GREENVILLE, SC (May 10, 2021) — How many small credit union leaders face this same problem? “We’ve been here since 1936, and still no one knew who we were or where we were,” Dori Harvel, CEO of the $23.6 million Mint Valley Federal Credit Union. “That was a big problem.”
Mint Valley had no designated marketing person at the time when Harvel became CEO, but she saw the need. She heard about Your Marketing Co.’s collaboration with other credit union business partners, CUImpossible, a competition for one small credit union each year to earn a year’s worth of various products and services to elevate the winning credit union to the next level. Mint Valley threw its hat into the ring and made the finals; it did not win.
Harvel reached out to Your Marketing Co. CEO Bo McDonald and asked, “We still need to do something. How can we work together?”
Mint Valley signed the contract with YMC in March of 2020 – just days before the COVID-19 pandemic left credit unions and other businesses across the U.S. scrambling to handle the crisis and its fallout. The credit union was looking to break out of its comfort zone and better engage its members, plus it was forced into a virtual environment. So, it was the ideal social media campaign then to get members talking about why they don’t fit in the ‘big bank box,’ and featured Harvel literally blowing up boxes!
After a year of working with YMC through its marketing plan and the additional challenges the pandemic brought, Mint Valley shifted from meek to confident. And from negative loan growth to more than 13% loan growth! From little member growth to 6.7% membership growth! From net income of 0.37% in March 2020 to 0.59% in March 2021! And delinquencies are holding to a reasonable 0.84%.
“You’ve got to be willing to change,” Harvel reflected. “Change is hard for everyone, but ultimately my goal is I want it to be fun for everyone to come to work and serve our members. By doing all those different things, we had fun stepping out of our comfort zone to reach out to the community, and it really boosts the team’s confidence when they hear members’ appreciation and the comments that Mint Valley has been life changing for them.”
“Mint Valley is one of my favorite success cases,” McDonald said, “and a lot of that has to do with Dori’s leadership and her team’s willingness to break from ‘what we’ve always done.’ So many small and relevant credit unions could keep the doors open and the lights on by stepping outside of ‘what they’ve always done.’ The YMC team loves being a part of success stories like Dori’s – it builds our confidence, too!”
Dori Harvel
Bo McDonald
Your Marketing Co. is a full-service strategic planning, branding and marketing firm serving credit unions that are not content with the status quo. Since 2008, YMC has helped dozens of credit unions grow their potential through strategy, execution and accountability. And we give a damn!
Bo McDonald
Phone: (864) 230-1923
E-mail: bo@yourmarketingco.com
