MIAMI BEACH, Fla.–There is plenty of discussion of storytelling within credit unions, but one person here said it’s really about “stories” telling, as the stories told must be tailored to four different types of members.
“Everyone has a story. You in credit unions are involved in those stories,” said Jean Chatzky, financial editor of NBC’s Today Show and emcee of CO-OP’s THINK 2019 Conference. “You have stories about digital transformation; stories about new ways of doing business. Stories about people and the way they experience the ever-changing world of personal finance. You are living those stories every day, and every day these stories are revealing opportunities that you should be grabbing as you move to the next chapter in your organization.”
Chatzky said the stories of how people can grow through stories of financial growth are the ones a credit union wants to share. A CU should also ask itself from the perspective of a financial consumer, “Who am I? When we talk about financial consumers today, who are we talking about?”
Four Types of Consumer
Chatzky said stories should appeal to the four types of consumer:
Pioneers, who are risk-takers, tech savvy and hungry for innovation
Pragmatists, who are ubiquitous, trusting and channel agnostic
Skeptics, who are tech wary, dissatisfied and alienated
Traditionalists, who value human touch, are tech aware, and losing trust
Separately, Chatzky urged credit unions to remember in telling their stories by the 2028 women will control 75% of discretionary spending around the world, and by 2030, women will control 66% of America’s wealth.