By Frank J. Diekmann
If it’s done nothing else, the coronavirus pandemic has peeled back numerous long-held perceptions and revealed some underlying truths. Among them: Employees really can be just as productive—if not more so—at home; even hold-out members and old-farts will use electronic services, and CUNA’s Open Your Eyes awareness initiative doesn’t really drive CU membership numbers one way or the other.
On that last point, it pains me to say it and many won’t like it, but it’s simply true.
When CU membership surged in the wake of the financial crisis, Bank Transfer Day, a steadily growing economy and robust auto sales, credit union membership enjoyed the ride up with the incoming tide. And when the coronavirus killed the economy and took all those vehicle sales with it, CU membership numbers went out with the tide like it was the Bay of Fundy.
And that creative Open Your Eyes campaign—which, as I have written here more than once, I really like—had about as much overall effect on who belongs to a credit union as a dinghy tied to the dock controls the sea level.
One Expensive Boat
The question is what to do now, as the U.S.S. Open Your Eyes is one expensive boat.
Prior to the pandemic’s onset, CUNA was reporting it had raised approximately $50 million toward its $100 million goal for the Open Your Eyes initiative. The money has gone toward research—which did generate some interesting insights of value—the creative itself, ad placement in both physical and virtual environments, and the fees charged by the agency hired to lead the effort.
As I can already hear some of you, even if you’re driving, stopping whatever you’re doing to reach for whatever keyboard is handy to fire off a strongly worded response, yes, I know, CUNA has always been quick to say the Open Your Eyes campaign isn’t about driving membership numbers, it’s about getting CUs in the “consideration set” when a consumer is thinking about financial options. But wouldn’t that non-member considering a CU need to join? We’ll let that slide for now.
The bigger question remains what to do—what to spend and how—now? The data has been pretty clear and the CU economists unequivocal in stating those new signature cards are all about job creation numbers and vehicle sales, with lots of those “members” coming aboard via the indirect channel. Them’s all the beans.
The Real Focus
Several years ago I wrote in this space that the real number on which credit unions should be focused is walletshare, not total CU membership, even though the latter is a big flag to wave on Capitol Hill, and further, even though CU walletshare/marketshare will always be muted by service to low-balance members and underserved communities.
But as I also wrote then and repeat now because it remains true, credit unions—especially the smaller-asset CUs that comprise the majority of credit unions—don’t do a particularly effective job at cross sales, at getting more out of those one-account members who are in it for the free branch coffee, or at converting indirect members into direct members. The word “team” at many CUs really does have an I in it, because it’s often just one or two people who are crushed for time just from the everyday demands of keeping the doors open. So, suddenly creating a culture that gooses the relationships-per-member ratio is, well, something that would be great, and they’ll get right to it after they deal with the idiot member in the drive-thru honking their horn.
Getting better at growing walletshare is something of a dreamy luxury for all of small and midsize shops, but it’s also true of even the largest.
Yet it doesn’t have to be.
Imagine This
Among the other things the coronavirus has done is reintroduce new words to everyday vocabulary, such as “uncharted waters” and “social distancing” and, in the case here, “pivot.”
The folks behind the Open Your Eyes campaign have already pivoted once in recent weeks. As CUToday.info reported here, the campaign has taken a pause and changed directions a bit to directly address COVID-19 and the lack of security many consumers are feeling. New messaging being considered includes the tagline, “Right now, things may seem unsure. We’ll keep your money safe and insured.”
Imagine what $50 million could have done and could still do if the campaign repivoted and invested in specialized training and platforms to get more out of the members CUs already have, to drive more members to cooperate with the cooperative, and to kick more members out of the 80 and into the 20, as in the 80/20 Rule.
Or, even better, what if the initiative pivoted to this? Imagine putting the funds toward helping credit unions develop new, effective strategies for developing real relationships through e-channels, where right now that “e” could just as easily stand for “exit” as it does for “engage.” The research is clear that face-to-face is the best way to bond with a member; otherwise, you’re just a screen swipe away from another provider.
One Final Idea
Or, even better, better, what about this pivot? There are tens of millions of CU members and other Americans being mauled financially by the pandemic, and they are hurting. Government help isn’t infinite, and there is no easy, short-term fix. But there is a road back to recovery, and it’s paved by credit unions. Why not invest the money in a national “Open Your Eyes to Getting Back on Your Feet” campaign in which there is a coordinated effort to help Americans rebuild their financial lives? I welcome your thoughts.
Whether anyone ever has the courage to open their eyes to it or not, credit unions can't control the tides. But they sure can help save people from drowning and get them back safely on shore.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief at CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info or @FrankCUToday.