SPOKANE, Wash.–Credit unions should focus on consumers’ “heart-share,” and then make sure to fulfill the CU’s “brand promise” once those members are on board, according to a noted authority–a bagel maker.
“There is another corollary between what (the food industry does) and what you’re working on,” said Justin Freeman, owner and general manager of Bagel Sphere in Eugene, Ore. “We’re both working toward raising our marketshare. We’re working hard to build awareness of what we do and why it matters. We are looking to build upon that and build desire, to build heart-share. And then to go beyond that to turn that awareness into action. That first bite isn’t just enough. What I care about is the second and the third and the fourth bite. That’s where we need to make sure we’ve done the right work. That’s where it’s incumbent upon you to make sure you are fulfilling the brand promise you put out there.”
Speaking to the Northwest Credit Union Association’s MAXX annual meeting here, Freeman–who formerly worked at Randolph Brooks Credit Union in Texas earlier in his career–outlined several parallels between what Oregon’s food industry is trying to work toward and the goals of credit unions.
Food processing, he said, is all about market access, diversity, quality and sustainability, which he called equal pillars that reinforce one another.
In other remarks not related to credit unions, but still no doubt of extraordinary interest to CUToday.info readers, Freeman also shared these facts about the Pacific Northwest’s food industry:
- There are 1,200 century farms, and 39 sesquicentennial farms in Oregon, meaning they’ve been farmed by the same family for 100 and 150 years, respectively
- Oregon farms and ranchers produce more than 225 recognized commodities, including blackberries, hazelnuts, raspberries, Christmas trees, hops, onions, garlic, Dungeness crabs, and more
- 40% of US wheat crop moves down the Columbia/Snake River system