The Chipotle located near the Chinatown metro station in Washington DC was always busy, so busy in fact I rarely stopped for a burrito when in the area. This past February however, while attending CUNA's GAC I walked past the restaurant and was surprised to not find a line out the door. In fact, there was no line and it was 12:00 PM! I'm sure you are aware of the food safety concerns that have challenged the fast food chain. The company's mission statement 'Food with Integrity' came under scrutiny after two E. coli outbreaks in 14 States and a norovirus episode in Boston the end of last year. The question is, how do you secure your credit union brand from having a “Chipotle moment”? And if a "Chipotle moment" occurs, what can you do to reverse the tide?
A recent article from CUInsight asked the question, "Does your credit union need a Chipotle checkup?"
By now you have probably heard about the many woes facing the Chipotle Mexican Grill brand. Beset by food safety concerns, the chain actually took the step of closing all its stores for four hours recently to conduct a company-wide staff meeting about food safety. Whether or not this helps heal the crippled brand is debatable.
What Chipotle essentially did was order the “all stop” maneuver, better known in naval terminology. In an “all-stop” scenario, the captain orders the engine room to bring all engines to a condition in which they are no longer driving the ship.
While the Chipotle example is one of extremes, there is a lesson there for credit unions. If your brand and consumer engagement is floundering to the point where you need to issue an “all-stop” order, what would you do?
Obviously, credit unions don’t have the luxury of closing for four hours during a regular business day. However, you could certainly call an employee brand meeting on a Saturday or federal holiday (Columbus Day, for example). Sure, nobody’s going to be too excited about it, but if it involves the actual success or failure of your brand, it’s necessary.
What are some of the signs your credit union might need a Chipotle “all stop” moment? See the following.
- Negative social media buzz. Keep an eye on what consumers are saying about you on review sites as well as your own social media platforms. Is it mostly positive, or are you being torn apart for poor service, pricing, etc.?
- Competitors gaining an edge. Is the bank or credit union down the street rolling out an exciting new product more often than you? Have they gained the technological advantage in digital banking products and services? Are you no longer at the forefront of the things your consumers need and want out of the financial institution?
- Decreased sales/wallet share. This is a fairly easy one to track. Are your sales down, year-over-year? What about your product penetration? If so, these are tell-tale signs that your brand is in trouble.
- Drop in brand/advertising awareness funds. Unfortunately, anytime there is a budget crunch, branding and marketing tends to take the first hit. Actually, the exact opposite should be true. Take a look at your branding budget. Has it gone down consistently, your after year? Or does your bank or credit union recognize the importance and value of branding will contribute to that line item accordingly?
- Lack of executive management team buy-in. Nothing will sink your brand quicker than a CEO (or other C-Suite executives) that just don’t care about it. It causes a poisonous trickle-down effect. When other employees see that the brand doesn’t matter to the people to whom they report, they have no real reason to adhere to it themselves. If your executive management doesn’t lead the brand, your staff can’t live it and your consumers will never love it.
If your credit union faces one or more of the above examples, it may be time to call the “all-stop” and have a serious brand discussion with your entire staff. Maybe the discussion will focus on what member services you are providing to ensure you are meeting the changing needs of your members. Or maybe it's time to evaluate your technology vendors, particularly core technology, and plan a core system review to ensure you and your provider have a sound roadmap for future development. Hopefully, you recognize the signs early enough and quick action can make the difference. The captain of the Titanic called an “all-stop” after his vessel hit the iceberg. You know the rest of the story. Maybe the best manuever is to avoid an "all-stop" in the first place? I think Steve Ellis, the CEO of Chipotle would agree.