CU Soapbox

What WON'T You Collaborate On?

2010-03-15T09:23:45-04:00

by Ron Daly

Last Wednesday was a great day for those of us here on the East Coast. After months of snow and sleet and cold, we were treated to a mild, cloudy day and a visit from our fellow credit union service organizations at the NACUSO regional meeting. And what a visit it was.

We met a lot of great folks last week who had a lot to say about CUSOs and the current "credit union economy". Following up from last Tuesday's Blog Post, NACUSO CEO Tom Davis kicked things off with a quick view of the industry and word on butterflies. "Butterflies?" You ask. Yes, butterflies. According to Tom's talk, when butterflies leave the cocoon they have to struggle to break free and fly off. If you help one out of its cocoon, it won't have to struggle - but it can't fly. I think that's a pretty good analogy, and a great thing to keep in mind when the going gets tough.

Jay Johnson of Callahan and Associates led a "group-think" session about the goals of the credit unions in attendance and how they might benefit one another by sharing services and capacities. This led to some discussion of "The Canadian Model", a term I've heard bandied about a lot lately. There are quite a few CU professionals who think Canada - and Desjardins Group in particular - have a model that could be adapted here to strengthen the industry as a whole. I'm interested to hear what our readers have to say about the Canadian Model, so please, leave some thoughts in the comments.

Guy Messick of Messick and Weber CUSOLaw.com talked about gaining a greater market share and working toward stronger inter-CUSO connections and more collaboration in sharing resources - a "CUSO 3.0" Network Strategy. Some of the key talking points that we shared on our Twitter feed:

Expect a lot of mergers in the not-too-distant future. This can create issues for CUSOs, considering conflicts of interest and service and in ownership. It also harms a credit union's sense of community when they have to increase service areas and take on the policies/procedures of their "new partner".
The topic of "myths". An amazing bit of insight on what's keeping us held back, particularly when it comes to marketing. "There's a reason we're still under six percent" of market share, says Messick - it's time for CUs to be bold and tell their story.
"Shame on us" if we know what it takes to help credit unions succeed and don't act on it. I agree completely.
A question that really made us think - "What WON'T you collaborate on?"

What really struck me about the whole session was how many folks were willing to share their stories and their experiences helping credit unions help members. I don't want to speak too early, but there will certainly be some impressive outcome of last week's meeting - a lot of collaboration that will result in a lot of great services for CUs across the country.

Your comments are, as always, appreciated.

Buy the Cow, OR Just the Milk!

2010-03-09T12:31:05-05:00

by Ron Daly

Let's pretend for just a moment that you run a credit union (and you might). Your credit union can offer checking and savings and loans, but has no online banking, no student lending program, and a weak collection strategy. "Just doing" these programs isn't in the cards, given your membership size and available capital, but doing without them will surely cost you future members and won't let you compete with the mega-bank down the street. What do you do?

If "use a CUSO" didn't cross your mind, you're sadly not alone.

In a recent article from CU Journal, Tom Davis, CEO of the National Association of CUSOs (NACUSO), expressed his frustration with credit unions' unwillingness to invest in CUSOs.

From the article:

"Why think about joining a multi-owned CUSO in the first place?" Davis asked rhetorically. "Because it will help sustain the credit union. It will drive value to the credit union's members. It spreads risk among multiple credit unions. It adds expertise. We need to point out the advantages, specifically driving value back to the members, which is why we are here. Putting my NACUSO hat on, that is what we are all about...we provide applied learning experiences on the value of collaboration."

Tom has some great reasons for investing in a CUSO and collaboration. The article is worth the read. But here's a question that hasn't been asked yet, and I'm going to be bold and put this out there:

Why not just BUY from a CUSO?

I can appreciate why a credit union would buy into a CUSO so they'd have a stake in its success, add value to the CU, and obtain owner pricing. But if what you need is a service and what that CUSO is providing is the exact service you need, just buy the product from the CUSO! You don't always need to invest in the CUSO to become a part of it, you just need to use their products and services.

I put my CUSO (DigitalMailer) out there as an example. We're the 2nd largest eStatement provider in the industry, our email engine is designed to help you maximize your online marketing ROI, and we're used by 180 credit unions nationwide. When it's down to two, if you have the choice between an industry outsider or someone with ten years experience in financial services, why choose the former?

Put simply: When it comes to CUSOs, you can buy the cow and get the milk or you can just buy the milk. All things being equal, when considering a vendor, we encourage you to buy CUSO.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

HAMP Hampered

2010-03-03T11:14:38-05:00

by Ron Daly

The successes of President Obama's financial programs have been debated by pundits for the past year or so. Some say that progress is naturally slow in recovery and that the seeds of these initiatives will bear fruit for years to come. Others say that the programs have not helped enough in the short term to warrant their continued support.

One program being debated currently is the Home Affordable Mortgage Program, or HAMP. A recent story from ABC News talks about the program - its proponents, its opponents, and its short-term success.

Watch the video below. [EMAIL READERS - please visit the website to view the video. Flash player required.]

According to the online version of the story, only 116,000 homeowners have taken advantage of the $75 Billion program thusfar. Only 116,000 on a program designed to help 2 million? Why? Because bankers won't help customers and would rather foreclose. This has led some lawmakers to call the program a "failure" and has prompted the Treasury to suggest a stronger hand. If the Treasury and the Obama Administration had their druthers, banks would be required to see if homeowners qualified for HAMP help prior to foreclosure. Banks would only be allowed to begin the foreclosure process after a borrower had been officially unqualified.

From the ABC story:

The new proposal would prohibit "referral to foreclosure until borrowers is evaluated and found ineligible for HAMP or reasonable contact efforts have failed," according to the Treasury document. It would also require "servicers to stop all foreclosure action once borrower is in a trial period plan."

Eligibility is a sticking point in the program. 1.7 million borrowers were believed to be eligible for HAMP help, yet only .6% (note: that's "point-six-percent", not six percent) have received aid. This Washington Post article suggests there are more factors at play than banks' willingness to lend.

Lender resistance or incapacity explains only part of the shortfall; many borrowers failed to supply required documentation because it might show they had overstated their income to get a loan -- i.e., that they had not, indeed, "played by the rules."

Meanwhile, because of stubbornly high unemployment, the rate of redefault on modified loans is likely to be high -- 70 percent based on recent experience, according to a recent report by Standard & Poor's.

Bank of America has reported a surprising upswing in the number of HAMP modified mortgages held by their institution. Clearly, a few troubled homeowners are receiving the message and taking the extra steps to avoid losing their home. Mandate the qualification process prior to foreclosure and we're helping that many more.

I haven't heard of any credit unions foreclosing on a member rather than HELPING that member, have you?

I'm all for calling off foreclosures and making the banks modify loans under HAMP. If the borrower qualifies, they get a last shot at a modified mortgage and home ownership. If they don't qualify because they committed fraud on their application or simply couldn't meet the standards, then start the process. How else will we stop the plummeting housing market?

We welcome your input as always.

Your One-Stop GAC Wrap-Up

2010-02-26T10:44:03-05:00

by Ron Daly

Being based just a few miles outside DC has its advantages. Chief among them, we were able to pop in and out of the GAC and meet with our clients, our friends, and our fellow CUSOs. While we didn't hit any of the big talks or breakout sessions, we didn't feel out of the loop. Nor would anyone else, I would wager, as CU professionals from across the country that were attending the GAC were eager to share their thoughts via blogs, emails and social media outlets of all kinds. We thought we would do a service to our followers that might have missed some of the highlights of the week and try to bring all those links and stories together in one place. If you feel there's a link or two missing that might be vital to people reading along at home, leave us a comment with the link in it down in the comment section.

BEFORE CONFERENCE:

morrischris: For all you GAC attendees & burger lovers, there is a Five Guys about a block from the convention center. Thought you should know. #GAC10

A few enterprising CU professionals created a "hashtag" label for Twitter posts related to the GAC. If you want to see how the whole thing unfolded in 140 characters, go to Twitter's search page and search #gac10.

Certainly one of the most talked about parts of this particular GAC was the "Crashers", a group of young CU professionals dedicated to making their CUs better. Crash the GAC was started by Brent Dixon of The Haberdashery and Filene, who took the idea to CUNA. CUNA offered a number of scholarships so that attendees wouldn't technically be "crashing" in the traditional sense, and Palmetto Cooperative Services LLC sponsored a number of beds at the DC Hostel for attendees. As Crashers went about the conference, they wore their custom CU*Swag shirts with their slogan "Five Star Leaders, Two Star Lodging". Having received a CU*Swag shirt (Jimmy won one and gave me his - It's a nice shirt!), I can say they'd be great for any CU that wanted to deck out tellers in some custom gear.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE GAC:

aplusfcu: Packed crowd here at the GAC Opening Session. Lots of talk about job creation. #gac10 http://tweetphoto.com/12186755

The kickoff started with David Gergen, former presidential advisor and pundit, talking leadership in the Nation and in finance, and stating "The great American job machine is broken" and that innovation will be the key that gets it started again.

CUNA President and CEO Dan Mica was greeted by a standing ovation when he took the stage for what will be his last GAC in said position. His talk centered around raising the MBL, the hot-button issue this year to be sure. His talk seemed well received by the majority of CU citizen journalists in attendance. [Read Dan Mica's opinion column here]

The MBL echoed throughout the conference, with more and more breakout sessions and private meetings devoted to its discussion. Gigi Hyland, also of the NCUA board, spoke her mind on day two about raising the MBL cap and the forward momentum of CUs through 2010, which she admitted would be a "tough year". She also gave due attention to the Crash folks, much to their delight.

Debbie Matz, the newest chairperson from NCUA, took the stage to talk about what she felt should be key goals for every credit union in the nation, including expansion of online services and payday loan alternatives. [Some more thoughts from Matz in this article from cujournal.com]

CU_Ninja: RT @Paulsworld: Debbie Matz: 4 ways for CU's to succeed. Alt capital, biz lending, payday alternative and electronic services. #GAC10

There were quite a few impressive guests this year, including Joe Scarborough, Alan Greenspan, Ondine Irving, and even Reggie Bush snuck in at one point to the delight of attendees. Needless to say, if you weren't there, you missed out on a lot of interesting talk and a lot of insight.

robwright: Hike the Hill! #gac10 http://tweetphoto.com/12386760

Wednesday was the day for attendees to "Hike the Hill", visiting with representatives and lawmakers from across the country on CU matters. Representatives Barney Frank and Spencer Bachus (MA and AL, respectively) stopped by Wednesday morning for a chat with attendees on Interchange Fees (which Frank said was not on the table) and, of course, more MBL talk (which Bachus said would be a tough fight for CUs to push through). Attendees then met with lawmakers to talk credit union issues, racking up pictures and stories along the way.

Jimmy Marks, our CMD, and some of his Crashing buddies were also behind a "tweetup", a meeting of Twitter users in attendance. I'm told it was a big success and that there were some great conversations happening in the midst of all those young whippersnappers.

FOR THE FULL EXPERIENCE:

I couldn't possibly tell you everything that happened at the conference and around the conference - to do that, I'd have to start blogging Monday and not quit until the end of the week. Which the folks below did!

Carla Day of CU Chat Up was a one-woman GAC reporting supercomputer. She typed her poor thumbs right down to the knuckle on her Palm Pre, live-blogging and reporting events as they happened. To get a great recap of the whole experience, see her personal Twitter feed.

To read about the full day's worth of events through Wednesday, spend some time with Rob Rutkowski's "That Credit Union Blog" which did a day-by-day recap. Read all about it here.

The CU Water Cooler gang made time for a "Liquid Lunch" chat podcast, which can be heard here.

If it gets summed up much better than this, let me know:

Matt_Vance: At DCA getting ready to fly home. GAC has come to a close but the ideas, projects & action are just getting started #gac10.

Telling Potential Members to "Move It!"

2010-02-16T10:12:51-05:00

by Ron Daly

A new force is emerging in the battle for new members at CUs...from the pages of the Huffington Post comes the "Move Your Money" campaign. The goal: convince people across the country to move their money from any of the big banks to a community bank or credit union.

moveyourmoney.info

When we first mentioned this, it was in passing, but we thought it was worth a whole post because of the traction it's been getting. We were interested to see our friends over at American Debt Relief Challenge wrote an article for Huffington Post about their good work getting folks to move their credit card balances to a CU. To date, almost $20 million has been saved thanks to balance transfers to a CU.

Then, there was this story about New Mexico moving state funds from major banks and into credit unions and community banks (click here). This is major news - not just one member moving money, but an entire U.S. State. That's nothing to balk at, that's a big decision and a big leg-up for New Mexico CUs and community banks.

The Move Your Money folks are making waves in the media with stories popping up on ABC News and CNN Money, but they're certainly not the only ones beating the "leave the big banks" drum.

This popped into my inbox thanks to an enterprising reader who wanted to share.

http://www.anewwayforward.org/bankbreakup/

Some folks have made "Dear John" Valentine's cards for the bank that will no longer have their business. Some of them are pretty funny, and I love the top banner of the website that advocates moving to a credit union. At the bottom is a list of organizations that are encouraging folks to move from a "big bank" to a community bank or CU.

Among them:

A New Way Forward [click here]

A website - a whole organization, in fact - made up of people who want real reform in Washington and an end to bailouts and back-scratching. Their initiative is impressive, as is the group of people that are making this happen. The backbone of the organization is http://www.prosperityagenda.us

Break Up the Big Banks [click here]

The name just about says it all. Another group of "concerned citizens" advocating less power and pull for big banks and Washington.

Americans for Financial Reform [click here]

A project of Americans for Fairness in Lending, or AFFIL.

What do you need to know about these organizations?

They are fueled by more media attention and more user/reader input. Their content is writing and producing itself thanks to enterprising bloggers and vloggers who feel let down by their big bank. Their response is being built up within their network by one reblogging the other and dragging cross-readers along with them.
They're not affiliated with the banks/CUs they're asking people to consider. These endeavors are not motivated by money, they're motivated by ire at the big banks.
They have to shoot at a wide target.

When these organizations link to "find a Credit Union" services, they're going to get ballparked a few CUs based on their location. Can people find you via Credit Unions 24? How about the NCUA site? Are you available? Have you been trying to market to non-members looking to move their money?

Set aside some time today to take a look at these sites, evaluate the resources that are available, and tell potential new members to "move it!"

Got Snow?: What our company (and our clients) learned from The Blizzard of 2010

2010-02-12T11:39:27-05:00

by Ron Daly

This story originally ran on the DigitalMailer Blog.

Call me an optimist, but I'm going to call this storm "THE blizzard of 2010", in the hopes that it's not just "A blizzard of 2010".

It's been an interesting week here at DigitalMailer. In case you missed any news outlet of the past week, the DC/Metro area got almost THREE FEET of snow dropped on us in the span of a week. Many of our account managers, operations staff and marketing department had to work from home for the entire week - and one of our staff members won't be dug out until days from now. Hang in there, Steve!

When the snow hit, we made it a point to send out reminders to all our clients about our limited support capacity, letting them know when we'd be out of the office and how they could reach us. Our clients had the same idea - DigitalMailer sent out over 300,000 emails regarding closings and delays to members. Clients from all around the DC/Metro area were able to get the word out ahead of the storm and in the thick of it.

The Value of Email

For our clients, email is not just about marketing. It's a communication channel that members know to look out for because it's a channel the CU is eager to use. Whether it's a weather crisis or a financial crisis, our clients use our email engine to reach members, provide support and comfort, and let them know what happens next. Fellow blogger and all-around CU-wizard Anthony Demangone from the NAFCU Compliance Blog had these four pieces of advice to offer on his own blog about the blizzard:

You need to plan.
You need good people.
You need technology.
You need to communicate to your "users."

To read all the particulars, go to the NAFCU Compliance Blog Post. Anthony hit the nail right on the head with these four points. See the crisis coming, have a staff you can count on, have the right technology and communicate consistently.

Send us your blizzard stories and pictures - either here or on our Twitter feed - and tell us how your CU or Business communicated with members/customers during the storm.

We can get you started with a fast, effective message delivery system right away. All you have to do is give us a call. 866 994 4900 extension 102 or info@digitalmailer.com

We wanted to give you some idea how much snow we've been dealing with - take a look at these pictures.

Me, in front of a snow bank in a ski jacket that's REALLY come in handy. To give you some scale, I'm 6'2" tall - that snow pile is just about 7'2".

The above picture was taken before the "dig-out" period by our Creative Media Director Jimmy Marks. That's his car - beneath 24 inches of snow!

The snow piles easily tower over even large SUVs. Makes me wonder if maybe there are some other cars buried out there under the big snow piles!

Operations Specialist Steve Mattson lives in a more rural area of Northern VA. Good news? He has a small tractor and snapped a few pictures. Bad news? He's STILL stuck at home! Hopefully we'll see you Monday, Steve!

CUNA to Administration: Where Do CUs Fit In?

2010-02-11T12:19:25-05:00

by Ron Daly

For the past few weeks, CUNA has been striking out at the Obama Administration's new Small Business Lending Fund plan. The plan, which would distribute $30 billion in unused TARP funds to 8,000 community banks, doesn't mention credit unions as a potential business lender or alternative to community banks.

From the above Fox News story:

Senior administration officials say the Treasury Department, SBA (Small Business Administration) and other White House officials and community bank groups worked on this legislation together and will affect banks that have between one billion and 10 billion dollars in assets.

CUNA, upon hearing the details of the President's plan, registered its outrage in a series of posts and stories on its website and in the CU Times. CUNA President and CEO Dan Mica registered his disappointment with further bank investments and is asking for face time with President Obama to speak on behalf of CUs across the country.

From CUNA News Now:

"Credit unions have been making loans over the past year and can make even more if legislation expanding their capacity to make small business loans is enacted. I hear credit unions say: 'Don't just subsidize the banks; let us help this country get back on its feet--without using taxpayers' money,'" [Mica] added.

Business lending caps have been a hot topic for credit unions in the past year. A recent Washington Post article about CU business lending has this quote from a Treasury rep about bringing CUs into the fold:

"We work very closely with credit unions and we have put forward a number of initiatives to help small businesses, but we are always willing to explore new ideas," Andrew Williams, a spokesman for the Treasury Department, said Monday.

We're eager to hear your opinion about the Small Business Lending Fund. If the business cap needs to be lifted, or increased, are the ramifications going to be so dire for banks? And what if the cap ISN'T lifted? Credit Unions nationwide have been doing more to lend to businesses with their own money. Do we really want to get in on the bonanza of $30 billion in TARP leftovers, or just keep up our "thanks but no thanks" attitude and lend to businesses as much as we possibly can without the cap disappearing?

Tell us your thoughts in the comment section.

Follow-And-Friend Freeze Out

2010-02-09T12:13:21-05:00

by Ron Daly

Have YOU been subject to it yet?

If you're a marketing person at a credit union, you've probably entered the world of social networking. Whether you're just dipping in your toe with a Twitter account (follow us, by the way) or you've moved into your own Drupal backboned-supersite complete with blogs and Facebook links (like our dear friends at CU Rising), social media and social networking can be fun...and it can be daunting.

Right now, our Twitter's holding at ~260 followers/friends. If someone wants to chat or feedback with us, we're available - really, feel free! Our site now boasts its own "Chat Now!" button so that you can reach us personally or leave us a message.

Where things start to break down for most business-minded folks on Twitter is in dealing with a large follow count. Friend of the blog Jeffry Pilcher (@FinancialBrand) has almost 2,000 followers and is following almost 1,500 people and banks/CUs/businesses. Pilcher's follow count is pretty high, but he puts a great deal of time into his social media plan - following movers and shakers in finance marketing and making sure his posts, tweets and emails get read. Two-thousand followers is a lot, but it's still considered a "group" in terms of social media - not just an audience.

And then, there's Oprah.

Comparing any CU professional or organization to Oprah Winfrey might seem a little sillly (heck, comparing other celebrities/TV personalities/businesses to Oprah is silly!). But like us, Oprah is on Twitter (@Oprah, if you're interested) and spends her 140 characters talking about her shows, her magazine, and any pet causes she wants to endorse. Let's take a look at Oprah's follow stats:

That's right - Oprah has three million followers. That's one percent of the US population, hanging on her every tweet. But she's only following nineteen other folks, famous friends and celebs that she's willing to read about every day.

At this point, Oprah's not using "social media" or a "social network" - she's mass communicating. One suspects it's the only way she knows how.

For folks who still aren't with it on social networking, let me explain. Oprah's not bothered by the 3 million people following her online. She's only focused on the 19 people she wants to focus on. Sure, she'll pipe out the occasional @reply if she sees fit, but she's not "friends" with all those people. And she'll never be their "friend". But she will let them follow her, click her links, donate to her charities and support her pet projects. Hopefully, nobody in business is dumb enough to turn away followers - just don't expect to be the "buddy" of three million people.

It's a phenomenon we're calling "Friend-and-Follow Freeze Out", where a business, government official or celebrity just shuts down the social side of social media. A two-way communication tool turns into a day-to-day message blaster. If you're the organization/person who decides to stop following every new follower or responding to existing followers, it's probably a good thing. You don't spend hours bickering back and forth with every new person interested in you. If you're on the receiving end, it's a little different. What happened to that sense of community?

In a recent Wired Magazine article, Clive Thompson summed it up perfectly.

...socializing doesn’t scale. Once a group reaches a certain size, each participant starts to feel anonymous again, and the person they’re following — who once seemed proximal, like a friend — now seems larger than life and remote.

Thompson warns about the danger of playing the middle on social networking sites. Being a friend to a relatively small group is great. If you've got 600 of your 5,000 members following you, great. Throw them special offers and treat them well. Use your Facebook pages or your feeds to be a communicator. If you're overfollowed, just do your best to send out your messages and not get bogged down in that high chatter volume. Yes, you WILL be talking AT people instead of WITH them. But better than not talking at all.

Agree? Disagree? Tell us about it in the comments.

DON'T FORGET, We're still offering a free email to members to one credit union that has a pet project to promote. Go read this post for details and leave a comment to enter.

Send the Word

2010-02-05T11:14:25-05:00

by Ron Daly

Charity begins at home - or in some cases, on your home page.

As the head of DigitalMailer, I get to see every email that goes out on behalf of our clients. I take a few moments to read things over and get a sense of what CUs are up to all over the country. Right here in Northern Virginia, Belvoir FCU has teamed up with Cell Phones for Soldiers to provide our service men and women with cell phones to call home.

This was something I'd heard of before, but the full story of Cell Phones for Soldiers is really quite impressive.

From Belvoir's marketing email:

The program was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist who thought a soldier being charged $8,000 for calling home was not fair. After numerous car washes and various fundraisers, they were able to pay the soldiers bill. However, they did not stop there; they soon created this non-profit organization which collects cell phones and recycles them for money to purchase prepaid calling cards for soldiers serving overseas.

An amazing story, to be sure - a simple idea that ballooned thanks to two kids' hard work and persistence and the dozens of organizations that caught their spark and turned it into an inferno.

When you work with a charity to raise funds or achieve a goal, you're helping three parties:

1) Your CU gets recognized for their efforts

2) The charity gets the benefit of an established business partner

3 (and most important of all)) The recipients of the charity's largesse.

DigitalMailer recently sent an offer to our ARB clients - any CU that had an initiative set up to help Haiti could send a free email to members encouraging them to donate. For us, it's work we do at a cost, but it's a cost worth paying to help those in need.

The "SEND THE WORD" Contest

If you've got a cause to promote, tell us about it in the comment section. If we think your cause is outstanding, we'll send a free email on your behalf to your member mailing list in the month of February.

Entries will be chosen FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, so get your comment in before MIDNIGHT on FEBRUARY 11. Current clients ARE eligible.

A Second Opinion

2010-01-27T12:33:58-05:00

by Ron Daly

Monday's article about CUs picking up steam was full of examples of credit unions making the news for their exceptional service and their remarkable best practices. Some folks don't think we've come quite far enough in the past year, and that we still have further to go.

When you learn about business and marketing, you're always told to think about what's next as opposed to what's now. What's NOW is that CUs are getting a little extra attention because we're the "good guys". What's NEXT is up to the industry.

Take the Skeptic for example. Not just any skeptic, mind you - the CU Skeptic and a guest post by Bill Grizack of BrightLeaf Financial Network. Grizack started off by declaring himself an "outsider", someone who works around and with credit unions but has never worked for one. His article points out which credit unions were making it into the top ten in overall satisfaction (by region) on the JD Power and Associates study in retail banking - zero. From there, Grizack shows credit unions not ranking on bankrate.com and the 2008 Forrester consumer ranking of FIs (NOTE: Monday's data shows Forrester Research results for customer experience - it is not reflective of financial matters so much as how people felt when using a CU).

"What gives?" You're wondering. Well, just because credit unions are finally being recognized as generous institutions with helpful staff doesn't mean we're winning people over to our side. If "a credit union" can beat out all comers in customer experience, we can certainly stop showing up in the top ten lists mentioned by Bill Grizack - a top ten list for lowest average fees and best average rates, one that shows people are not only impressed by a CU's service but by its impact on their personal finance.

Grizack makes some great points in his article and has some good solutions for improving member's financial lives. He's trying to focus on next as opposed to now.

The NOW - the press has a lot of nice things to say about CUs and what they have to offer.

The NEXT - You, the credit union, make a concentrated effort to grab your share.

Golden 1 CU is taking a run at the competition with witty, tongue-in-cheek ads that put down Bank of America and Chase Bank, telling folks to come over and join the credit union instead of staying with their big bank. Says Teresa Halleck, President and CEO:

"We thought it would be a good time to remind consumers in our market that they have credit unions as an alternative choice for banking," she explained. "We took this market opportunity to remind these potential members that credit unions such as Golden 1 have remained responsible during these difficult times, with a 'Come on over' call to action for those that may have considered Golden 1 for their banking needs, but not yet sought to move their relationship." (CU Journal - 1/25/10)

Maybe it's a little brassy for your tastes, but I think the idea is the perfect example of making a "step two" out of all the positive CU press (and the negative big bank press). All over, folks are talking about the "Move Your Money" campaign - even US Representatives. But Golden 1 isn't just saying "move your money", they're saying "move your money HERE". That's the step two for everyone, turning interest into action and a maybe into a member.

Any other good examples of "What's Next" campaigns? Comment away.