One-of-a-kind CUs are built on more fundamental components.

How to build the credit union you’ve always wanted

Bricks, mortar, steel and glass are okay. They just aren’t the right materials to build the credit union you’ve always wanted. One-of-a-kind CUs are built on more fundamental components. Elements that give your credit union the rock-solid foundation it needs. A strong, but flexible space that provides a base for everything you want to do.…

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Career lessons from the funny farm

I’ve had an unusual career. After the watermelon farm, and while I was in college and playing in a classic rock band, I also worked full time at a psychiatric hospital for four and a half years. (I didn’t get much sleep, either…) Like anyone who’s worked in a hospital, I also have an endless…

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Humans want to be treated fairly.

Should you: Stay in your Lane, or Think like a Human?

If we have learned anything in this era of  ‘woke’ advertising, it’s that companies need to think like a human instead of a corporation. Whether you agree or not, most people believe that businesses have a social responsibility in the marketing they present. Ads and images that show rigid gender roles and sexual stereotypes, unrealistic…

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The brand cost or benefit should be part of every fee equation.

Fees need marketing love, too

For credit union marketers, fees can be a real pain in the patoot. There are all those pesky clouds of fine print we have to stuff in somewhere, not to mention all those negative vibes. But fees are a necessary part of keeping the lights on at every credit union. Fees make up most of…

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Results can be transformative

You’re not allowed to separate digital, branding, and marketing anymore.

It would help if everyone just agreed that digital, branding, and marketing have been merged into one big multi-dimensional entity. I mean, can you really imagine working on one without connecting it to the others? In fact, all the components of digital, branding, and marketing are so tightly woven together that any CEO that tries…

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Disconnects happen when expectations are different.

Oh, how adorable! They don’t know how to use the internet.

Have you ever noticed a disconnect between what one person thinks is normal and what someone else thinks is? My son and his wife (age 31) are expecting our first grandchild. My sister-in-law, co-hosting a baby shower for them, asked where they were registered. My daughter-in-law replied, “Amazon” and sent a link about 50-60 characters long. My…

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Go ahead, get weird

What’s your best crazy CU idea?

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

Is it time to panic about alternate financial providers?

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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We've built lots of credit union websites, so we're sort of used to the oddities.

Why credit union websites are weird

Let’s face it: credit union websites are just plain weird. They don’t follow the rules of normal websites doing normal stuff like selling zombie coffee mugs. We’ve built lots of credit union websites, so we’re sort of used to the oddities. But if you’re trying to make sense of the “usual” advice and rules for…

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