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Differentiate your Credit Union brand
You’ll hear it time and time again. Credit Unions need to find a way to differentiate from banks. But that’s only part of the battle. The credit union brotherhood only goes so far. Credit Unions also need to differentiate from each other, especially if you’re sharing turf with another credit union in your area.
Kansas City, Missouri, our local market, is one of the most competitive markets for financial institutions in the country. It seems there’s a bank or credit union on every corner. Certain areas have one on all four corners of an intersection.
So how do you cut through all this clutter and stand out? The answer lies in your brand. What story is it telling? What vibe does it have? How is it different? Too often, credit union brands don’t have much that sets them apart.
Here are a few exercises that can help you uncover the pearls of uniqueness in your brand:
Ask yourself some questions
- What are the 1-2 things that make us unique?
This is not an easy question to answer. Your first attempt will probably include words like “friendly” or “member service” or “caring” or “personal”. If that’s what you came up with – try again. 90% of other financial hang their hat on the same thing, hardly unique.
“We have great member service.” is probably the most common. Strive to dig deeper. Using service as your key differentiator falls flat in numerous ways. First and foremost, if you’re a credit union, your member service has to be good. It’s an expectation. Also, logic will tell you everyone can’t have the best service. Our over-marketed society knows this all too well and turns a blind eye to these clichés.
- Why do I like the ______ brand?
Try thinking about your favorite brands and why you like them so much. Whether it’s Coke, IKEA or Southwest Airlines, chances are it won’t involve words like “service”. Now apply that same process to your credit union to uncover your real brand gems.
Make a list
Here’s another approach. Take down a list of everything you say about your credit union. Examine your website, brochures, ads and press releases. Look for statements you make about your credit union, what it offers and what it represents. Your list might look something like this:
- great rates on loans
- great member service
- NCUA insured
- free checking
- free online banking
- free mobile banking
Analyze each statement
Look at each statement on your list and write down how it differs from the other financial institutions you compete with. You can even rank them on a scale from “unique” to “identical”. Also rank them by how important they are to your membership from “Must-have” to “Who cares?”
Put them on the grid below
Finally, figure out which quadrant each statement belongs in on the grid (displayed).
Usually, credit union brands have neutrals, distinctions and antes as their foundation. Keep in mind, these are things your members can get at any other financial institution and in reality, they don’t really care about them anyways.
As you can see, the Drivers are the key elements of your brand that you should weave into every aspect of your credit union. You may ask yourself, “What if I can’t find any Drivers?” Its ok, most don’t. But don’t let that discourage you. Get your team together and create some!
Source: http://thefinancialbrand.com
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Go beyond. It’s what we believe credit unions and CUSOs should be doing.
Credit Unions, CUSOs and other CU industry partners are the only groups we work with. We specialize because we are a CUSO and believe in the credit union philosophy and its advantages.
We adapt every day to the changes in the industry. For those who know of us, we are different today than we were just 1 year ago. Our job is to learn and grow each day so when we partner with our clients, we see the big picture and provide real marketing and consulting solutions to meet short- and long-term goals. If this is your first introduction to Beyond Marketing, we started in 2003. We are from a credit union, to service the credit union industry.
We believe in challenging our clients and ourselves. We go beyond what is expected in order to continue bettering ourselves. We believe we can help any credit union, CUSO, or industry partner and look forward to helping you succeed.
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