A lesson in service by Garth Brooks
It was back in 1989 that Garth Brooks released his first album, and I have waited all these many years for him to once again return to touring in concert. As soon as tour dates were announced, my husband and I snapped up tickets for one of his four Columbus shows in April and eagerly anticipated our date night of songs that helped define our lives in high school and college.
In addition to his wonderful musical and singing talents, Garth has a reputation for being a tremendous entertainer. I’ve seen many concerts in my day from Aerosmith to Willie Nelson, from P. Diddy (or what he was called then) to Dave Matthews Band and all of them pale in comparison to the passion and energy with which Garth performed for us that night. Between several songs, he stopped and marveled at the cheering, clearly moved by the reaction we had to his music. You could tell it meant the world to him to get to be there on that night singing to this crowd.
We forget in our daily lives the ultimate responsibility and awesome opportunities we have to delight people and truly make their lives better. Garth Brooks reminded me of this when he said, “as long as you keep cheering like that, we will keep playing.” He made me believe with his words and actions that he counted it an honor to be performing for me.
Remember that our jobs help people get the cars they need to get to work and take their families on road trips. Members move into their dream homes, send their kids to college, and save for retirement all because they’ve chosen their credit union as their partner to reach financial freedom.
Your marketing has to be smart and it has to speak to the members or new members you want to reach. That’s a given. But what will truly sell your credit union over and over to members and attract new ones is the way in which you show them that serving them today is what you want to be doing.
We work with credit unions every day on their marketing strategies. The marriage of strategy to the service philosophy is what sets the great credit unions apart. You don’t have to be a Garth Brooks fan to understand how to do it successfully. As leaders, make sure that you are keeping this philosophy front and center with your actions. Equally as important, make sure that your people are working by this philosophy as well. If you know your credit union is employing someone who could care less about its members, fill that position with someone who does.
As fans, we would be very disappointed with lip-synching or lackluster performances for our hard-earned money. As credit union professionals, we must remember that our members purchased their tickets to see us and have us take care of them. Just as Garth did for me, give your members a performance that shows respect for their investment in you.
