Sometimes you just have to rip that band-aid off the elephant in the room (truth).

Some of our favorite “shop talk” with fellow credit union marketers over relaxing beverages are tales of losing clients because we told them the truth. You might say that one of our traits as a company (and, honestly, as individuals) is bluntness; we’ll say and ask about things that make people uncomfortable. It’s a gift.…

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Go ahead, get weird

Crazy ideas are a great way to stretch your thinking for any project or problem. When we’re building a shiny new credit union website, my favorite question to ask is something like this: “What’s your biggest, craziest, blue-sky, out-of-left-field idea for your credit union’s new website?” Sure, sometimes you get some tacky ideas, like a…

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Something that's certainly not perfect, but perfectly unique

Until this past weekend, I had never heard of The Jeep Wave. Of course, that may be because no one in my family has ever owned a Jeep, but apparently it comes as standard equipment with most models, according to my good buddy Mike, who proudly drives an ’04 TJ. What is the Jeep Wave,…

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it’s also a powerful reason for employees to come to work each day.

Members and employees who understand, believe in, and can live out your brand and your mission are pure gold. Part of your job as a marketer is to attract these people and make sure they catch the CU bug. It’s not just an HR or membership thing; it’s being a good brand steward. Wear your…

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The real world is how real people form real lasting connections.

Ideally, your credit union’s in-person and virtual experiences complement and reinforce each other; they’re different sides of the same brand. “Meatspace” (or should we call it “meetspace”?) connections cement a brand in a member’s mind, and create important lifelong connections in ways that “screenspace” can’t. We build a lot of websites for credit unions, but…

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Time to Panic? There will certainly be some lunch-nibbling.

As Kent mentioned last week in his post-Financial-Brand-Forum recap, there seems to be a certain amount of indecision about whether it’s time to panic, and exactly what we should panic about. Should credit unions panic about Walmart sticking their very large toes into our personal financial services turf? Or Amazon, Apple, or Costco? All the…

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Walmart recently unveiled a new website, built around online shopping. Probably not earth-shattering news, but what’s interesting is that the site is designed and built specifically to be the anti-Amazon. Every aspect of the look, the interface, the processes, and the entire experience is carefully massaged to be different than Amazon. (And hopefully better from…

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It's okay to be human. Most people are.

The life lessons your Mom imparted hold as true for brand reputation as they do for you, which means you need to share her wisdom with everyone. Wait a minute, what’s my Mom got to do with our brand? Your Mom wanted you to grow up to be happy and healthy, with plenty of friends…

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There’s a silly old joke that goes something like this: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”  In this series, we’re talking about taking a bite out of some of the “elephants in the room” – big, obvious, uncomfortable problems that everyone’s trying to ignore. We’re hoping to inspire credit union people to…

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All else being equal, who are you going to pick?

Let’s say it’s your task to hire someone to lead a team of professionals doing challenging work. All else being equal, are you going to pick the extroverted “people person” or the quiet, thoughtful introvert? Extroverts never seem to be at a loss for words, and always have a story to tell. They’re relaxed and comfortable…

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