Eight reasons why small CUs have so much value

The big value in small credit unions

Here’s my bold prediction for the near future: small and de novo (new) credit unions will play a key part in revitalizing and re-energizing the entire credit union movement. Small credit unions (or call them “boutique” or “specialty” credit unions if you prefer) obviously have tremendous value to their members. But we’re only just beginning…

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Set yourself up for success in the new year!

Five things CU marketers can get done before 2023

2023 is right around the corner! Everyone’s putting down their hot chocolate and getting out of the holiday mood, and so it’s time for credit union marketers to relax a bit, right? Well… sort of. With just a little time and effort before we hit January whirlwind, you can get a fresh start on 2023,…

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There's a lot you can learn from the haters, the not-so-greaters, and the merely lukewarm. And you can use these lessons to spark joy in the people you can delight. Grumps are a great source of valuable market research.

Learn to love your haters

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… not everyone is five stars, A++++, bonkers crazy in love with your credit union. No matter how awesome you are, not everyone will agree. But here’s the good news: that’s OK. Really. There’s a lot you can learn from the haters, the not-so-greaters, and the…

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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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Think Beyond The Rate

Bread and butter car loans don’t have to be boring

Here’s a product idea for car loans I’ve had kicking around my head for years. It’s yours, free of charge. (Of course we’d certainly love to help with marketing strategy and creative.) The plain old car loan is every credit union’s bread and butter. It’s also kind of boring. No wonder your members look at your…

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Credit Union Science Fiction

Forget next year’s media budget or your five-year strategy. Let’s gaze deeper into that CU crystal ball than we ever have before. What’s the distant future of finance? What are credit unions going to be doing 25, 50, or 100 years from now? Virtual CUs Correct me if this has already happened, but is there…

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No pop-ups, no forms, no logging in. Just download and enjoy.

Free Shared iDiz Books

Back when we started Shared iDiz in 2007, our concept was simply to chat with those working in credit union marketing. We wanted to provide insights, share expertise, challenge unproductive thinking, celebrate fresh viewpoints, and hopefully keep it interesting and fun to read. It’s apparently a long conversation, since we are headed into our 10th year of Shared…

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Which sounds more like your credit union?

Are you an Amazonian or a Walmartian?

It’s always interesting to compare credit unions to well-known “disruption” companies to see if there’s anything we can learn from their examples. Walmart and Amazon have massively disrupted retail, along with entire industries and communities. Love them or hate them (or both), their effect on the world has been huge. In addition, they are direct competitors…

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She glances at the flexible holo-phone wrapped around her wrist...

Fitting in is the future of financial tech

Pardon me just a moment while I don my wizard hat and polish the ol’ crystal ball… yes, the swirling images are getting clearer, the clouds of possibility coalesce… I see… an average, mild-mannered credit union member. She glances at the flexible holo-phone wrapped around her wrist, smiles, taps twice, and continues with what she was doing.…

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No "vision" or "mission" gobbledy-gook.

Where’s your Master Plan?

Elon Musk, best known as the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has a very interesting document on his company’s blog — the second half of his “Master Plan”. He’s achieved or is close to achieving the goals he laid out in the first half of his Master Plan, and he’s now working on the rest.…

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