Solving the Brand Puzzle for Credit Unions: An Interview with Robert Michaud

Many credit unions struggle to understand the nebulous idea that is “branding” and how it applies to their business beyond creating a logo and some basic marketing materials. Indeed, many credit unions may not even realize that their brand is far more than the visual façade they choose to put forward. Robert Michaud, marketing extraordinaire and author of The Brand Book: Solving the Brand Puzzle, tells us that a company’s (yes, even a credit union’s) brand isn’t what or who the company says they are…it is what and who the customer perceives them to be. In his book, Mr. Michaud not only defines how branding is a truly integral part of a company but introduces a step-by-step process to defining and developing a company identity that can consistently control the customer’s perceptions by dictating the policies and procedures that directly affect those interactions.

Mr. Michaud’s “Brand Puzzle” process focuses on fully developing a company’s brand identity and incorporating that image and mission as the foundation on which all other processes, strategies and departments are built.

How do you approach other aspects of a company in order to explain/introduce a brand strategy and what this means to them?

Robert Michaud (RM): This is a several step process. Step one is to start at the top. You have to get the CEO, the President, the Board, whoever is the top management to buy into the brand and the process. Otherwise, you will fail.

Step two is to determine who your champions are. There are people in every department who are the top performers and the top influencers. Those people need to be included in the brand building process so that they can carry it to their colleagues.

Step three is integration. The departments have worked together to build the brand. Now they have to decide how it relates to them and set the goals that will hold them accountable.

Have you had difficulties getting other departments to accept that a brand strategy will affect them?

RM: This is always an ongoing challenge and is why one of the main pieces of the “Brand Puzzle” is management. It is the management team’s job to make sure that things begin to wrap around the brand. Any brand implementation is going to be a process before and after it becomes a part of how the company operates. The management team is the key to making it happen.

In Solving the Brand Puzzle you state that it is important to identify the threats to the company before the company can truly evaluate its strengths. How do you research and identify threats?

RM: There are several ways to gather this information. The first and easiest is to get your managers in a room and ask them about what keeps them up at night. It is also important to keep up with industry news and chatter in order to be able to clearly identify the biggest threats to the industry because those can directly affect your company. Finally, you should figure out your company metrics. What are your sales rates, loan closing rates, debit card swipe numbers? In short, where does the company need improvement?

Do you find that there are major differences in branding for financial institutions versus other industries?

RM: The only real difference is that financial institutions are far more regulated. They may not necessarily have as much creative freedom because compliance and regulations put marketing and branding efforts at a disadvantage. However, this often makes financial institution marketers smarter because they have to circumvent these challenges.

How do you feel about utilizing ATMs as a branding tool?

RM:  I feel good about it because the concept is sound. However, there are pros and cons. The key consideration is always going to be affordability. For many financial institutions, the ATM is the busiest channel they have but it is hard to track return on investment. There are other questions to take into account. How will expanding that to other locations fit the brand strategy? How will you be physically deploying your brand? Is it providing the sensory perception you want to give?

Branding has become much more than logos and mission statements…it is how a company…how a credit union is perceived. This image is supported by the visual look but also by how the credit union makes decisions and the standards to which it holds itself. Solving the Brand Puzzle provides a simple and innovative way to not only understand the concept of brand but a complete process to defining, developing and implementing a complete brand identity.

Mr. Michaud has over 35 years in sales, marketing, advertising and customer service. He worked for a major cable company, Xerox and even ran his own advertising firm before leaving to work for a financial institution in 2001. He currently works as Chief Marketing Officer for a financial institution in New York. Solving the Brand Puzzle is available for purchase at www.amazon.com and www.thebrandbook.net.