NAFCU Services Blog

At the core of the loyalty that members have displayed over the years is an unabiding trust placed in their credit unions, to the point that it has become a brand attribute for credit unions.  But there have been significant changes in the way members view financial institutions in general, and these new perspectives affect how they view credit unions and their loyalty toward them. Have you done everything you can to adapt to the challenges and opportunities offered by this shift? I attended a packed breakout session at the NAFCU Annual Conference today called “Standing in Your Member’s Shoes,“ from Martie Woods, VP and Chief Experience Officer (I love that title!) for Deluxe Corporation.

Martie mapped out how the loyalty conversation has changed over the years, outlining five key factors that have changed our members perspectives –

1. Demographics – Not just the age of our members, which we always worry about, but their increasingly digitally-savvy nature, the growing role of women in the economy, and the emergence of significant minority populations;
2. New Demands – stop thinking ‘fast and convenient’ (commodity attributes, like banks) but also focus on ‘time well spent’ (value);
3. Savings – the increased rate of savings matched up against lower borrowing and spending (and yield) is changing financial services;
4. Small business and niche marketing are becoming an ever-more important factor for our members; and
5. Regulations are changing the solutions we offer to members, and they do not necessarily perceive the difference between a government-mandated change and one we undertake of our own volition.

Martie outlined how credit unions need to look at each of these trends and how they affect the trust credit unions have established.  She discussed how important it is to be simple, transparent, to present options, to be ‘factually credible,’ authentic, and to back up offers with written literature.

Martie also emphasized the importance of branding to building trust – with branding, you make a promise to your members about the kind of organization you are – with execution, you are keeping that promise.

Finally, with trust comes the ability to shift the conversation from transactions to value, which has implications throughout the enterprise.

Martie’s conclusion? She offers a quote from Wayne Dyer --

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” - Wayne Dyer.

Expressed another way, the world is changing, and our competitors are adapting to it – are you adapting your credit union too?

Look for a recording of this full presentation coming soon on the NAFCU Services Deluxe webpage. (As soon as we’re back from the conference and have a moment to package it up nice and pretty for you. :-) )

Learn other great session take-aways and follow the conference happenings on Twitter: #NAFCUAnnual!

Post written by Dave Frankil, President, NAFCU Services Corporation.