By Tammy Douglass
"We've always done it that way." "If it's not broke, don't fix it." "But I don't like change!"
Do you hear these comments at your credit union? Or, worse yet, have you been guilty of making such remarks? Albert Einstein described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
DID '12 (Doing it Different) was born from a conversation I had with Bo McDonald, president of CUES Supplier member Your Marketing Co. I've been working for and with credit unions for almost 24 years, so I got really excited about the possibility of a group of South Carolina credit union executives getting together to talk about how to do things differently.
And it really happened!
Randy Smith, publisher/managing editor of CUInsight.com kicked off the day and moderated the event for us. The sessions generated a lot of head nodding and great questions from the attendees. Points of interest included:
- Trends in credit union branch remodeling, building design, and retail banking from Creative Builders Inc., including branch layout tweaks that can positively impact staffing and, in turn, your bottom line.
- Don't accept "No, that can't be done" from anyone, suggested technology and security experts from TicTocTech. There are always workarounds and oftentimes simple fixes to get what you want!
- Who is your Marge (your ideal member)? asked CUES Supplier member Marquis Software Solutions. Why are you marketing to the masses if you are only looking for Marge? By using your databse and targeting your marketing, you can stretch your marketing dollars and get more effective results.
- Who are the underbanked? asked New Market Partners, a CUES strategic provider. You'd be surprised to see the income you're leaving on the table by not offering products and services that your members currently get at chain stores like Wal-Mart.
- Keep your marketing impactful, relevant and consistent, but don't be afraid to be different and stand out from the crowd, urged Your Marketing Co. That's what is going to get you noticed.
- Last but not least, a case study from Pastor Glen Wood at Seacoast Church on how thinking out of the box helped his church grow exponentially. Satellite offices and online church were just two of the many things he talked about. Sound familiar? Where would your credit union be without branch offices or online services?
The positive feedback was overwhelming! We are planning another conference with similar content in North Carolina in April. If you would like information on setting up a DID'12 Conference in your area, leave a comment or contact me at tammy@cues.org.
Tammy Douglas is director of member relations for CUES.
