ShareCU Mag: What’s one gem that has turned out well?
Godwin: I can’t think of a single one…. No, one thing we’re going to start doing whenever we go to a conference is to participate in some type of outreach in that location.
That idea came up in a discussion about outreach. If you’re fortunate enough to go to a conference, why not get in a little early and do something in the community where the conference takes place? I love that idea.
This practice also fosters rapport. We’ll come up with ideas that, frankly, aren’t that good. And we’ve developed this open rapport where we can tell each other “that’s not a good idea” in a way that’s constructive and usually funny.
One idea, that we should give away pillows, was just torn apart. My team has no trouble—and often rejoices in—telling me when my creative juices are less than wonderful. So this fosters open communication, as well.
Legg: We also had a gem. We found that federal government employees’ pay sometimes is delayed when the government is closed for a long weekend, like over Thanksgiving. We put together a loan product that automatically deposits the amount of their paycheck when there’s a delay. When the paycheck does come in, it’s all good.
This way, they don’t have to worry about having enough funds in their account over a long weekend. This is a good example of looking at our members’ needs and what we can do to meet them.
They love this, and they’ll talk to each other: “You’ve got to be with the credit union because you’ll get early pay.” Even if it’s not early pay, that’s the perception.
Wall: I think the economy can give us some new ideas based on members’ needs. If you didn’t already have second-chance checking or a restart auto loan, you certainly developed more products like those because there’s such a need.
In part three of this series, Godwin, Wall, and Legg discuss the increasing role of the tablet and other tools in marketing and business development. The CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council honored these marketers during its annual conference in New Orleans.
