Our members’ focus has changed and so must ours

As we navigate through the last two months of a year that has been defined by such phrases as “unprecedented,” “the new normal,” and simply “it’s 2020,” it is challenging to focus on the future.

But we must plan because the credit union industry is categorized as an “essential service,” deemed necessary to remain not only open, but relevant, nimble and useful for a nation that’s grappling with what is yet to come.

In the blink of an eye in mid-March, we found ourselves halting all intended plans for the year as we were forced to take a detour through unchartered territory. We went from being an industry somewhat good at providing virtual financial services to needing to become experts at it, and fast. We stopped focusing on spring campaigns and turned our marketing efforts to round-the-clock and rapidly changing member and community communication wherein we provided messages of reassurance that we are still here for those we serve. And at times, we struggled to stand behind those words and take them to a new level, striving to live to the fullest extent of our industry’s mantra, “people helping people.”

To sound like a broken record—it has been quite the year, to say the least. But I’ve always believed that when hardships are shared, we learn valuable lessons and can choose new opportunities to explore.

 

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