Posts Tagged ‘CU Culture’
Five modest proposals
The only thing that’s stayed the same for credit unions is that things are changing fast. Sources of fee income are shrinking, expenses are rising, and margins are squeezed tighter than ever. Things are getting Weird with a capital “W”. It’s time to Think the unthinkable and ponder the outrageous. “When the going gets weird, the…
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Dirty words
Over the past several years, more and more credit unions have eliminated certain “dirty words” from their marketing and identity. Words like “member”, “join” and even “credit union” are now taboo in a lot of places, and online account access is almost always called “home banking.” And when was the last time you heard “share…
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Dog Fooding
You’ve probably heard the term “eating your own dog food” before. It means that everyone on your team also needs to be a consumer or user of your product. Whether it’s dog food or checking accounts, “Dog Fooding” is a great way to ensure everyone really understands your product. How many of your accounts and…
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Culture eats marketing for breakfast
In most companies, brand image is controlled by management, which sets the tone for the corporate culture with a focus on either profits or customers. Amazon.com Founder/CEO Jeff Bezos made news one year for working at one of their fulfillment centers in Kentucky, and has made it a requirement for every employee to spend two days…
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Five Ways to Get a Seat at the Table
A while back, we ran a poll asking credit union marketers “Does Marketing have a voice at your Board and/or Management meetings?” To our surprise, we found that only half of the respondents indicated that they have a role in making policy and decisions. About a third felt that “I’m on the outside looking in.” and 15% chose “I am occasionally…
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Cutting your marketing budget is dangerous
Budget season certainly seems to be the right time for cutting fat, and unfortunately CFOs always seem to feel that the marketing line needs to lose a few pounds. But cutting your marketing budget will not help you improve your bottom line. In fact, it is likely dangerous. Marketing is the oil that allows the…
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Too many cooks spoil the campaign
Credit unions are cooperatives, right? The more the merrier. One for all and all for one. People helping people. These are all wonderful philosophies, and they’re the drivers behind the success of credit unions. Everyone contributes, everyone has a voice. But this communal spirit also makes credit union marketing particularly vulnerable to watery, scattered messages,…
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Dear Credit Unions…
Dear Credit Unions, We have to admit, sometimes we don’t know what to make of you. Especially when you look like a bundle of chumps who haven’t been playing the suckers nearly hard enough. Don’t you know you’re missing out on big fat profits? For example: your CU’s Platinum card probably has a perfectly sane rate…
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Basics before buzzwords
Are you feeling a little guilty these days because your credit union doesn’t have an active blog and a loyal audience of thousands following a Twitter feed? Before you start chasing the latest buzzwords, make sure the basics are in place — a useful web site, with current information that’s easy to find. To be…
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The Internet is Full
The internet is full. Overflowing. Saturated. At least it ought to be, with all the blogs, tweets, news, videos, music, and pictures of cats. But I suppose as long as they can keep making more hard drives there is always more room for content. So I probably need to rephrase that: Actually, what is full…
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