DALEVILLE, Ala.—Some of the best ideas come from front-line staff, but to get those nuggets the credit union needs to provide a way for the team to send ideas up the chain anonymously, says one CEO.
That—and other low-budget solutions–are what Bobby Michael has found works best.
Michael, who now heads $1.2-billion Army Aviation Center FCU here, and prior to that was CEO of the now $76-million Core CU in Statesboro, Ga., said he quickly learned that when running a small shop the credit union had to be resourceful and creative to grow.
That’s only one tip among many that Michael will share at the CUTomorrow Conference (cutomorrow.info), scheduled for Sept. 9-11 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin, Texas. The CEO will host a session on ways in which small credit unions can easily build wallet share with existing members.
The meeting, priced at just $499, was put together in response to feedback to CUToday.info and is for credit unions that are not seeking to merge, but instead want to be a part of an old-fashioned credit unions-helping-credit unions collaboration. Sessions are focused on practical, pragmatic real-life examples of successful programs from peer-group leading CUs.
“Before Army Aviation I was at a Core for nine years. During that period we averaged, per year, 15% loan growth, 13% asset growth, and 12% deposit growth,” he said. “So, we about doubled the organization every seven years. The amazing thing is that our membership growth averaged only 3% growth per year, every year. So we grew the products-per-member much faster than we grew the membership, which was done by increasing walletshare among current members.”
Not Aggressive Enough
Michael told CUToday.info that too many small credit unions are not aggressive enough at asking members for their business, often fearing they are being intrusive. He said that is far from the truth.
“You are actually doing them a service, because you will likely give them a product they are paying someone else for and paying them more,” he said. “What it all comes down to is not being happy with getting 40% of your members’ business and being relentless to try to get 100% of their business.”
One way to do that is to encourage front-line staff to send ideas up to management, Michael said.
“But you have to give them an anonymous channel,” he told CUToday.info.
A Good Example
Michael shared an example of how a teller sent an idea up to his management team about how to better serve members when their credit or debit card is hacked.
“We don’t have instant-issue at Army Aviation, so when members come in and point out there is fraud on their card we cancel the card, and then we tell them they have to wait seven to ten days for a new one,” explained Michael. “Telling members to wait seven to ten days for their card is almost as bad as telling them they won’t have their phone for a week.”
Michael said a thoughtful teller suggested, through the anonymous reporting channel, that the credit union offer members a gift card to cover the wait period.
“The teller suggested that we load a gift card with their checking balance and give it to them for free,” said Michael. “That has really worked out well for us and our members.”
But Michael said that without the anonymous reporting channel, the credit union may never have received the idea.
“Say this same teller goes to his branch manager with the idea, and maybe the manger tells him that giving away gift cards is too costly, that the cards cost five bucks apiece,” said Michael. “That great idea is squashed, because a manager made the wrong decision based on cost instead of member service. Also, what if the manager does not like that the idea did not come from her?—she does not want any of her staff looking better than her. If you have an uninterrupted communication line from your staff in the trenches, without any filter, you will get some brilliant ideas.”
Also On Tap
Michael said the tactics he will discuss at the CUTomorrow Conference on how to build wallet share among existing members don’t require a lot of resources, which he knows first-hand that many small credit unions don’t have.
“A lot of what you can do is no-nonsense, common sense—you don’t have to buy expensive software. Much of what I will talk about are things small credit unions can do with resources that are sitting right in front of them. When I worked at Core we had to be very resourceful—we didn’t have a big marketing budget and we had to make do with what we had on hand.”
The CU, however, must be willing to put in some work, added Michael.
“That might mean making sure you carefully go over members’ credit reports to see where they have other business and then get busy in asking for more from them,” he said.
Other key points Michael will make at the CUTomorrow Conference:
- Finding Your Members’ Needs – In order to provide products of value you need to know your memberships’ needs
- Instill a Sales Culture – Be intentional about growing the business and communicate the importance of cross-selling
- Be Nimble – With the products you offer and how fast you can get them to market
- Use Effective Internal and External Marketing – Keep the buzz going about your CU through continuous promotions
“I expect that those who attend my session will take away three or four ideas they can implement at their credit union to increase their share of wallet with their members,” said Michael. “They’ll grow the credit union and, more important, strengthen their relationship with their members.”