ARE YOU
SURE?
Think you have a pretty good idea of what the future
holds for financial institutions? Feeling confident
about the decisions that you have to make? So did these
folks.....
"Everything that can be invented has been
invented." Charles Duell, US Patent Office, 1899
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927
"I think there is a world market for maybe
five computers." Tom Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943
"I can assure you that data processing is
a fad that won't last out th year." Editor, Prentice
Hall Publishing, 1957
"We don't like the sound, and guitar music
is on the way out." Decca Records, rejecting the
Beatles, 1962
"There is no reason why anyone would want
a computer in their home." Ken Olson, Founder of
Digital Equipment, 1977
"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
Bill Gates, Microsoft, 1981
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KNOW YOUR
MARKET
You need to have a marketing strategy - not just an
advertising strategy. A marketing strategy is much more
than just advertising, direct mail or
sales.
In order to
have an effective marketing plan, it is important to
know who uses your services, what services they use and
why they use them. If you don't know why, you are
missing a vital component of your business. YOU MUST
KNOW WHO YOUR CUSTOMER
IS!
It is
absolutely impossible to run your institution
successfully, with the desired growth, ROA, and ROE that
you expect, if you don't know who you want as a
customer.
If you
are going to spend money to maintain and attract
customers, you must know who they are! Your customer
cannot be 'everyone'. The customers that are profitable
are the ones that you want. Who are they? What are the
products and services that they use? Why are some
customers more profitable than others? What does your
institution have to do to attract more of
them?
A credit
union is a retail outlet, just like Penney's or
McDonald's. The only difference is the product. They
sell clothes and food-you sell cash.
| "No profit grows where there is no
pleasure taken." |
| William
Shakespeare | | | |
"BECAUSE I'M YOUR MOTHER
AND I SAID
SO!"
The
statement above, more often than not, was used when you
didn't want to do something. It was intended to be the
final word on any issue and usually was! Didn't matter
what the problem was, how important the issue was to
you, how much reasoning you had put into your argument
or how wrong you thought Mom was. Mom's word was final
and that was it. There is no defense that can
successfully block it, no amount of debating can result
in a win. You learned to accept the inevitable, knowing
that your life would be forever miserable and that God
had given you the meaneest Mom that had ever
existed!
Well,
life hasn't gotten any better. Mom is still out there
telling you what to do and how to do it. Mom is now the
CUSTOMER!!
Credit
unions have to do everything right by the customer every
time. Achieving a reputation for outstanding service
involves the following:
- Customer vision. Throughout the institution,
employees share in the vision of gaining and retaining
customers. Typically, the president acts as the head
cheerleader.
- Study successes. Customer service practices are
not secret and they are not hidden. Seek out the
champions of customer service and study their
methods.
- Eliminate service barriers. Many well intentioned
procedures may actually reduce your employees' ability
to deliver quick, efficient customer service.
- Support customer champions. Seek out employees in
your institution that treat the customers well. Give
them recognition.
- Lead by example. Management must clearly
demonstrate what they mean by exceptional customer
service.
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THE
CUSTOMER
You know me, I'm a nice person. When I get lousy
service, I never complain, I never kick, I never
criticize and I wouldn't dream of making a
scene.
I'm
one of those nice customers. And I'll tell you
what else I am. I'm the customer who doesn't come
back. I take whatever you hand out, because I know
I'm not coming back. I could tell you off, and
feel better, but in the long run, it's just better
to leave
quietly.
You
see, a nice customer like me, multiplied by others
like me, can bring an institution to its knees.
There are plenty of us. When we get pushed far
enough, we go to one of your competitors.
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ALEX'S TIP OF THE
MONTH
Have a limited marketing budget? No budget at all? Need
publicity but can't afford it? Most cities and towns
have newspapers with a smaller circulation that would
love to have an 'expert' write a weekly or monthly
column in exchange for the publicity. Stick to subjects
that have a wide range of interest in order to generate
the most responses, such as; determining an affordable
mortgage payment, the value of using an ATM or debit
card, controlling credit card debt, differences between
an adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgage, etc. Contact
the local library and offer to have someone from your
institution speak at any seminar they sponsor dealing
with finances. Same holds true for radio stations. All
that's required is the effort and the desire to want
free marketing.
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