Jeff Stephens

Creating a “people helping people” KPI for credit unions

// April 14th, 2011 // No Comments » // Credit Union, Credit Unions, Credit union business strategy, Innovation, Non-technical innovation

The credit unions I’ve worked with have all been very sincerely committed to the credit union principles that their industry is based on. The foundation of these, of course, is the idea of “people helping people.” The industry believes, in theory, that as long as they are delivering on this “people helping people” mission (and obviously as long as they are able to run a sustainably functioning business), that’s all that matters.

So, why aren’t more credit unions creating a custom Key Performance Indicator (KPI) calculation to measure their delivery of this “people helping people” philosophy? Or, why hasn’t the industry created one common KPI calculation for all credit unions to use and measure their effectiveness with? It seems to me that this KPI would be the most important number on any credit union’s management dashboard.

What factors would the formula be calculated upon? I would see it taking into consideration several criteria that would together represent a picture of what the credit union’s “total impact from people helping people” is. Here are a few inputs that would make sense for the formula:

• Number of first homes purchased by members with CU funding
• Revenue growth of businesses as a result of CU funding
• Jobs created by business member clients
• Jobs created by the credit union itself as an employer, or through the credit union’s growth (construction workers on a new branch, etc.)
• Cumulative interest expenses saved by members who refinanced with the CU
• Number of new members who were previously unbanked
• Cumulative credit score enhancement of members

This is just a starter list of the many things that could be included in this calculation to give a comprehensive view of the total impact of a credit union’s commitment to “people helping people.” Not only would this be key for management, it could also spur some great PR and word of mouth.

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Credit unions: how different is a member from a customer?

// October 29th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Banking, Credit Union, Credit Unions, Credit union business strategy, Entrepreneurial Lessons, Jeff Stephens

I write this post from the CU Watercooler Symposium.  As I sit here listening to the speakers, I am reminded of a recent tweet from Geezeo’s Bryan Clagett, in which he said:  ”If you do not know the difference between a “member” and a “customer”, then you should not be selling to credit unions.”

I agree with Bryan. But his comment also got me wondering: how many MEMBERS really understand the difference between being a member and a customer?

As you know, I’m all about helping bank and credit union folks think like entrepreneurs. And I believe great entrepreneurs are experts at exploiting marketing opportunity.  There is a a huge, exploitable marketing opportunity in the following:

Making the difference between a customer and a member strikingly, painfully, ridiculously, unmistakably clear.

Note: As you may have heard me argue before, the question is not “how is a being a member BETTER than being a customer?” It’s simply “how is it different?”

Today, I don’t believe this difference is clear at all, nor is the experience of being a member noticeably different from the experience of being a customer. So here are three quick ideas of ways credit unions could make members really feel like members, not customers:

1)  Difference: Members own a part of the CU; customers do not.

Making it Clearer:  Make them act like an owner and be accountable to that responsibility. Don’t give members the option to vote; require them to vote.

2)  Difference: Members are co-owners with other members

Making it Clearer: Connect members with each other. Introduce 5 members to 5 other members tomorrow. Facilitate them getting to know each other. Bond them together.

3)  Difference: A member must qualify to join

Making it Clearer: Emphasize exclusivity:  put more focus on who can NOT join.  Make it clear who is not lucky enough to even qualify, and you will make the value of membership seem higher.

Now it’s your turn: what other differences can we make clearer?

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Free Webinar on Experiential Branding for Banks and Credit Unions

// June 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // Banks, Brands and Branding, Creative Brand Communications, Credit Union, Jeff Stephens, New banking ideas, Presentations

If you didn’t see it over at CBC’s bank marketing blog, I’m going to be hosting a webinar on July 27 at 11 am PST for one hour, covering one of my most popular topics: Experiential Branding for Banks and Credit Unions.  This webinar will be based on the presentations I deliver as a speaker at bank and credit union conferences around the country.  Here’s a brief synopsis:

“Powerful financial brands can be more than seen with the eyes–they are experienced by customers, employees and the community with all five senses. Jeff Stephens will provide an introduction to how banks and credit unions can use experiential brand development philosophies to create engagement and break from the bonds of a commoditized banking industry.”

Here are the details–I hope you will join us:

Tuesday, July 27, 11am PST / 2pm EST
50 minutes; 10 minutes Q&A
Price: Free
Max Attendees: 15

To register, email webinars@creative-brand.com

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The Difference Between Banks and Credit Unions

// January 29th, 2010 // 11 Comments » // Banking, Banks, Credit Union, Jeff Stephens

I had an interesting thought today, sparked by several tweets, blog posts, and a conversation with a potential client.  It was about the common discussion in our industry:  the differences between banks and credit unions.

We all know, there is indeed a difference.  It’s not that one is inherently better than the other, but there are differences for sure:  legal charters, ownership structures, regulatory differences, etc. There are thousands of websites (like this one from CUNA) with information about how credit unions are different. Still, people don’t widely understand these differences, and frequently make mistakes about them.  Most consumers confuse the two, and the media clearly confuses them routine–they often call credit unions “banks” in news stories.

So here’s the interesting question:

Why is it only credit unions who get pissed about this misunderstanding and confusion between banks and credit unions?

Shouldn’t the banks get just as angry? After all, lumping the two together is a mixup that adds just as much confusion about what banks really are, as it does to what credit unions really are.

Sure, I understand that credit unions are called banks more frequently than banks are called credit unions. But think about it: both banks and credit unions alike have every reason to be aggravated by this continued and frequent mixup. So why don’t we hear more uproar from banks? How come there are no chants about “the bank difference” like there are for “the CU difference”? Shouldn’t both sides be equally interested in clarifying their qualitative differences and arming consumers with accurate information?

In other words, why aren’t banks offended when credit unions are lumped in with them?

(BTW, I honestly don’t have an opinion I’m trying to sell you, on this topic. I just find it extremely interesting and would love to hear your theories.)

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