Pondering the future & reflecting on all the good times.

One door closes, another opens…

In May of 2007, I left the National Credit Union Foundation (the national charitable arm of the credit union system) to become the Web Manager at the CUNA Councils. A couple years and a title change later, I’m now leaving the Councils to go back to the Foundation! I’ll be sad to leave my CUNA friends and colleagues, but will only be one floor away on campus here in Madison.

It does mean however, that I’ll be stepping down from the CUNAverse team. The blog has only been part of the credit union blogosphere for four months and I know that with this great group of enthusiastic and talented colleagues, it will be vibrant for years to come. And I won’t be too far away, so I might post as a guest blogger from time to time …

But back to the Councils, I have a deep appreciation for them in many ways and I’ve learned a lot. Too much for one single post, but here are some highlights:

Credit union people actually do cooperate. Obviously I knew that was true before, but information sharing and networking is the basis of the Councils. Even to this day, it’s mind blowing to me to see someone on one of the list serves go “Hey, I’m working on my marketing plan for next year, can someone send me or upload theirs?” Then a dozen members respond happily sharing their files. I have an email I kept from a former banker that joined the council who said it best – “What is impressive and inspirational is the unselfish demonstration of genuine desire to extend assistance to one another.” Indeed. People helping people on another level.

HR people can make list serve topics like dress code and tattoos in the workplace really, really interesting. To wear or to not wear Capri pants, that is the question.

Some people will try and tell you white papers are dead – far from it. The Councils continue to publish them – about 25 a year, with around 250 total papers in circulation – members love them (they are a free member benefit). Sometimes you have to ignore the pundits and continue to listen to your members.

I learned a lot about online community management, but you know that already.

And finally, credit union people continue to be some of the nicest, passionate, inspiring and amazing people I’ve ever met. Whether it be at Council conferences, credit union events, online, in emails, on Twitter, or even around the hallways at CUNA, you all make everyday a little bit better and I’m lucky to know you. Thanks for all you do and thanks for always making me feel like a part of something wonderful.

A little over two years ago, I helped the Councils launch CUNA Councils Connect, an online social network for members. Why? Soon after I started working here, it was clear there was a need for robust member searching and more targeted discussion groups with additional functionality. Working with volunteer credit union members of every Council, planning and development took about six to eight months before we launched the network. I learned a lot in that span of time, but I’ve probably learned even more in the last two years actually managing the online community.

The following are the biggest lessons I have learned. Keep in mind that it not only applies to social networks or communities, but could easily be applicable to some aspects of your credit union’s social media activity, particularly your credit union’s Facebook page.

Care and feeding is a must. This is huge. “If you build it, they will come” does not apply here. As most of you know, with almost any social media tool or website, you need to constantly remind and tell your prospective users about it. Council members are plugged into a lot of networks and still have a very heavily used list serve. Therefore, I not only set up and update Connect to send many types of automatic notifications, but I also frequently send email reminders with relevant news and information to remind members of the network’s usefulness.

Make it easy. If you work and work to get them to use your site, you want them to find what they are looking for. Otherwise, they probably won’t login again. For example, in the set up phase, I worked very hard to make Connect’s username and password the same as the rest of Council’s other password protected areas. That was a small thing, but I know it ensures members have one less hurdle to jump when using the site.

Your users will surprise you. That’s a good thing! Because social media is so participatory and conversational, often your members will have good ideas. For instance, we envisioned Connect’s discussion groups to be focused around areas of expertise, geographic, or topical subjects. And they were. But a few months after launch, some members started vendor “users groups” for members to share best practices and questions on a specific vendor or product. They took off immediately.  In the same vein, your users will also have good suggestions on usability and functionality. Listen to your users.

Beware of feature creep. You can do a lot with social media tools and you will be tempted to use all the bells and whistles at your fingertips. To make it easy and useful, just focus on your objectives and then look at actual activity. One example:  the company we work with to provide CUNA Councils Connect offers a bunch of cool features as part of their social networking platform. I use about 60% (ie: I really don’t have a reason to roll out wikis and geo-caching…yet). Additionally, when we launched Connect, we had a “live chat” feature, where we envisioned members talking to other members in real-time over CU issues, etc. After a year of usage and education, I noticed no one really used the feature correctly or even understood how to use it. We pulled the plug on it and no one noticed. That means one less thing to get in the way of Connect’s core features and usefulness.

Find a few evangelists & power users to help spread the word. You will find that certain individuals will take to the community right away. They post more than others. They love the features. They are not shy. They have good ideas. Get to know these people! I have a group of people like that in Connect and always promote their postings when I can, send them emails or notes after they post, give them a nudge sometimes, and even go so far as sending some small “trinkets” in the mail to thank them.

These are the big ones. Did I miss anything? Please feel free to leave in the comments.

The MRM Team - L-R Top: Barb Bender, Debbie Michels, Bottom: Sherri Wagner, Tonna Winkers, Connie Acker

I’ll give you a hint – you probably have talked to them on the phone once or twice… 

Tonna Winkers, MRM Manager, recently sat down to answer some questions about what (and who) the CUNA MRM department is and what they do. 

CUNAverse: What is MRM? What does your department do?
Tonna Winkers: The Member Relationship Management (MRM) team handles CUNA customer service orders and questions regarding CUNA products and subscriptions.  These come into MRM in a variety of ways; phones, web, email, fax or mail.  The department is made up of a great team of five, experienced representatives, who work in a call center environment.  We answer the phones from 8:00-4:30 CST, Monday-Friday. 

Because we touch almost every area in CUNA, we’ve become known as the “go to area” when someone needs to know an answer and isn’t sure where to go for it.  While we may not know the answer, we usually know the right people that do.  Customer service jobs have a lot more variety than others realize.

What are some lessons learned over the years?
The MRM team has over 115 combined years of CUNA customer service experience.  You can imagine the lessons we’ve learned over the years!!  Here are a few of the lessons that really stick out to the MRM team:

• Remember to always be patient with customers.  Sometimes they are not sure of what they want, and need you to assist them in getting to the end result.  You have to make sure you’re taking the time to help them get what they need.
• Be sympathetic to what the caller is going through.  If it’s a problem, be quick to fix it; if a quick fix is not possible, call them back with 24 hours to provide a time frame on when they can expect a resolution or a follow up.
• How you say something matters just as much, if not more, than what you say.  Your tone can carry more of a message than words.
• I had a representative keep customer service notes that she had from 1989 that she passed on to me when she retired.  Some of these notes are “Give 100-200%” and “The caller does not always care about how much you know; they want to know how much you care!”

How can CUNA members contact you with questions?
We can be contacted a variety of ways: phone 1-800-356-8010, press 3; or email CCSOrders@cuna.com; or orders can be placed on our website too at www.cuna.org.  We’d love to hear from you!

Everyone knows about social media, and talks about being hands-on and interactive. But what does this mean and how do you do it? Some people (& credit unions…) sensing a huge business potential throw money at new online opportunities. But speaker Tara Hunt says, “Money isn’t the capital of choice in online communities, it’s social capital, known as ‘whuffie,’ that drives these new engines.”

Tara, the author of The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business, says that in the social media space, market capital flows from having high social capital. Without high levels of “whuffie” (I can say that word all day BTW), you lose your connections to online communities, and any recommendations you make will be seen as spam.

The first part of her presentation echoed Brent Dixon’s yesterday. Viral social media content is mostly emotional, positive…awe-inspiring. People are sharing personal information and feelings like never before via social media (even their location – gasp!). The social web is growing and changing the way we interact with each other.

One particularly interesting finding she mentioned is that social networking affects the brain like falling in love – if a company or brand raises our oxytocin levels, we are more likely to connect with them.

Some great examples and videos Tara showed the group:

• “A Vision of Students Today” video on Gen Y & technology
• Patelco Credit Union’s Facebook page (& contests – she highlighted one video in particular on Patelco CU during the “zombie-apocalypse“)
• The famed Young & Free Alberta’s “Difference Between Bank & Credit Unions” Video
• BankerSpank videos
• CU*Swag’s entry into the Young & Free HQ’s “Money in a Bank” music video contest

Tara’s final words – “This stuff is important. All you need is love. May the force be with you.”

Viva Las Vegas! I’m excited to be blogging live from the 1 Credit Union Conference in Las Vegas with Courtney and Meghann over the next couple days. We’ll be posting some highlights and takeaways from key sessions right here on CUNAverse (Note, they’ll be a little looser than our usual posts). Also, for more live conference coverage, you can check out News Now’s updates, CU Grow, and of course a twitter search of the conference hashtag #the1cuconf for real-time information from conference-goers.

This morning I had the pleasure of introducing Brent Dixon, Young Adult Advisor at Filene Research Institute (USA), and Ross Lambrick, Regional Manager at Credit Union Australia (Australia), for a very relevant and important session – “Youthful Products for a Younger Membership.”

Ross kicked off the packed session with information on the demographic and the current Australian environment. For example, Gen Z, Y and X together make up 61% of the Australian population but only 20% are credit union members.

What I found most interesting were his examples of what both banks and credit unions are doing right in Australia. Highlights:

• Bendigo Bank partnered with a college to mentor students which exposes them to issues and practices in the finance industry as career development.
• Commonwealth Bank has a vision to have every child be financially literate – they offer and extensive school banking and financial literacy program.
• Community First Credit Union has an online greeter, Lisa,  you can interact with on their website.

What do Gen X & Y want from their financial institution?

• Convenience
• Control
• Problem resolution
• Friendly, courteous and knowledgeable staff
• Interested in the values of the brand they buy

Ross ended with his creed – “Change the life of a member for the better.”

Brent opened it up with the landscape – “credit unions need Gen Y.” Highlights: 

• 47 is the average age of membership
• From 1985-2005, Gen Y members declined

So what do you do? Cosmetics aren’t the answer and it’s not just about being “edgy.” You need an oustanding product to begin with – master the basics first.

Some successful product ideas he mentioned:

• Give your product a customizable face
• Debit card rewards
• Prize-based savings
• First credit cards (relationships last on average 15 years) are key. Hint: market to parents.

Think Twitter and social media is just about what people had for lunch? Wrong. Twitter can also be used for real change and political action in places like Iran.

It’s also changing our idea of “now” and we’re always “on.” He mentioned a statistic that 48% of people check online activity when waking up in the middle of the night. What can your credit union do? You need to listen and interact with members in real-time because it is becoming the expectation.

For your content to go viral (or to even be watched), you need to be original, creative, emotional, and awe-inspiring. Luckily, credit union stories are all of those things.

It has become a tradition now for the Madison-based CUNAverse team to have regular meetings at a neighborhood Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet. It started out by the other team members agreeing to go there to humor me – I talked more than once about eating at one a lot during high school and not going there since.

Then we ate there and were WOWed. So much so that we actually said “Wow” out loud a few times to each other. It’s not that the food is amazing – it’s good not great – but the experience is what makes it amazing. We have a regular table now.

Wait, how is a franchised lunch buffet relevant to credit unions you ask?

Provide Great Service. The first time we went there, the server asked us what kind of pizza we liked and if we didn’t see it on the buffet…they would make it. And they did make it. And then they brought it to the table to give us the first slices to ensure we got it. They did that more than once and in a way that didn’t seem like it was out of character or annoying. Wow. Also, none of us ever had to ask for drink refills because the server seemed to anticipate our every need. We felt special.

Consistency is Important. This great service must be instilled at a higher level because every server we’ve had since we started going there has been fantastic. We’ve started talking about it to others even (heck, I’m blogging about it right now!). But one time recently I did meet my family there for lunch to show them how great it is…and the restaurant failed me. The service was good, not great like the pizza. We had to ask for things and weren’t asked if we wanted anything not on the buffet. If you set high standards, every staff person needs to meet them.

Go Beyond Expectations. The first time we went there, we weren’t expecting much. It’s a lunch buffet right? The whole point is to not serve you and let you fend for yourself. Our server ended up taking care of us better than most do when you are eating a non-buffet meal! They anticipated our needs, met them and went one little step further.

Think about this: to consumers, people generally don’t expect much from their financial institution. It’s a chore that has to get done. It should be easy to WOW them.

Set a small goal for yourself this week – what’s one little thing you and/or your credit union can do to go beyond your members’ expectations?

I love convergences. About a month ago I found myself at the Wisconsin Credit Union League Annual Meeting where some friends at Filene were giving a general session on opportunities for credit unions. In Young Adult Adviser Brent Dixon’s section, he talked about the Golden Circle concept and its relevance for credit unions. It was a simple yet profound idea.

Source: blogs.law.harvard.edu

Driving back to Madison from the League meeting, I was listening to random TED talks and one of them happened to be on – you guessed it – the Golden Circle concept. The talk is from Simon Sinek and titled “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” I recommend checking it out sometime and sharing with your co-workers.

> Click Here to Watch/Hear the Full TED Talk

The gist is this: people connect with leaders and brands who they think share their beliefs – the cause (or the “why?”) in the center of the circle above. Too often, credit unions and organizations in general start with the outside of the circle in their messaging.

“We provide financial products & services (what?) via branches in the Madison area or online (how?) because we are a non-profit cooperative financial institution (why?)”

Sound familiar? Now turn it around:

“We believe that you should own your money and your financial institution, not shareholders. We believe in people helping people and our financial products/services reflect that. We do this because we are a non-profit cooperative financial institution.”

When I talked with Brent about this recently, he had this to add:

If you market based on the “what” you are a commodity. As soon as the terms of that commodity changes  (and we know they will change) – lower deposit rates, dropping free services to stay afloat, cutting back on branch hours – the market will leave too.

But if you market based on “why” – they will stay, because they believe in your purpose, and, because this goes beyond altruism, they will stay because they know that no matter what, you will fight to keep their best interest at the heart of your decisions.

Communicating and acting on purpose drives gut decisions that change behaviors.

Powerful stuff, yet we start the “what” all too often – professionally and personally.

Credit Union Center in Madison - In this picture, CUNA is in the front & CUNA Mutual is the building in the back.

A few weeks ago, I did a post on using social media in your credit union training, where I linked to the following video and then realized, “You know, I’m sure more people could benefit from watching it.” So I’m sharing it with you.

Sure, I’m sure you industry veterans are scoffing right now because you know that CUNA (Credit Union National Association) is different from CUNA Mutual.  Same industry, different roles. But I’m always surprised by the reaction sometimes at credit union events or conferences when I introduce myself and where I work and get “Oh cool, so you sell insurance?”

So for those new to the credit union system or for those who want to learn more – this video is for you. Some background: It was borne out of a presentation I did on CUNA at the National Credit Union Foundation’s DE Training program last year. A new friend from CUNA Mutual was presenting right after me (Jennifer Kuhn) so we thought it would be fun to do a little take-off on the PC/MAC ads highlighting the similarities and differences between the two organizations  to open them (“You support credit unions too? You are in Madison?” And so on).

It was a big hit so when we got back, we polished it up and CUNA Mutual filmed it for their internal training.  Naturally, they’ve since put it up on YouTube too to help educate others. It’s also played in the common areas too of the campus, which is funny because more than once someone has stopped me in the cafeteria with a “Hey, where do I know you? Oh, you’re CUNA!”

Anyway, enjoy (yes, it’s cheesy):

About a year ago now, I did a post at opensourcecu.com on some free online tools every credit union marketer should be using – Google Alerts, Twitter search, etc. The tools are still relevant because even if you aren’t embarking on a full-scale social media campaign, your membership and potential members might be talking about you. And you need to listen and respond if necessary. Ten or fifteen years ago, if a member had a good or bad experience with your credit union, they simply called or wrote the branch to complain.

Not anymore.

Now they can blog about it, tweet about it, update their Facebook status about it, and so on. And that information is public and most likely could live on forever. And Google loves blogs – for a personal example, about two years ago I got my auto loan through Great Wisconsin Credit Union here in Madison (now Summit CU) and did a blog post about my experience – Google “auto loan great Wisconsin credit union” and my blog post is (sometimes) towards the top of the search results. Do you think a potential auto loan seeker will read that blog post? Heck yes. So be prepared.

Aside from assembling your rapid response social media team, one thing you can do is to invest some time into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – getting your web pages higher in search results. For a primer, I recommend checking out a blog post I did for CU Communicator a while back and more importantly, Google’s free SEO starter guide (who knows search better than Google?). Once you dig a little deeper into SEO, you’ll find yourself forever changed on how you write copy for your web pages (example – stop using “CU” and write out “credit union”…are members searching “CU” or “credit union?”)

From inquisitr.com

Another overlooked outlet for disgruntled or happy members is Yelp. Yelp is a website where “real people write real reviews” of area businesses. Most likely your credit union is listed and has been reviewed. You might have only one review which might not mean that much to you. But remember two things:

1. 78% of People Trust Recommendations of Other Consumers (source)
2. Google likes Yelp – for example, Heartland Credit Union here in Madison has only one review (4-stars out of 5)). When you Google “Heartland Credit Union Madison,” their Yelp page is on the first page of the search results. Will curious parties read that review? Again, heck yes.

So what can you do? First, visit Yelp’s business owner section and edit/update your business information (remember – if it shows up on the first page of Google results, it’s about as important as your credit union’s website in terms of visibility…think of it as an “online branch” so to speak). Then read this great blog post by Samuel Axon – “Yelp for Businesses: 4 Steps for Success” and follow his tips. I like the idea of displaying a Yelp badge on your site for example or re-posting some actual reviews. You can also display reviews or stickers in your branches too (see image for an easy example).

I’d also recommending making the rest of your staff aware of both of these resources/strategies – Yelp and SEO. For example, you might find yourself editing content less and you don’t want frontline staff caught off guard by a member who mention’s your credit union’s Yelp review.

“Yelp? Do you mean you need help? I’m sorry, let me get a manager…”

This post originally appeared at creditunionman.com in a slightly different form.

There has been much written about what to do if a member starts bad-mouthing your credit union in cyberspace (whether it be on a blog, Twitter, Yelp, etc).

But what about employees? Last year, a receptionist at a credit union wrote a lengthy post on her blog about her work “pet peeves.” She named names, including her credit union, so it was viewable by anyone with access to Google. Thankfully, after it was found online, a concerned third-party contacted her and she took it down (read about the whole incident here).

Credit unions should have guidelines in place to ensure that employees don’t also inadvertently harm their brand online. For example, what do you do if a staff member posts negative comments about work on their personal twitter account or blog? You’ll want to be prepared. You’ll need a social media policy.

Let’s be clear because I’ve heard the term used a few different ways. A social media policy is not what websites your employees can and can’t visit at work (that’s most likely covered in your “employee internet usage guidelines” or similar policy) or what and when your marketing department is posting to your credit union’s Facebook page (likely in your social media strategy or marketing plan). Instead, it includes guidelines that clearly show appropriate employee use and behavior with social media.

So what should you include in the policy? A new research/white paper, “Social Media Guidelines & Policies,” from the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council and CUNA HR/TD Council (where I work) includes detailed information on the necessity of having a credit union social media policy and what it should include.

Jim Jerving—the paper’s author—looked at existing credit union social media policies and broke them down into major sections. Here is a high-level overview of sections from a very comprehensive policy:

1. Introduction & Purpose – Who is the policy written for? Why?
2. Core Values - Some credit unions may want to emphasize that their values and mission as an organization should be carried over online.
3. Accountability – You are responsible for what you write.
4. Inappropriate Use – What’s acceptable behavior?
5. Financial Disclosure – If you mention a product online, advertising disclosure regulations must be met.
6. Identification as Employee Online – If you do identify yourself as a CU employee online anywhere, how would the CU want you to be presented?
7. Copyrights – Respect copyright laws, attributions, etc.
8. Confidentiality – Don’t post any sensitive, confidential, proprietary, or financial information.
9. Defense against Personal Attacks – If your credit union has a blog for example, a disclaimer that tell visitors to basically be nice to each other.
10. All Rights Reserved & Hold Harmless – You need to state your legal rights as the owner of your CU’s blog while saying that those who comment in your blog are responsible for their comments.
11. Language & Behavior – Another disclaimer on your CU’s social media site that tells visitors to keep it clean.
12. Spam – Another disclaimer that tells your site visitors to not leave spam in the comments, etc.
13. Security – Reminds employees to follow IT security rules, etc.
14. Social Media Rapid Response – Who responds to positive & negative posts about the CU? How?

Or maybe you want to keep it short. Here is a sampling of policy wording from the HR Specialist:

• Don’t let personal use of Twitter or other social networking sites interfere with work.
• Employees must get company approval to use Twitter to conduct business. (Note: This isn’t far-fetched. Many organizations have successfully incorporated Twitter into their marketing strategies.)
• Any use of the organization’s name, trademarks, logos or other intellectual property must be approved.
• If employees make personal comments about any aspect of the organization’s business, their profiles must carry a disclaimer that the views expressed are their own, and not the organization’s.
• Tweets may not disclose confidential or proprietary information.
• Employees should use common sense about what they post.

Regardless of the length, it’s important to not just post your new guidelines on the intranet and be done with them. Revisit them from time to time with staff, have a workshop to talk about social media (and your policies), and always ensure they are mostly positive (instead of “don’t do this, don’t do that…”).

Now if only devising your credit union’s social media marketing strategy was this easy!

More resources:

• Legal Reasons Why Your Company Should Have a Social Networking Policy
• Social Media Policies of 113 Organizations