Get Out Of Your Bubble

by Mark Arnold

As credit union and banking executives, we tend to live our lives in bubbles. We talk our own language (debt ratios, risk based lending, return on investment, margins, spreads, etc.). The reality is consumers don’t think this way. Nor do they care. As leaders we must get out of our bubbles and look at our financial institutions from consumers and employees’ viewpoints.

Here are some bubbles we need to break:

(1) Get out of the executive bubble.

When was the last time you talked to a member or customer? Not in a political, glad-handing way but truly engaged them in a conversation (asking them what they like and don’t like about you)? We tend to sit in our ivory towers and think we know what consumers want. A great way to get out of the executive bubble is to spend some time on the front line. Maybe serve as a teller for a day. Perhaps answer the phones in a call center (that will probably give you more information than you care to have!). You can’t market to consumers unless you know them. And you can’t know them if you are in your own world.

(2) Get out of the marketing bubble.

Have you ever looked at your marketing from a critical eye? We all need accountability, including marketing. The reality is the marketing department is probably juggling so many projects they may not be spending time to analyzing their efforts or their pieces. A great way to get out of the marketing bubble is to conduct a marketing audit.

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