How to leverage the new FICO adjustments for word of mouth referrals

Big news in the financial world lately with the announcement that FICO will be making a change to how they calculate the FICO score.  I don’t need to tell you how this impacts your credit union. I think you are well aware. But I can share with you how this impacts the consumer world and how you can leverage the news to get more members for your CU.

Here’s the deal. The average consumer has no real idea how FICO is calculated. From the perspective of “joe user”, they simply know that there are ways that impact their score. Like slow or no pays, judgments, and a high DTI.  Bottom line though, they just know what the score is for them, in some cases monthly. Services like CreditKarma provide that score monthly, and while we all know that the number will differ depending on where we go to get credit, what we don’t know is how much, or why.

Here’s where your credit union enters!  Be the HERO! Show me! Tell Me!

Get out in front of this change with education.  Hold Q&A nights at your branches. Educate your members, and not just through text-based email!  Have someone record a video and send that video out via email to your members. Have tellers hand out small notices, that include information on how members can get answers.

When you lead with information, you are showing your members that you care deeply about their ability to get credit, understand credit, and help them in any way you can.  It also opens up dialogue, creates conversation, and results in more interaction with the members. All of which results in more business to your credit union, and more word of mouth referrals from your members to others in the community!

Leading with education, specifically about the FICO change, will help you recruit and retain more members for your credit union!

…now….go out and save the day…one FICO score at a time!