Posts Tagged ‘Product Innovation’
You assume too much
You have a wonderful product that is going to revolutionize the way things are done. It’s fun to use, easy to use, and doesn’t cost a lot. You’ve been talking about it with all of your friends, and they’re super-excited about it. So you refine the product, put as many resources as you can behind…
Read MoreDo 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…
Read MoreBlow it up and start over
Let’s do a thought experiment. Close your eyes and imagine getting everyone out safely of the building. Hustle them down the street and issue big bags of popcorn, party hats, confetti, and kazoos. All set? Count backwards from ten and then… Imagine blowing up the credit union. Now imagine how you would build a new credit…
Read MoreThe $50 question
It’s easy to think of things to give away (free online banking, free bill pay, free overdraft protection, free checks, lower rates), but it’s a lot harder to add a large amount of value. (It’s even harder to actually ask for money.) So I’d like to propose a simple thought experiment: What could you add…
Read MoreYour personalized banking isn’t very personal
Plenty of credit unions tout a personalized banking approach, but not many really pull it off. Most will offer a checklist of products from which to choose, but they are all standard variations on a theme. There really isn’t any customization, just a few choices of models. It’s a manufacturer’s mass production, mass market model.…
Read MoreAre blasts from the past holding you back?
As a Wordsmith (that’s the official title I put on my business cards, anyway), I’m a big fan of new words. I recently ran across a doozy: skeuomorph, an object or element of design that serves no real purpose, but only echoes some past object. For example, many calendar applications on modern-day computers and mobile…
Read MoreMotor madness
As you can probably guess, I’m a motorcycle nut. In fact, motorcycles are my primary transportation — I ride one of my bikes to work every day it’s not snowing too hard. Recently on a large online forum, the topic of financing motorcycles came up. I was very happy to see that several people recommended…
Read MoreMaybe transparency is worth a try
You have to wonder — what would happen if you were completely transparent, if you told your members the 100% unadulterated truth for once, and let them draw their own conclusions? Just imagine the following, delivered by a gruff but lovable no-nonsense sort of CEO, like Colonel Potter from MASH: “My fellow credit union members…”…
Read MoreFive 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…
Read MoreWhat to do when Lending starts grumbling
Every credit union needs loans. So the CFO rattles Marketing’s chains. Concepts are dreamed, visuals created, goals and ROI plotted and blessed by the executive team, then marketing starts working its mojo and gets it out the door. That’s when the grumbling starts. And Marketing starts grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Because the grumbling is…
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