The one fundamental element credit unions need to tell stories

by: Jonathan Lay

For years at industry events, we have heard speakers address the idea of storytelling.

Typically, they say something along the lines of, “You need to tell a better story.”

But what does that even mean?

It’s true that a fundamental shift is needed in the stories that credit unions are telling, both in the understanding of the idea as well as the execution.

Why?

Two reasons:

• Credit unions are telling the same stories.
• Broadcast marketing does not work in a digital economy.

Unfortunately, many financial institutions are taking traditional marketing methodologies and applying them to the digital stories they are telling. And the narratives that are being told are simply uninspiring.

We need to do more than just tell a better story.

We need to tell stories that resonate with consumers.

The Fundamental Elements of Story

If we break our marketing messages down to their most simple elements, we should be left with something that resembles a lesson from our literature classes: the five “Ws” and the “H.”

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