Mobile banking has revolutionized the traditional banking scene as we once knew it. Having access to your money and account information as fast as you can think of it has become normal. Did my check clear? What’s my account balance? Let me check! But what about that home-town comfortable feel you used to get from visiting your favorite member service representative at your branch? The one who handed your kid a lollipop and asked how your mom was? Are those days gone?

Member value is a credit union industry term thrown around to try to define the value members receive from their CU. But value itself is a subjective term, meaning different things to different people. There are many ways to evaluate member value, but Callahan & Associates have created a metric to quantify value, making it a more tangible goal. They call it Return of the Member (ROM), and this metric represents a CU’s demonstration of member value. The Credit Union of Vermont has been extremely successful in providing member value, so much so that they have been recognized by Callahan & Associates for their exemplary performance within the ROM metric. The Credit Union of Vermont has ranked at or near the top of Callahan’s Return of the Member metric for nearly a decade. As one of the best in creating member value, here is how the Credit Union of Vermont has achieved their success in the category.

Members not only compare their onboarding experience with that of other credit unions and banks but to their experience in other industries as well. Companies large and small are focusing on the User eXperience (UX) to create a frictionless process. Member expectations are high, and if they experience roadblocks in the onboarding process they will lose confidence in the credit union. In some cases, they might abandon the credit union altogether for another financial institution that has a more seamless onboarding experience. In the credit union industry today, it is more important than ever to nurture relationships and demonstrate value during the onboarding process. Here are 3 ways you can create a frictionless member onboarding experience.

The cost of switching is an age-old concept, applying to essentially every industry. Humans are creatures of habit and even when people are aware of a better alternative, they will not switch to a new product or service due to the expense or effort it would require. With something as simple as household products, there is little to no cost of switching. If a shopper routinely buys JIF peanut butter for the kids' PB&J sandwiches, but at the grocery store that week Skippy is on sale, it’s likely they’ll go with the cheaper alternative. The cost of switching here is low... peanut butter is about $2.75 (or $4 if you're a health nut who prefers organic) and if the family doesn’t like the Skippy, they’ll just switch back to JIF next time. However, there are far larger barriers when switching to something like a new cable company, insurance provider, or financial institution. 

In the Chinese zodiac, 2019 is the year of the pig. Pigs are the symbol of wealth in Chinese culture, and they are thought to bring good fortune as well. For credit unions, these predictions hold true. 2018 certainly brought success and good fortune to CUs and that is expected to continue into 2019. For credit unions, 2019 will be year of the member. The credit union industry as a whole added 4.9 million members over the past 12 months, which led to 116.8 million total members as of September 30, 2018. This year, credit unions will be focused on building stronger relationships with members, and continuing to cultivate new ones.

Organizations are straying away from the annual employee review process in favor of organic, year-round conversations. Annual employee reviews are now seen as both inefficient and ineffective, considering a good manager-employee relationship would cultivate this type of conversations as needed. Even though annual reviews are fading into the background, that doesn’t mean credit unions should stop monitoring their staff’s skill level. MSRs will respond better to constructive criticism and skill development if their performance is backed by numbers and data that indicates areas of strengths and weaknesses. There are key metrics readily available from your core technology to aid in evaluations and in improving credit union processes, plus these metrics can identify where your employees are excelling or where they need improvement. 

Should all Member's be Treated Equally?

Seth Godin, an acclaimed American author, blogger and business strategist, has repeatedly stood by the mantra "Treat different customers differently if you want them to remember you."  Many managers make the mistake of insisting that all members should be treated the same, or similarly stated, that all members should be treated the best. In the words of Syndrome (aka the villain in Disney's The Incredibles): "when everyone is super, no one will be." If you are striving to treat all members the best every time, not only is it unrealistic and exhausting your resources, the perception becomes your best is normal, and when certain situations demand even more than your normal, you simply can't out-better your best.

At the close of trading on August 22, 2018, the stock market made history by setting the record for the longest bull market ever recorded. The last low set by the S&P 500 index was on March 9, 2009, making this run 3,453 days of fairly steady growth, with the S&P 500 climbing by more than 320% over that period. A bull market refers to a market that is on the rise and is typified by a sustained increase in market share prices. During a bull market, investors have faith that this upward trend will continue, and will invest more. But not all investors are keen on stocks these days. Another report made the news last week that surprised some economists: Millennials actually prefer cash investments over the stock market, even in this long-standing bull market.

When it comes to people's hard-earned money, there's very little tolerance for error. Financial issues or concerns can skyrocket the blood pressure of even the most mild-mannered credit union member. From the wise mind of Albus Dumbledore, "Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it." Here are 4 key, Hogwarts-approved tactics we think might help you calm a member who has gotten a little hot under the collar.

We were recently featured on CUInsight for our article, Non-Traditional Lending Can Lead to a Healthy Member Focus. In the article, Fred Dalit, CEO of the Hawaii-based Honea Federal Credit Union was highlighted for his unique view of member saving and lending. Honea FCU members, in general, save heavily and tend to avoid taking out loans. This created a paradox for the CU: After all, financial institutions were created to lend money, and interest income is typically their main source of revenue. This drove the credit union to seek out participation lending on a national level, and in turn provide member services that are tailored to the makeup of the member base. Dalit is a big proponent of participation lending and has used the program at his credit union to generate income they were otherwise lacking, thus using the funds to focus on his members' savings habits.