Posts Tagged ‘CU Culture’
Five numbers that make you wonder about a CU
Whenever we talk with a potential new client, we head over to NCUA.gov and check out their numbers. It’s all public data, and not all that detailed, but after perusing a few hundred of these, we’ve learned how to gain some insights into a credit union’s situation and “attitude” just from poring over ratios and…
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Disruptive thoughts I have to let out
From time to time, I get these strange, disruptive thoughts. Unconventional. Aberrant. But they’re banging around in my head, and I have to let them out… What if overdraft fees were actually reasonable? Overdraft income is down because of opt-in regulations, yet the average overdraft fee is still $29. As marketers, we hate dealing with…
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Credit unions: not for everybody
Credit unions aren’t for everyone. There, I said it. And it’s true. The latest numbers bear this out – according to Callahan, credit unions hold 6.6% of assets and 8.7% of deposits nationally. That’s a niche group if I ever saw one. Logically, a whole lot of people – the majority of consumers, really – could benefit…
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Where the wild things aren’t
A few months ago, I was talking shop with a relative who works in management at a large public library. She was lamenting the fact that libraries tend to attract introverts – the sort of person who would rather follow safe lists of rules than take a chance on interacting with other people. One of…
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First, fix your web site
Way too many credit unions have terrible websites, and frankly, I’m tired of it. I’m not talking about subtle things only geeks care about — I’m talking about some real train wrecks that make the credit unions look like amateur operations. Here’s the real problem: potential new members won’t do business with you without doing…
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Dreams and decisions
Ultra-blogger Seth Godin points out that people are astonishingly bad at making decisions about money. For most of us, that’s hardly news. But is it, where you work? If you’re working at a credit union, you’re probably pretty good with dollars and cents. And you’re likely surrounded by people who are also pretty good with…
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It’s nothing business, it’s personal
When you come right down to it, businesses have a responsibility to maximize profit for their investors and shareholders. Every decision and every action is based on boosting the bottom line before the competition steals market share. Yes, I know that’s pretty cynical, and sure, a business can be known for doing the right thing…
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Is your CUlture risk averse?
Morgan Spurlock, known for his film “Super Size Me,” spoke at TED and shared everything he had to go through in order to present his movie idea for “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” to the brands he was trying to get to become sponsors and part of the movie. It was entertaining to watch Spurlock poke…
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Why Marketing Directors would make great CEOs
My credit union needs a new CEO, since the previous CEO retired. I recently found out this fact because the local paper printed a retraction. Somehow the paper got everything all mixed up, because the CFO also retired, and they thought that the SVP of Finance was taking over for the retiring CEO, when he…
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Give members a direct line
What if there were an all-purpose hotline you could call, for just about any reason, any time? Everyone knows to call 911 in an emergency, but what if it’s not so life-and-death, or you’re just wondering where to park on Thursday? In New York City, you can dial 311 any time day or night to…
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