Posts Tagged ‘Membership’
Why is the destination more important than the journey?
I spent part of last weekend walking the Freedom Trail in Boston. It’s a double wide red brick trail that leads tourists through many of the highlights of historical Boston where our national history was made, including the site of the balcony where they read the Declaration of Independence to the townsfolk (as well as…
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United by a single shared interest
We always encouraged our boys to be true to their inner nerd. Why? Because nerds rule the world. More importantly, nerds also use their imagination in creative ways, often becoming absorbed in thoroughly exploring one interest after another. Growing up, my boys went through multiple phases where they were obsessed with one thing or another, from collecting Beanie Babies, to Pokemon…
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The pain isn’t enough to make the switch
About every week someone calls us “on behalf of AT&T” to try to give us a better deal. We just hang up on them. Why? Because it’s painful. They’re third party resellers, and their “deals” are almost as confusing as the those from AT&T. Why AT&T seems to be actively supporting them, I have no idea. …
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Is your brand in the cart, or still sitting on the shelf?
You’ve seen products on store shelves that look like they have for the last 20, 30, even 50 years. They’re dusty, and a bit worn around the edges or label because they keep getting shoved around the shelves instead of taken home. Unfortunately, your credit union’s brand may be looking a lot like that dusty, battered…
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Would your members pay a premium?
We’ve written before about the idea of charging for CU membership – what you’d have to do to make yourself feel like an exclusive club worth joining, a la Costco and Sam’s Club. We know people will pay club membership fees – AARP, AAA, social clubs, professional associations – as long as they feel they’re…
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What if your credit union isn’t the best financial option?
I know that CUs are great, and for most people they offer a much better deal on almost anything financial-oriented. But for most credit unions, you simply can’t offer everything to everyone and do it all well. You may be able to go after more business accounts now, but you may not have a very…
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Dream big for your next community event
ArtPrize is a chaotic, jumbled mess of classic and pop, amateur and professional art surrounded by mobs of people and spread out over (mostly) downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s creative, kitschy, classy, unorthodox, and I loved every grass-roots moment of it. For 19 days every year, Grand Rapids turns their downtown into an oversized art…
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Being “in the know” makes you feel special
During Prohibition, speakeasies were supposed to be secret. You had to be “in the know” or know someone, in order to get in the door. Today, prohibition may be long gone, but speakeasies aren’t. There’s a speakeasy in East Village New York that’s hidden behind a phone booth in a hot dog joint. You heard…
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80% of your credit union’s members are blood-sucking parasites
Okay, that may be worded just a bit strong, but it’s certainly one way to look at the idea that the vast majority of your profits (80%) come from a minority of your members (20%). Obviously this isn’t a new idea. Most CEOs & CFOs are well aware of the 80/20 Rule, and are among…
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Do a few things really, really well
It was a perfect St. Pete Beach day. Blue skies, white fluffy clouds that matched the sand, small crowds since it was also a Monday, and enough of a breeze that you didn’t feel the sunburn building. A great day and a great way to wrap up a vacation. Our nephew, a local resident, finished…
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