Treat your Credit Union like it’s a retailer.

Pick your retailer.  A grocery retailer, a sandwich shop, a clothing retailer…you choose.

Your credit union needs to operate like the best-in-class in any of these categories.

It’s not enough to just have a great front face on your credit union.  You can be the most differentiated credit union on the planet, but if what you promise and what you deliver don’t line up, that’s a big problem.

I remember working at what is now DDB Needham in Chicago back in the mid-80’s.

Sears hired us to help remake their look and feel to the general public.

It was a wonderful campaign.  Beautifully executed.  Put Sears in a completely different light – never seen before.

And never to be seen again.

Problem was when consumers walked into the store, it looked and felt the same.  Dated clothes, less than hospitable personnel.  Just a generally gloomy feeling.

The campaign was widely praised…at first.  But it quickly became clear that without the people and the stores holding up the brand promise, it was doomed to fail…which it did.

So, what does this all mean for your credit union marketing, the building you operate in, and personnel.

You need to treat your credit union like a retailer.

In retail, people matter.  They are a foundational element to fulfilling your brand promise.  If your employees don’t understand your mission or feel like the credit union isn’t clearly defined, the experience will break down.

Your people in particular are critical to your credit union’s viability long-term.

If your people believe in you, your people will carry that spirit forward into every interaction they have with potential customers.

They will become great stewards and referral sources for your credit union.  The value they can bring will be worth any investment you make to unite the organization.

So, as a marketer, what do you do?

There are plenty of solid marketing agencies out there that can help you develop campaigns for your internal communications efforts.  Key is finding one that understands the importance of going beyond just creating pretty internal portals and motivating posters, but one that knows how to engage employees in the process and understands the dynamics of different constituents, and knows how to integrate an internal campaign with a community campaign to extend the value of internal efforts.

Need help?  Happy to help you find a new agency to support a program like this.   Just reach out and we can start a conversation:  msneider@rswagencysearch.com