The third blog post in this series talked about crafting incredible bank and credit union marketing. One part of that was how everyone is involved in marketing your institution. Each employee represents you to potential members, current members and the community.
When employees affect your reputation so much, you (literally) can’t afford to ignore the credit union member experience. A bad or careless experience loses you money.
But what does “member experience” even mean?
Your member experience is the operationalization of your brand. In other words, it’s your brand alive and in action. You bring what you say about your identity into reality when serving members.
Now, let’s get more specific and cover the five fundamentals of a successful credit union member experience program.
1. Service Is More Than Being Nice
So many credit unions say they have “nice people.” And it’s true! But great service is about more than being nice.
You obviously need courteous employees. They should smile and treat everyone with respect. Let’s be honest though: you can find nice service at many financial institutions. Having nice people is table stakes.
Consumers want you to go far above and beyond good behavior. According to Forbes, 91% of people are more likely to choose brands that give them relevant offers and personal recommendations. Your members want consultation, not someone who simply takes orders.
Offer solutions and guidance to members if you want to leave a lasting impact. Don’t settle for table stakes. Go all-in with your credit union member experience.
2. Service = Sales
“Sales.” Also known as the dark side of the force to some folks. It’s considered a dirty word in many circles…but it’s far from filthy if honorably performed.
In fact, sales and service are the same thing.
You just saw how consumers crave solutions in their credit union member experience journeys. Another name for offering those solutions? Cross-selling. Simply put: you can’t serve members if you don’t sell to them.
But there are some important guidelines to follow. Sales has a bad reputation because of shady practices. Stay in the light by:
- Offering relevant products or services…not random ones
- Seeking the members’ best interests…not your own
- Suggesting a way to help…not pushing a way to make you money
3. Leaders Must Have Buy-In
A lack of leadership buy-in capsizes a new credit union member experience program faster than anything else. You lead by example, and your team looks to you for guidance on living the brand. If you don’t care about the member experience, they won’t care.
So, get excited!
Sleepwalking through your brand communication? It’s time to wake up! Moving via inertia when it comes to promoting your experience program? Introduce some propulsion!
Staff members need to see you live the brand and hear you talk about it over and over again. Have a little faith if you want employees (and ultimately members) to invest in your experience.
4. Train Consistently
Companies with formal training programs increase income per employee by 218% when compared with organizations without consistent training.
It’s important to highlight the words used – “training programs.” This isn’t a one-and-done affair. No dog-and-pony shows here. This is about continuous training that moves the ball down the field.
Invest in training consistently; don’t turn training off and on. Cutting training means cutting people.
For credit union member experience programs at tiny shops, a consistent investment might not sound feasible. If that’s your situation, simplify things with micro-training. Use short videos with discussion groups, one 30-minute session a month or pre-set personal meetings.
Do what you can. Don’t make perfect the enemy of the good. Remember: doing something is better than doing nothing.
5. Everyone Is in Sales
If you read the first three articles in this series, you’re probably sensing a theme.
Everyone must know your strategic plan. Everyone must understand your brand. Everyone must market your institution. And yes, everyone must participate in your credit union member experience program too!
No matter who you are, you are selling something (AKA providing service as discussed in point two). That’s not limited to financial services. A first-grade teacher sells kids on concepts. A doctor sells patients on diagnoses.
Every employee is selling your identity and offerings. Front-office folks sell members products and services. Back-office staff sell other employees confidence in organizational operations. Leaders sell the brand or strategy to staff and the community.
Are you ready to sell others on your credit union member experience? On The Mark Strategies helps institutions all over the country with program creation, continuous training and small-scale training efforts.
Stop settling for a “nice” program. Strive for an excellent one. Book a free consultation now.
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