LAS VEGAS–In the end, even for credit unions, it all comes down to the “love.”
Tim Harrington, president of the Tucson, Ariz.-based consultancy T.E.A.M., told the Directors and CEOs Leadership Convention here that in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the top three are all related to love, which is the foundation for any credit union that is successful.
“Love and fear are the two great motivators for humans,” he said. “Starbucks isn’t a coffee company with people, it’s a people company that serves coffee. Are you a people company that serves financial services? That’s what I hope you will aspire to.”
In examining why consumers make the financial institution choices they do, Harrington said there are five common drivers. In order of importance, he said they are convenient locations, pricing, service quality, innovative products and technology, and brand buzz and marketing.
“Service quality, I think, is very, very important. It’s the stickiest. Even if you don’t excel at numbers one and two. It has to do with service excellence,” he said. “I believe we have to pick one of these and be really, really excellent at it. If you are, your members will forgive you for those things at which you are not excellent. I often hear from clients, ‘Tim, why aren’t we growing? We have all the products and services the banks have.’ And I ask them, ‘How does that differentiate you?’”
Speaking to an audience that was primarily made up of credit union volunteers, he urged them to ask themselves, “Do you know what your market differentiation is? Do you know why a consumer would choose you? Do you know what you do better than anybody else. If you don’t know, your members don’t either.”
The answer to those questions, he said, lies in being focused and not chasing everything in the market just because a competitor offers it.
When it comes to member engagement, Harrington called for consistent onboarding, at which most CUs fail.
“Persistent follow up creates greater satisfaction, not upset members,” he said. “Banks that call up to seven times have the highest satisfaction rates among customers because they continue to engage them. Market to your absent members. The cost of re-engaging an absent member is a fraction of attracting a new member. Give them an offer they can’t refuse with outgoing calls. With Millennials, you have to use social media, digital media to engage them.”