Can Members Trust Your Credit Union?

by: James Robert Lay, Grower of Relationships, PTP NEW MEDIA and Chief Tailor of Conversation, CU*SWAG

Well that was fast.  January is gone and now we move into the second month of the year, February.  The month of love.  John Lennon even said, “All you need is love.”  But how do we love?

Trust. It’s the very foundation of human relationships. Once trust is earned, respect can be gained and ultimately love follows to blossom into a beautiful relationship.  To build a strong relationship takes time and does not happen overnight.

Think about yourself for a moment and your own personal relationships. You will find there are different levels of love you share depending on the amount of trust and respect you have earned with different people.

As we continue to move into a more socially connected, human centric economy, how does trust play into our overall ability to connect with members and potential members?  Step outside and destroy your credit union box and ask yourself… do our members and potential members trust our credit union?

I would say yes and no. The members that can say yes have most likely had a long term relationship with your credit union and have earned your respect to ultimately grow to love you.  Your credit union may have helped them out when no one else would or taken the time to sit down and literally setup their bill pay for every single bill they have (true story).

If the relationship is new, like they just got an auto loan, or there is no relationship at all… I would say no, they do not trust your credit union. At this point you may be asking, “how does this talk of trust, respect and love matter to me.”

Trust simply could be what you need to focus on to grow your credit union in 2012.

Take a minute and think about how you are currently “marketing” your credit union. Go on, grab a pen and list the channels you are planning on using during 2012.  Now… list what kind of brand messaging you have been promoting.  If I were to guess it may be built around “great rates and service.”

However, it is possible that no one really cares what you are saying about yourself.

On the flip side, people do care about what their friends and family are saying simply for one fact: They trust them more than they trust you.

“78% of consumers say recommendations from other consumers are the most credible form of advertising.” (Nielsen’s “Truth in Advertising” Report).

So go back to your list of marketing channels and start to think about how you can build trust with potential members simply by sharing the love of those members who have earned your respect. You know… John Lennon may have been right.

In February of 2002, during his sophomore year at San Jacinto College, James Robert founded PTP NEW MEDIA from his bedroom.  Selling off his band equipment, he started the company as a way to help pay for school.  Since then, PTP NEW MEDIA has helped credit unions build relationships with members with the help of offline, online, internal and external marketing channels.  Their work has won many state and national marketing awards. He is also behind the movement to help make credit unions fashionably cool with CU*SWAG and was named the first “CU Times Trailblazer 40 Below” of 2012.  James Robert completed his MBA in 2006 at the University of Houston – Clear Lake and has enjoyed speaking at many different credit union conferences and events. In addition to speaking at conferences around the country, he is also on the faculty at San Jacinto College where he teaches professional selling with a focus on relationships.  www.ptpnewmedia.com, www.cuswag.com