Whatever You Do, Be The Best At It

by: DeAndre Upshaw, Online Community Manager, Agency Entourage

In this age of businesses being able to offer almost every service under the sun to consumers, it is important to take a step back and look at the quality of what we’re offering our members.

It is so easy for a credit union to look at it’s portfolio of services, promos and programs and realize that over the course of the last decade, they’ve amassed a collection of services that don’t actually serve their members well.

When I was in high school, the school cafeteria offered a bevy of choices, most of which were gobbled up quickly by hungry teenagers. But at least once a month, they would serve a congealed, grody looking Salisbury steak that would go uneaten through all the lunch periods. You’d walk past that area of the serving station and be greeted with a mound of mystery meat that no one was buying – but without fail, it would appear, like clockwork.

Take some time to audit your credit union’s offerings. That teen account that has seen no new memberships in over a year? Cut it, or figure out a way to make it work. Figure out what your community needs, and tailor your offerings too meet them.

Find out what the Salisbury steak in your credit union’s buffet is. Engage your members and see which services they can’t live without and which ones they don’t really care for.

Remember this: your credit union does not have to be all things to all people all the time. Find what your credit union is good at and find out way to be the absolute best at it.

DeAndre Upshaw is a strange, tall fellow who grew up forcing his friends and family to perform in short films he wrote, directed, and produced. They weren’t very good, but will one day serve as the backdrop to his E! True Hollywood Story. A graduate of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, DeAndre has spent the majority of his professional career helping people connect to others via social media. He currently manages online communities at Agency Entourage, a Digital Marketing firm in Dallas, Texas and is a contributing blogger for Currency Marketing. He hopes to be a Power Ranger when he grows up.  www.agencyentourage.com