What to do when your credit union brand takes a beating

On a recent trip for a speaking engagement about transformational leadership, I decided to drive rather than fly. I left extra-early that morning to make it to the hotel in plenty of time for dinner, to prep for the presentation and to catch game three of divisional baseball playoff series between the Toronto Blue Jays and my beloved Texas Rangers.

I stay at the same chain of hotels whenever possible. I know what I’m getting. A clean and comfortable room, breakfast in the morning and a reasonable price. This all works when that brand promise from the hotel delivers. Why when it doesn’t, the brand takes a beating.

That beating happened on this trip. The front desk worker did not greet me as I came in (in fact, it was obvious he was far more interested in the football game playing in the lobby that in my arrival). He did not welcome me as a rewards card member. And he showed little to no interest in the fact that their cable provider didn’t offer FS1 as a channel (where the game was being televised) nor that the hotel Internet signal was so weak that I couldn’t stream it to my laptop.

All this may sound petty. No, I didn’t expect the front desk clerk to magically become a cable repairman or somehow acquire the IT skills necessary to boost the Internet connection. But I did expect him to show enough care and concern to make me feel like a valued customer. He didn’t and the brand promise of the hotel chain was broken.

At credit unions, we also make brand promises. They vary from place to place. For example, your brand promise might be quick turnaround times on loan decisions. Or the relationship-building experience your staff offers. Or close ties to the community you serve. Whatever the case, if you fail to live up to the brand promise, brand damage occurs. While not always irreparable, it will certainly cost you in the long run.

That is why it is so critically important for credit unions to adhere to the brand promises they make to members. All it takes is one bad day or sub-par performance from any employee to risk brand damage. Ongoing and relevant brand training for your staff is a powerful way to help avoid this scenario. Another is a vibrant and energetic onboarding program both for new employees and existing employees at various times during their tenure at your credit union. Finally, another solution to avoiding brand promise damage is to rely on your executive management team to live the brand every day in front of staff. They will see this behavior and its effect will trickle-down to their daily job performance once they realize it is important to the individuals that lead the credit union.

You cannot simply launch the brand, introduce it to your staff and then expect them to carry it forward ad infinitum. You must reinforce your unique credit union brand with your staff on a daily basis, at every opportunity. I have a feeling the young man working the front desk at the hotel that night was not overly-familiar (or concerned) with their brand promise. I was tempted to point it out to him — after all, it was printed on the little sleeve of paper in which he places my door keycard. However, at that point I figured out how to watch the game on my phone and the evening was saved.

Playoff Baseball – 1

Hotel Brand Promise – 0

How does your credit union brand promise score? Only you know for sure.

Mark Arnold

Mark Arnold

Mark Arnold is an acclaimed speaker, brand expert and strategic planner helping businesses such as credit unions and banks achieve their goals with strategic marketing insights and energized training. Mark ... Web: www.markarnold.com Details