Telling your credit union’s story

As we approach International Credit Union Day on October 21 – a day when we celebrate the uniqueness of the credit union history, structure and philosophy – there’s never been a better time to start telling your credit union’s story… and that story begins with you.

If working in the credit union industry for twenty-plus years has taught me anything, it’s that credit unions have some amazing member service stories. Lots of them. But credit unions are notoriously terrible about sharing those stories. Maybe it’s that credit union employees are generally humble people. Maybe it’s that you think what you do is “typical” or “nothing all that special.” Or maybe it’s simply that you’ve become completely desensitized to your amazing stories because amazing things happen in a credit union nearly every day! (If you’re smirking right now and thinking, ‘not at our credit union,’ please re-read the last three sentences and determine which category you fall in to.)

According to Conversion XL, testimonials & word of mouth are the driving force behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions, and yet only about ⅓ of businesses are actively seeking and collecting customer reviews on an ongoing basis. I would argue that percentage is low. After all, raise your hand if you use star-ratings to select a restaurant when visiting a new town; or check the number of stars an item has before placing your order on Amazon. It’s all about the number of stars businesses or items have, and the quality of those ratings. So, secure your Google, Bing and Yelp business sites (among others), keep them updated, and monitor and respond to all reviews in a tactful way. 

However, online reviews are not stories. Your members won’t likely visit your credit union’s Google Business page once they’ve decided to do business with you (unless they’re disgruntled and want to tell the world about it – that’s why you always monitor and respond to reviews on those sites). Instead, let’s talk about the importance of telling your credit union’s story – the great things that are happening every day, the lives that are being changed, and the members who are feeling financially empowered for the first time in a long time.

Two Components of a Great Story

A true member story (or “testimonial”) has at least one of these two components: it’s quantifiable, typically by time and/or money; and/or it’s service- or experience-oriented.

• Quantifiable – Nearly every loan refinance is quantifiable. A refinanced loan saves the member time (in the form of shaving X-years off the term of their loan), and/or money (lowering their monthly payment or saving them money on interest payments over the life of the loan).
• Service- or experience-oriented – Those times when the credit union goes above-and-beyond for a member, thinks outside the box, or helps members through a tough situation.

Asking for the Testimonial

I’m honestly surprised at how willing most members are to talk about the great things the credit union is doing for them – you simply need to ask! They’ll talk about how much money you saved them, how they were struggling financially and you stood by them, or when they were the victim of fraud and you helped them resolve it. They’re willing to talk, but you have to be willing to ask. Have a process in place – specifically with your lenders – where they determine if their member interaction has met at least one of the criteria mentioned above. If so, they should ask the member if he or she is willing to talk about their experience. Take a few notes, snap a photo with your mobile phone, and turn it into a testimonial. 

Writing Your Testimonial

Testimonials should be brief (no more than 50-75 words in length), and include savings figures (money and/or time) in the description. Add a photo of the member that was taken with a mobile phone in your office-setting – the more authentic, the better. Get the member’s approval, and you’re ready to go!

Where to Share Your Stories

Use your testimonials everywhere possible: emails, posters, brochures, newsletters, lobby TV slides, your website, social media posts, a testimonial “brag book” in your lobby’s waiting area, drive-up banners – every medium you have available to you. Blast it out like free advertising! (Because it kind-of is.) 

Measuring Success

Authentic stories from your members will not only garner an incredible amount of goodwill for your credit union, but also bring in more business! After all, telling “feel good stories” is great, but their impact can be pretty tough to measure. Instead, measure the success of your testimonial program by tracking the amount of business it brings in the door. 

Keep in mind, when your member has a home equity loan with another lender and sees that you saved a fellow member $600 by refinancing their home equity loan, who do you think will be bringing their home equity loan to your credit union?

Not sure how to begin? Look me up – I’m happy to provide some examples and free resources.