably the same for our 10 plus year members, they don't need much just a feeling that they are more important than the new member who is just cherry picking at this time.

If anyone has any suggestions for a great stylist that can make a balding 40 year old look good, send them my way.

Web 2.0 leading to Biz 3.0

2007-05-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

On the Outside Innovation blog (Patty Seybold) an interesting thought was posted...
"what we’re doing in the Web 2.0 world to move beyond a customer-empowered Web strategy (Web 2.0) to a customer-outcome-driven business strategy (Biz 3.0). "

Doesn't that capture the essence of what our web 2.0 strategies should be leading too? How many web 2.0 strategies see meeting the web 2.0 criteria as the end of the game? That in the end still leaves the customer or member not completely fulfilled.

I like the quote above very much. Getting there is not going to be easy if you don't set the end goal high enough.

Connecting to Communites - Virtual and otherwise

2007-05-02T13:41:00.000-04:00

There is much discussion about connecting to the communities online but do we connect to communities in other ways? No, I don't mean communities as defined by political or educational jurisdictions. I mean communities of people who listen to a certain radio station or support a certain charity or cause. Can't we take our social media efforts offline as well?

We have sponsored for several years new music Monday on a local radio station and part of that is the distribution of these new artists on a compilation CD of the best that have been played for the quarter. We don't sell any product, we are just mentioned as the sponsor of this promotion. Our research and metrics indicate this is our most successful brand imaging for the dollars spent. The loyal listeners view us as supporting something that is near and dear to them, in their minds without us New Music Monday wouldn't exist. We don't tell them that but they infer that because we have for so long supported this cause. Why, because we know that music is important to some people and this music is important to an even tighter community group. We don't buy ads on the station, we don't want ads, we want to support something that our mutual customers are interested in having. Even today in the era of satellite radio, New Music Monday continues to grow in popularity.

I know this is outside the definition of most traditional social media definitions and maybe it is a stretch...this can be a learning experience for us though in how to be successful with online social media outreach.

Google Analytics - Measure Your Online Success

2007-04-27T08:08:00.000-04:00

We recently added the Google Analytics tool to our website...we had used Webtrends before but found it to be too difficult and didn't really measure what we wanted. Google gets "it" and there measurement of page views even down to parts of the page are terrific. We had always wanted to quantify the ads on our website to see if they were really being used. With Google we are able to measure by ad which ones get clicked on for more information not just the news sales driven. Many of our ads on the website are more about the constant awareness of products than selling product at that specific moment in time. Google Analytics will be a great tool for us as we track those results so that when planning our ads by month for 2008, we will know what worked and when it worked the best.

We also recently did a site redesign and have found the redesign has improved the number of page views of our other services such as trusts and investments. The best part, Google Analytics is free. Check it out: http://www.google.com/analytics/

All marketers should live by the motto of measuring everything that they and not just focus on direct sales today...in the financial services world when members come to your website to log on to home banking, awareness is just as important as online sales.

Mass Customization & Understanding Age

2007-04-23T16:32:00.000-04:00

I just recently read an interesting thought from Boomer Marketing News. Why does one day matter? That is one day you are 54 and the next you are 55 yet once you reach 55 no one cares to get your input anymore. With the lengthening life span, people in the US today may live over 25 years in their second life. And many of those people will have spending power that will exceed the spending power of Gen Y. We spend so much time worrying about the 2o somethings that we forget about the 50 somethings that are leaving us. Today's 40 - 60 year olds will not be living their lives like today's 60 - 80 year olds. And we still use the family reunion marketing target, 25 - 54 years old.

As a financial institution we do have to be all things to all people and that means changing what we do for the upcoming 60 - 80 year olds just as much as we are changing what we are doing for today's 20 - 30 year olds. Segmenting by age is not a relevant fact anymore for any age group. Lifestyle, life cycle and social responsibility are more important characteristics to segment the membership and those factors cut across age demographics. Above all, each individual wants uniqueness and therefore, mass customization is the key. We have to give members the ability to define their experience on their own terms instead of trying to fit people into how we want to serve them. Yet, build our systems so it is the same system for everyone. Let's face it, a checking account is a checking account, it is what all is wrapped around it including the service that makes an account different. Once we accept that fact, perhaps true innovation will occur instead of marketing gimmicks.

Wouldn't it be cool if our target market segments were something like this: Carries $200 or more in cash all the time; buys 75% of all gifts online; debit card is best friend and uses over 25 times per month; will drive for miles for best deal; never balances check book; has young kids really involved in sports; golfs three times per week; likes to take adventure vacations, etc...

Many need the same products but with slight tweaks, they could all get their own version of our service. Maybe it is too far fetched but much of this data we have as a financial institution.

Losing your Blog...and "Do Overs"

2007-04-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

Maybe I should understand this better...all I wanted to do was convert my old blog from an old email to my new Google email so that I didn't have to remember multiple email addresses, etc. In the process, I lost my previous blog and all the great and insightful postings I had written. (Okay, maybe most were lame but it was 6 months of ideas.) I even tried to read the directions before attempting this. Maybe that was my problem. I should have tried to do it without following the directions.

Oh well, this is my chance to start over and develop a more meaning blog. We will see how it works out. How often in life to we get a chance to start with a clean slate? I am pretty sure no one will miss my previous blog, not even me. Maybe a more important lesson is that rarely do we get a chance to "do it over" like we did when we were kids. Wasn't that one of greatest rules ever invited by kids? The "do over". Maybe in business we should develop a "do it over" when we make a mistake. I know a few credit unions like Van City are doing things that are almost "do overs" but maybe we should all go even farther. Wouldn't that be a powerful brand. Don't worry if they mess up, they will do it over so it meets your satisfaction.