When someone does you wrong, it takes time to rebuild confidence in that relationship. Big banks are fighting hard to recover from sins of the past (like Wells Fargo and their new account debacle). Their recent commercials persuade the viewer to believe they deeply care, but let's not forget one of the main differentiators between banks and Credit Unions... Trust. Trust is earned from being trustworthy over a long period of time and can be built up not only through your credit union member services but in all aspects of your business. Emphasizing areas where members can see your CU is trustworthy will reinforce why they are with your credit union, not a big bank. Here are 5 ways to demonstrate trust with your members:

We live in a world where less has become more. Hybrid technology cars have given us the ability to go greater distances on less fuel. Dietitians developed vitamin and protein packed shakes to keep us fuller for longer. Watching a season of the latest TV show can be streamed all at once, with no commercials. Tasks that used to take hours or weeks to complete, now process in a matter of minutes thanks to advancing technology. The right technology enables you to improve your credit union operations and efficiencies, getting more done than ever before, and increasing revenues without having to hire more people. One way to measure operational efficiency is with the "members per full-time employee" ratio. If you are able to increase the number of members you serve, without hiring more full-time employees, you are using resources effectively, and most likely taking advantage of automated technology.

Everyone loves a warm, sunny day, but there is a threshold for tolerance before it becomes too hot to handle. As the summer sun cranks up the heat, people seek ways to escape the extreme temperature. People also love the convenience of credit cards and are willing to pay interest to buy now, but they too have a limit on how high you can crank those interest rates up on your card products before they run for alternatives.

The job of Chief Lending Officer is no small task. A key position, the CLO usually reports directly to the CEO, responsible for the development, management and oversight for credit union lending in the consumer, mortgage and member business lending programs. In other words, they are the person largely responsible for the long-term survival of your credit union. Not just "the numbers man/woman" anymore, this is a job comprised of sales, consulting, management, and now more than ever, technology. 

Member experience defines what feelings and emotions members associate with your credit union. This experience is what keeps them happy and loyal to you and what drives them to recommend your credit union to family and friends. Your most important brand advocates are your members, and whether they advocate your credit union or not all depends on what credit union member services they receive and what their personal member experience is with those services. Here are 5 underrated member experience techniques and why you should be using them.

Your credit union has decided to dedicate some resources to improving your social media presence. By now, you most likely have the basics:  A Facebook page, perhaps even a twitter account. You post once or twice a week, maybe even less depending on how busy you are with other daily activities. Most small and medium-sized credit unions don't have the deep pockets to warrant a fully-staffed marketing department, so the task of updating your pages is in the hands of your executive team or more likely the youngest/hippest employee on your payroll.

Making your members feel valued is one of the intangible ways to retain current members and attract new ones. When members feel important, their loyalty grows. In business, it is a proven fact that keeping a customer costs less than trying to acquire a new one, and the same is true for credit unions. Here are a few tips and tricks for ensuring that your credit union member services are making your members feel valued:

col·lab·o·ra·tion
kəˌlabəˈrāSH(ə)n/
noun: the action of working with someone to produce or create something.

It's not a word you often think of in relation to the financial sector, but you should. Credit Unions are uniquely positioned in the financial services industry in a way banks never can be. The differentiation centers around collaboration among CU's, which is both encouraged and practiced. CU's work together to provide their members with services and benefits otherwise not found in traditional banks, all while promoting the credit union industry as a whole. Banks are not the same, and here are nine examples of that:

The success of your credit union is intimately connected to the technology you choose and how it's applied. When it comes to credit unions operating as financial institutions versus technology institutions, the lines have become increasingly blurred. Credit union CEO's are progressively finding themselves operating more like CTO's. This may be an unwelcome amendment to their job description, but the nature of the business requires this balance to be found.  A dangerous mistake that an executive who is not comfortable with technology can make is the mentality of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”. This can be a risky tactic, as ‘broken’ technologies are not always easily identifiable. Your credit union core system may work, but it could be creating inefficiencies that are not quite as obvious.