Dear PFI, do you love me?

Dear PFI (Primary Financial Institution),

We’ve known each other intimately for 40 years. I’m pretty sure that only my doctor has more information about me than you do. You know my social, my birth date, how much money I have, my credit score, and all my former addresses. Plus, so much more.

I’ve had a mortgage with you since 1989. I’ve bought and sold 6 houses in that time, and you’ve always held my mortgage. Yet when I sold my house to move out of state, you didn’t call. You didn’t write.

I tell all my friends how wonderful I think you are. I’ve referred dozens – if not hundreds – of people to you over the years. You’ve never said thank you.

I’m beginning to feel like you don’t love me. I feel like this relationship has become one-sided. Yes, I know you have relationships with literally hundreds of thousands of members. I guess I’m not special to you anymore.

Signed,

Your Loneliest Member

True story. My relationship with my PFI is completely one-sided. How many of us might expect similar letters from our members? Yet if you extend a hand even a little to show your members that you value them, you can earn big dividends. Showing members that you appreciate them can build loyalty and strengthen relationships.

Members who are more loyal are also more resilient and understanding when issues arise. Core conversions, system outages, and all manner of unforeseen circumstances will be taken with grace by members who are more loyal.

Here are four effective ways to show more love to members who have been with you for years:

Thank them

Never underestimate the power of a simple “thank you.” Sending handwritten or personalized digital notes can have a great impact, especially when a member is undertaking a major purchase or has a key life event occurring.

All my home purchases have meant working with a variety of realtors over the years. Each realtor has celebrated the closing of our new home with a small gift. One gave us 2 mugs with hot chocolate mix since it was mid-winter, one gave us 6 smoke detectors since our new home only had one installed on each level, and one sent us a welcome gift to our new home so we wouldn’t have to worry about packing up one more item.

Guess what I got from my credit union at closing? A mortgage with a thinly veiled threat if I didn’t pay on time.

Yes, I know that a realtor makes several thousand dollars at closing. And you all are about to make many thousands more over the life of a mortgage. How about giving some credit union swag away at closing? Or at least thank me. Is that too much to ask?

Celebrate with them

All y’all see loan pay offs every day. Car loans, signature loans, student loans, and mortgages all get paid off regularly, so for you it’s a non-event when a member makes their last payment.

Guess who thinks it’s a pretty big deal to pay off a loan? Every single one of your members! It’s an even bigger deal if they’ve been scrimping to make their payments or if their loan payments have stretched over decades. Take notice and take charge of congratulating them, whether in person, via email, through text, or hiring a sky writer. (It could happen!)

In addition, when a member pays off a loan, you have a great opportunity to help them discover new ways to save or invest that monthly loan payment amount. Even a payment of a few hundred dollars can add up if the member hasn’t been saving along the way.

Value them

Do you know when I opened my first account with you? If you have that information available on your core, find a way to bubble that information up to the folks who are talking to your members. Then give them some simple language to recognize that membership.

I travel a lot and have brand loyalty with a specific airline, hotel chain, and car rental company. Each of them takes 3-5 seconds to say some variation of, “Thank you for your membership. Your loyalty is important to us.”

Guess who either doesn’t know how long I’ve been a member or who doesn’t seem to care? The people who hold all my money.

Those referrals I’ve made over the years don’t seem to be appreciated, either. To be fair, I have no idea if anyone has provided my name as a referral source. Or maybe nobody asked? If a new member does site a specific person that referred them to your credit union, it’s past time to show them that they are a valued member of your credit union and you appreciate them sharing the joy of doing business with you.

Recognize them

Every person celebrates significant milestones differently. Some people celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. Some annually remember other specific events that have occurred. My new credit union sent me a birthday email. It was the first time I’d ever received a birthday shout out from a financial institution, so it was special to me.

While I do know that some people prefer not to celebrate birthdays for a variety of reasons, a quick question when the member opens their account could alert the team whether someone prefers to opt out of celebrations, just like they opt out of marketing messages from you.

Beyond the initial membership enrollment, brainstorm some major milestones in your members’ lives and reach out to mark those events. (Weddings, retirements, births, and deaths all come to mind.) You could even recognize them for 12 months of on-time payments. If that doesn’t seem like a big deal, you have an opportunity to make it a big deal.

Acknowledging specific events shows that you genuinely value your members. Even if you don’t have a fancy system to track these events, having a stash of branded notes in your desk will make it easy to pull one out to jot a simple, personal note.

While no single idea I’ve provided is mind-blowingly unique, implementing some or all of them will make you unique in your member’s eyes. Reach out at angela@cudifference.com to share what has worked for your membership.

Remember, some of your members are wondering why they’re still doing business with you. Start to notice the loyalty of your long-term members before your competitors do. What have you got to lose? A lot.