By Frank J. Diekmann
OK, you’ve left me no choice. I have finally been forced to conclude the reason credit unions are a two-word noun is this: they’re schizophrenic. Bipolar. Putting the CU in cuckoo.
I’m sorry to have to share the diagnosis, but after yet one more test result coming back, it’s best to face it head on, right? Then maybe we can start the treatment. Or maybe not…
This latest test result came in the form of comments made by both speakers to credit unions and credit unions themselves during CO-OP’s THINK Conference last week in San Diego, where there was one issue that would have been more appropriate for an event called NONTHINK.
Because most speakers to THINK come from outside the industry, they frequently offer remarks like “I didn’t know about you” and “You’re the world’s best-kept secret,” or “You have a branding issue,” as was observed by Gary Vaynerchuk.
That prompted one CU CEO to stand up during a Q&A and argue the reason “no one knows about credit unions” is all the fault of a “bifurcated” credit union movement when it comes to trade groups. (I can only imagine what it must be like to be a speaker unfamiliar with CUs at a CU conference and hearing what sounds like some Navajo code talkers with their “coona” and “knaffque” and “ennseeyouay”).
Attention schizophrenics! Are you kidding? How much longer is this “no one knows about credit unions” going to go on?
Think of it in these terms. Let’s says those “bifurcated” associations really are a “problem,” so they merge and create a CUNAFCU or NAFCUNA (the name alone would take a good decade to decide upon). But for the same of argument, let’s say they come together AND agree to spend $50 million on a national “Got CUs?” media campaign. And since we’re talking about altered mental states here, let’s totally dispense with reality and say that campaign is driving 150,000 new members to credit unions every month!
The credit union movement would be moved to tears over the success of that campaign, the ROI—150,000 new members every month. People wouldn’t be able to stop talking about it.
So what are CU folks talking about instead? That nobody knows anything about credit unions, even though 800,000 members joined credit unions in January and February. 800,000! That 100-million-member milestone of just a few years ago seems so five exits back as CU membership numbers pass 107 million. That’s one-third of the U.S. population.
Yes, some of you will point out, many came via the indirect channel. I don’t care if they were kidnapped—it’s 800,000 new members over two months. Were this the sign-ups of some Silicon Valley-based fintech start-ups, credit unions would be hosting emergency sessions at their meetings to deal with the threat.
Instead, what this surge of new members has done is disguise the real shortcoming of credit unions: they’re lousy at capturing walletshare. Credit unions could grow even if they didn’t sign up any new members by pushing higher their number of relationships with the members they already have. It’s easy to onboard when people are rushing the subway car; it takes effective strategies and work to turn NEW members into multi-relationship, profitable members who are cooperating with the co-op.
So take your meds, credit unions, and drop this “we’re the world’s best-kept secret stuff.” That’s not the secret that’s at the heart of the real challenge here.
And now on to other notes from THINK:
Now That's The Way To Go Out
Well that was a heckuva a lot better than a gold watch…
Stan Hollen, who has overseen tremendous growth into numerous new areas and endeavors while he has led CO-OP, is retiring as CEO, and this year’s event was his last. He has been a particularly strong proponent –and true to the CUSO’s name—that credit unions should cooperate on as many front and backoffice functions as possible, and shouldn’t do business with any company that doesn’t give back. Let’s hope his successor, whom I was told would be named soon, carries that torch with the same vigor.
Hollen had told CO-OP he didn’t want any kind of retirement party, but did say that since the THINK 16 event would be at the Hotel Del Coronado on the beach, that maybe a beach party would be a good idea. It was a beachin’ good idea.
With sponsorship from MasterCard, a large section of the beach on the Pacific Ocean was roped off, an extensive buffet was offered, tables and chairs were set up, Adirondack chairs were arranged around fire pits, and even the rain—rain in San Diego! —held off. And then there was the entertainment, first from a talented Beach Boys/Jan & Dean tribute band, and then from the headliner, KC & The Sunshine Band (yes, at 65, he's still doin' a little dance, makin a little love...)
And while Hollen didn’t want any tribute, he got it anyway, first at a smaller event inside the Hotel Del at which a video was shown and his wife, Beth, and others spoke.
“Stan has been happy to hear from all of you how much he has meant to credit unions,” said Beth Hollen. “I encourage you to not wait until people retire to tell them how much they have meant—and take that home and let your loved ones know, too.”
In brief remarks, Stan Hollen credited the CO-OP board, staff and the CU owners of the CUSO for “building the greatest credit union company in the country.”
Among the things Hollen helped build, by the way: CO-OP’s Miracle Match program, which has raised more than $8 million for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. That will always be the real retirement celebration.
Using Compliance As An Excuse, And Other Issues
Once again Gary Vaynerchuk, who turned his father’s New Jersey-based liquor store into a $60-million a year business called Wine Library and who now leads VaynerMedia, was once again among the most outspoken of speakers at THINK (he also appeared in 2014).
He told credit unions that “Too many people in this room and the logos they work for use compliance as an excuse for not doing what they should be doing. It’s not their fault. They don’t work for an organization and a culture that rewards that kind of behavior.”
Later, he offered his own take on a scene we’ve all witnessed (and perhaps participated in): “You see two people at dinner and both are on the phone and you nudge the other and say, ‘Hey, how sad.’ I see people who 15 years ago would have sat next to each other and not said a word. So I think (phones are) a blessing to those two. I’m happy for those two people, because they can actually be doing what they want to do.”
Later during an audience Q&A, Vaynerchuk was asked about marketing ROI and (once again) the lack of awareness of CUs. “You have to change the rules from the top. It’s on the CEO. There is a big difference between branding/marketing and sales; they are different functions. I’m a salesman who happens to respect what branding and marketing does. Apple and Nike don’t sell me; I buy it mindlessly.
“The other thing that pisses me off: we live through a 4,3,2 and a still lingering missed opportunity—window, where the main competitor banks were the most evil presence in our society and we didn’t pounce on the opportunity,” he continued. “And that gives me very little hope that you will take advantage of this. No rainbows here. You screwed up.”
Vaynerchuk, whose company is a digital marketing consultancy, also took a jab at all the “social media experts who sell 1,000 books over four months. Shouldn’t they have used their own advice to sell books?”
How To Know What The CU Really Values
Want to know what your credit union really values? According to Tom Kelley, the general manager of the consulting firm IDEO, there is a simple way to know: “Budget is how organizations express love,” he told the THINK meeting.
Kelley, whose company had launched a partnership with CO-OP called the Credit Union Innovation Project, urged CU executives to “Go back to work and if you do one thing, make it clear ‘we’re going to be an idea friendly organization.’”
Later, Kelley had some advice for doing research on and getting feedback from their members. “You can observe and ask questions and your members will not give up (information) right away. Empathy happens face to face and goes beyond the first level of data. Instead, we love to get data at our desk. You have to keep your eyes wide open.”
As an example of how what’s captured in a report might be misleading, he cited research his company had done with one firm in which a woman said that “medicine bottles don’t give me any trouble.” His team visited with her at home and discovered she was using a meat slicer to open medicine bottles.
You Failed Your Test
From the Not-Sucking-Up-To-The-Audience Dept.: Max Schorr of GOOD said that when he thinks of credit unions, “I think of this”—and he showed a picture of the DMV. This was received by the THINK audience about as well as, well, the DMV.
What About Us?
Sara Critchfield of Upworthy.com said that if credit unions are going to complain that no one knows their story, they largely have themselves to blame. She noted that “Most of you have your mission on your ‘About Us’ (pulldown menu on the website). And less than 1% of traffic will visit your About page. Which means you are leaving 99% of your potential members walking away from your website without understanding what a credit union really stands for.”
Meanwhile, as would be expected given the current climate, there were a number of politics-related jokes made during THINK. But one real insight was offered by Critchfield, who said, “The current political climate speaks to us in this moment. A year ago nobody knew who Bernie Sanders was. He came out of nowhere with one message: to break up the big banks, about financially empowering people. Does that sound familiar? And on the other side the rise of the Donald, it really proves there is severe discontent with the status quo. Regardless of what you believe politically, this conference is happening in the middle of a pretty shocking political cycle. The status quo isn’t working for people and they will go to the extremes looking for alternatives.”
If You Can't Tell Your Own Story...
I began with all these ridiculous, unsupported-by-the-data statements about how “nobody” knows about credit unions’ stuff, and may be forced to concede that the real issue seems to be credit unions not knowing about credit unions. And if you can’t tell your story, well….
This was an actual conversation overheard during THINK by two people from the same CU:
Man #1: I didn’t know CO-OP had more surcharge-free ATMs than anybody else.
Man #2: Yeah. We have that information on our website.
Man #1: We do?
Man #2: Yeah.
Man #1: I never see the CO-OP ATMs or know where to find them.
Man #2: We have an ATM locator on our website that will tell you where they are.
Man #1: We do?
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator in Chief of CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info and followed @FrankCUToday.