ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
We all have opinions. About a lot of things. And especially about things we see that may affect you, our friends and clients. So instead of simply filling up our co-workers’ inboxes with “did you see this?!” emails, we thought you might want to join in. So here is our inaugural post of ICYMI (In Case You Missed It), with all of the things we’ve noticed recently:
Why couldn’t a CU open branches in post offices? I’m sure there are a lot of logistical and potentially a few legal reasons why, but hear me out. There are 31,000+ post offices across the US, and 42% of them are not covering expenses. Meanwhile, millions of Americans across the country are unbanked or underbanked, leaving them even more vulnerable to predatory lenders. Could your local CU work a deal to install ATMs and virtual tellers? If not, NCUA’s search engine has roughly 60 listings for active CUs with “postal” in their name – maybe some of them should merge and open mini-branches across the country?
Finally, someone is sticking up for us introverts! While only 6% of senior management think introverts have what it takes to successfully oversee a team, it’s a myth that you have to be an extrovert to be a good boss. Click through to read why that bias is actually BS, and to learn what you have in common with Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan and Warren Buffett.
Trying to connect to Gen Z? You can learn something from Billie Eilish. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas are the real deal, and they’ve cranked out an incredible list of creepy, sneaky, quirky, creative, and most of all really, really GOOD and interesting ear worms. So her popularity can give us a few clues we don’t get from the usual manufactured pop princesses. She’s the real thing, with a sound that defines Gen Z, a group that pays close attention to what companies actually do. The good news is that their values align closely with the timeless values CUs espouse, so you might want to start paying attention. (If you can’t tell, Brian is obviously a fan of hers.)
On average, people use their smartphones 58 times a day, for a total of 4 hours and 12 minutes. In the last 10 years, smartphone usage has had a 460% growth, and may soon replace TV as people’s main source for media. If you aren’t redesigning your website mobile-first, you’ll be further behind.
Gig economy, anyone? Why aren’t any CUs doing anything like this? There’s still time to build the accounts and automation members actually need, but that door is rapidly closing.
YouTube is kicking butt, while Facebook has been static since 2016. 81% of adults in the US use YouTube, while FB has been stuck at 69% (although 50% of Americans 65+ are on there). Meanwhile, Pinterest is 46% women and only 16% men, Instagram and WhatsApp have a higher share of use by Hispanic Americans, and LinkedIn is used by 51% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher (but only 10% of those with a HS diploma or less).
Who is going to be first to offer a banking subscription? This is a natural concept for some brave CU, and there are a lot of ticked-off-about-fees-potential-members out there. (Besides, we’ve talked about a subscription model before, more than once, so what are you waiting for?)
What have you seen lately?
Feel free to add a comment to share something you think we may have missed!
- In Case You Missed It – 4.17.24 - April 16, 2024
- In Case You Missed It – 3.20.24 - March 19, 2024
- In Case You Missed It – 2.21.24 - February 20, 2024