No one can tell a credit union’s story better than the members whose lives it changes through its support, trust, and confidence. That’s why when it comes to how they make a difference in the lives of members, many credit unions are letting those members do the talking.
Here, five cooperatives talk about how member stories influence marketing, meetings, and more.
Meetings And Members
At American 1 Credit Union ($694.5M, Jackson, MI), member stories inform and inspire everyone from front-line employees to board members and executive staff at the mid-Michigan cooperative.
Such stories are a regular item on the board agenda, says president and CEO Martha Fuerstenau, who’s nearing the 40-year mark in her tenure at the credit union. If a director has a personal story to share, they go first. Otherwise, Fuerstenau draws from a monthly document that contains a variety of stories from American 1’s member insight director.
For staff, America 1 primarily uses members stories in two ways. First, in team emails. For example, a communication about loan results might include a story about product protection. Second, in management meetings. That’s when managers use member stories to call out individuals or departments that demonstrated one or more of the credit union’s core values.
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The credit union conducts a lot of surveys and uses the results to identify actionable insights on how the shop is doing as well as unearth member testimonials for board and staff communications.
Fuerstenau says the credit union’s surveying and how it uses the comments both stem from the John Carver Policy Governance model the board adopted after Fuerstenau’s promotion to CEO in 2018. But surveys aren’t the only way Community 1 finds member stories.
“Some of the testimonials come directly from members who our staff reached out to,” the CEO says. “We can see if they have, for instance, GAP insurance. That can be easy to forget, and we make sure they know they have that coverage. That’s the most critical thing, but we can also get some strong testimonials about our impact on their financial wellbeing.”
Word Of Mouth In The North Woods
There are 6 million acres of forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers in Adirondack Park, and countless stories told by generations of people who’ve made their homes here in the far reaches of upstate New York.
Adirondack Regional Federal Credit Union ($80.3M, Tupper Lake, NY) is now telling some of those stories, too. Two years ago, it started featuring first-person accounts on its “Member Stories” webpage. Today, those stories encourage members looking to start new businesses or save for life events.
Russ Cronin, who took the helm in May 2019 after serving as CFO of the Adirondack Foundation, says the credit union’s marketing firm suggested the credit union create the videos, which also appear on its Facebook and YouTube social media.
“Word of mouth is one of the strongest marketing tools available,” Cronin says. “We felt this strategy of ‘don’t ask us, here’s what our members say’ would be a powerful way to convert potential members.”
If a credit union wants to explore this route, Cronin suggests keeping the videos real but on point.
“Keep the interviews very casual and have the interviewee phrase the question in their response,” he says. “This makes for a better video.”
So far the credit union has featured homeowners and businesses, including a coffee shop, waste management business, and a resort on Ampersand Bay.
An Authentic Voice For Diversity And Opportunity
A dozen years into his tenure as the chief executive at Seattle Credit Union ($1.1B, Seattle, WA), Richard Romero has heard a lot of stories about the impact of financial cooperatives and their importance to some of his market’s most-challenged communities.
To help share these stories, the credit union makes local people and their authentic voices a focal point of its “Member Stories” blog, on which people have shared their journeys to citizenship, business success, overcoming addiction, and raising twins.
Seattle is a notably diverse, complex, and booming metro, but Romero says the videos have a notably singular purpose.
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“We focus on low-income communities,” he says. “We want people to see representation and know they are welcome at Seattle CU. Seeing people like themselves have success can inspire them to act.”
The testimonials also can build credibility and trust — and, over time, brand equity — so authenticity is front of mind when the credit union recruits subjects and shoots videos.
It’s that eye toward inclusivity that drives two practices Romero suggests credit unions follow. First, be sure sources are credible, authentic, and have a compelling and relatable story to tell. Second, avoid paying or scripting the member. Instead, let members tell their stories in their own way.
It’s All About The “Why”
“Why” more than “what” was the founding philosophy for member video testimonials at UMassFive College FCU ($673.5M, Hadley, MA).
The cooperative serves the five Pioneer Valley colleges and more than 50 local organizations that share its vision and community-based values, says marketing vice president Craig Boivin. UMassFive posted the first few videos at the end of 2023 on the credit union’s website and in social media channels such as YouTube.
“This is our first big splash into video advertising, and I’m excited to be showcasing our brand through this medium,” Boivin says. “We wanted to focus on the ‘why’ of banking at UMassFive more than simply the products and services we offer.”
The videos are intended to align with marketing strategies that include television ads on local news, the credit union’s partnership with UMass Athletics, and digital campaigns in the credit union’s Western Massachusetts markets, says Boivin, who joined the cooperative in 2013 and has been the marketing vice president since January 2020.
“We’re focusing on growing commercial services and opening a new branch in Springfield,” Boivin says. “Our member stories are another way of getting out ahead as we grow our new markets.”
Better Under The Sun
One member who tells his story about Western Sun Federal Credit Union ($185.8M, Broken Arrow, OK) hits two sweet spots for credit union marketing: common bonds and auto loans. Gaylan, an auto-buying consultant in Tulsa, refers customers — and his own mother — to the Oklahoma credit union.
Gaylan is a real member, and that’s a key point, says John Speaker, senior vice president of marketing.
“We have actual members share their experiences with the hope our members and non-members could see a similar story in their own financial life,” says Speaker, who has nearly 35 years of experience in the local credit union scene. He joined Western Sun in 2018 and the credit union premiered the videos a year later.
“If we can allow our members to ‘see’ themselves in the stories and videos on our website, then we’ve done our job,” Speaker says. “A stock image of a couple smiling and looking at a new car is not as effective as an actual member sharing how Western Sun helped them navigate the car-buying process.”
In addition to posting videos on its own website, Western Sun also uses the videos in social media posts, including on YouTube, where the credit union makes heavy use of its “Everything’s Better Under The Sun” theme.
“A post with a video gets more views than just text,” Speaker says. “We get a ton more traction from video posts than if we just send out a text-only post.”
He says most of the subjects come from employee suggestions and that the “greatest impact we have experienced is that members see us as more approachable as a source of financial products and education.”
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