05/12/2010

Guest post on the CUES Skybox: Get social to advance your career

By Tim McAlpine

I wrote a guest post on the CUES Skybox today about how blogging can be good for your career. Please take a read and leave a comment over there if you love it, hate it or have a better idea!

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10/20/2009

Interview featured on The Financial Brand today

By Tim McAlpine

Jeffry Pilcher interviewed me recently (back and forth in e-mail form) and he just published the article today. I gave my thoughts on integrated social media marketing. Please take a read and leave a comment!

Subscribe today + RSS + Blog by E-mail + E-newsletter + Follow me on Twitter

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06/17/2009

Guest post on the CUES Skybox: Next-gen leader beat-down?

By Tim McAlpine

I am a guest blogger today on the CUES Skybox. My post:

"Are you Beating Down Your Next-Gen Leaders?"

Thanks again to Christopher Stevenson from CUES for the invite!

Subscribe today + RSS + Blog by E-mail + E-newsletter + Follow me on Twitter

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04/27/2009

Guest post on the CUES Skybox: Twitter, Oprah and credit unions

By Tim McAlpine

I am a guest blogger today on the CUES Skybox. My post:

"Hey, Oprah, Twitter may be all the Rage but Credit Unions are Cool Too!"

Thanks must go to Christopher Stevenson from CUES for the invite!

Subscribe today + RSS + Blog by E-mail + E-newsletter + Follow me on Twitter

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10/21/2008

Guest post: It's about the spinach, stupid. And the carts. And pretty much everything else

(Or what credit unions can learn from the mind of a disgruntled big box shopper.)

Dear SuperDuperBigMart [and credit union professionals],

When your new store [read: branch] opened near my house a few months back, I deliberately stayed away for a while. About three days to be exact. Finally the lure of cheap toilet paper [read: free chequing] became irresistible.

But the line. Oh sweet-mother-of-smiley-faces, the line. It. Could. Not. Have. Moved. Slower.

And the bag of spinach I picked up was already expired. Kind of weird since you just opened. [read: What? You’re out of envelopes at the ATM?]

Then there were the carts [read: brochures and other marketing paraphrenalia] scattered everywhere. Carts crying out for some sort of cart corral, if not a full-fledged cart jockey or two.

Today, I went back. Again, the parking lot was a mess. No one greeted me when I walked in the door [read: I thought it was about relationships?]. You didn’t have what I wanted [read: practical financial advice] and the items you did have, didn’t have any price on them [read: weren’t priced right].

When it was time to check out, you only had one cashier open [read: wicket]. No problem, I thought. I’ll use the self-checkout [read: profit-maximizing, expense-minimizing ATM]. But the technology worked against me. Finally, it stopped working altogether.

"Please wait for employee assistance!" it kept announcing in its loud, electronic voice. So I waited. And waited. And waited some more. But no one came to help. They walked right by. I just stood there helpless with my juice boxes and my garbage bags [read: U.S. cheques and other transactions].

Finally, I left my cheap toilet paper [read: free chequing account] in the cart and high tailed it out of there—‘cause seriously, I don’t have time to be ignored, no matter how low your prices are [read: don’t you want my money?!].

But then I thought maybe I should tell someone about my terrible, no-good, very bad day(s), so I logged onto your website. I used all 150 allowed words to tell you my story and then you sent me this—or rather, your computer did:

PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL
Please be advised that your email has been sent to the Customer Relations Department. You will receive a response in the shortest possible time. We thank you for visiting www.SuperDuperBigMart.com. We look forward to serving you on your next visit. Thank you.

Pardon me? The shortest possible time? By whose assessment? Not mine, obviously, or you would have responded by now. How about an actual service promise?

Making matters worse, I also read this on your website:

SuperDuperBigMart is committed to giving Canadians the best shopping experience in the marketplace by delivering everyday low prices, exceptional customer service, top-quality merchandise, and extensive community involvement, philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. SuperDuperBigMart has repeatedly listed among the 50 Best Companies to Work for in Canada, as published in Report on Business Magazine.

You know. I’ve always wondered what makes people go postal [read: bank?]. And now I know. Thank you, SuperDuperBigMart, for reminding me there’s more to being super than just having 'SuperDuper' in your name.

Oh, and if you’re thinking of calling me today, please note I’ll be out re-buying all the things I tried to buy at your store yesterday, this time with my three-year-old in tow. [read: Where is Mount Lehman Credit Union anyway?]

Signed,

Some crazy lady in Surrey

About our guest blogger: Colleen Pepper is a freelance writer and editor specializing in the credit union industry since 2001.

Colleen writes radio spots, campaign collateral and more serious things like annual reports, brochures and newsletters. This week a client asked her to write a letter telling members their account manager died, demonstrating that she can do funny and funerals—although whether a letter is the right choice for the latter is a blog in itself.

Colleen has a B.A. in Communications and History from Trinity Western University. In her spare time, she is a mom and aspiring mystery shopper. She’s recently discovered how much she hates SuperDuperBigMart—or at least the sparkly, brand new one by her house.

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08/06/2008

Guest post: If Currency Marketing was built the Credit Union way.

By the CU Skeptic

To contrast the difference between what Tim has done with Currency Marketing and what many credit unions are doing now and have done in the past, let's pretend that Tim followed a typical credit union's strategies in building his company.

In the beginning, Tim magically has just about the biggest field of membership (FOM) in the world. Let's see if we can do this in credit union wording: "Any company that is headquartered in, does business in or would like to do business in the English speaking world." It probably took years of lobbying and political positioning to secure such a broad FOM, but Tim knows people I'm sure.

Naturally, he would start by creating some products to please everyone in that FOM. Basic branding, print campaigns, websites—you know, the basics. All of good quality built to appeal to the masses. Meeting edge needs can come later, when there is more clients, staff and capital.

Next, Tim would probably look to economies of scale to enhance his offerings. He'd push hard to get any company he could to become a client and would bring on any that would sign up. He would offer his products at a cheaper price and complete his projects faster than the competition. And, he'd do it all with a smile.

Tim now has a hugely diverse client base and his resources are probably getting stretched. He can't afford to push the envelope in fear of alienating his largely diverse client base, so his team continues to produce good but middle-of-the-road products. They don't fit anyone's needs perfectly, but they fit many client's needs decently. What they don't have in unique products, his agency will make up for with the best darn service anywhere.

Years pass and Tim gets an offer to be bought out by a larger marketing company. He takes it, re-energized in the thought that a bigger client base will provide more opportunities both for his current clients and other potential clients in the English speaking world. Years pass and the company Tim merged with is in the same position Tim was in just a few years ago. Another merger presents itself. Tim is onboard but somehow feels he is only in store for more of the same.

The cycle continues.

About our guest author: The CU Skeptic is a sub-30-year-old male that has spent the last few years working in and around the banking and credit union industry. He has heard the tales of credit union greats and seen what some would call the bottom of the barrel. He's seen the efforts of small town banks and has all of his personal accounts with one of the big banks.

His take on banks and credit unions? At their current state, credit unions as a whole are no different than banks to the end user. Each have their share of sellouts and standouts, but in his eyes, that’s the bottom line. You can read his blog here. You can also listen to a podcast interview with the CU Skeptic here.

Editor's note: The CU Skeptic wrote a lovely blog post, How Currency Marketing duped the CU world (and what you need to learn from it) after reading my post, Banks? No thanks.

Rather than stew over how he has questioned my motivations or how he has permanently tainted our Google search results, I figured why not have fun with the situation and invite him to be a guest blogger. When in Rome...

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06/26/2008

Guest post: Is social media the new golf?

By Shari Storm

As I tried to explain Twitter to my boss for the third time, I found these words popping out of my mouth "It's like golf!" The look he gave me clearly indicated he thought that I was nuts.

But as I mulled over that analogy a little more, I realized how true it really is. Social media is the new golf.

Here’s how I see it:

Both have their own terminology: Unless you are a golfer, you probably don't know what birdie, bogey or mulligan means (not to mention jigger, lip-out or yips). Unless you are familiar with social media, you probably don't know what wiki, widget or tagging means (not to mention scrobble, chicklet or tweet).

Both can be embarrassing for beginners: I remember the first time I lined up my club, adjusted my stance, zeroed in on my golf ball and SWUNG... only to completely miss the ball. It felt like everyone on the golf course could see me mess up. It felt exactly like the first time I posted a comment to a widely read blog. I carefully thought out my point, scripted my words, edited it a few times and pressed SEND… only to realize I misspelled a word. It felt like the whole Internet could see my mistake… oh wait, they could.

Both are baffling to the uninitiated: People who don't golf, cannot understand how hitting a tiny white ball around a big lawn can possibly be enjoyable; just as my non-social media friends do not understand how chatting with folks through my computer is fun.

Both are the safe place to mix business with pleasure: I took up golf when I heard the advice from Washington’s first female bank CEO. "Play golf," she said. "It's where deals get made." I took up social media when I met the boys from Trabian. "Get online," they said, "it's where the future of business is hanging out." On the golf course, people talk about their vacations, their kids, and then they talk about business. On Facebook, people talk about what they ate for breakfast, what music they like and then they talk about business. I've had business development discussions on the golf course and on LinkedIn. Both have proven equally as valuable to my career.

About our guest blogger: Shari Storm has been with the credit union industry since 1998.

Shari's staff at Verity has been using a corporate blog since 2004. They have found it to be an excellent way to communicate with members on a level never before possible. Their early foray into this medium earned them an "Innovator of the Year Award" from NetBanker in 2006.

Shari has an undergraduate degree in speech communications from the University of Washington and earned her MBA from Seattle University. She teaches "Using Social Media to Grow Your Business" at the University of Washington’s Experimental College as well as through the Corporate for Capital Development’s "Women's Networking and Entrepreneurial Training" programs.

Her accomplishments include participating in over 60 media interviews on consumer issues, teaching free enterprise in the communist country of Belarus, working on Filene’s prestigious i3 team, and raising three daughters. She will also be publishing a book on how motherhood is the perfect management training (Thomas Dunne).

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05/27/2008

I was a guest on Current Issues in Credit Unions today

By Tim McAlpine

I had the pleasure of being on Current Issues in Credit Unions today. It's a great monthly credit union podcast that takes the form of a casual roundtable discussion. It is produced by Robert Rutkowski from Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A. in Cleveland, Ohio.

I called in from my hotel room in Chicago today and Rob has already edited and posted it by this evening!

+ Click here to listen
+ Click here to subscribe in iTunes

Typically the content deals with legal issues facing U.S. credit unions, but today I think they went easy on me because they knew I would have no idea what the difference between Reg. Z, A or B is!

But to be fair to me, three of the four lawyers had never heard of Twitter! Does that make us even?

Thanks guys, I had a great time!

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03/07/2008

PR insight: 10 tips for getting unpaid coverage.

By Tim McAlpine

I was recently asked to by Credit Union Executive Society (CUES) to be a guest PR Insights columnist. You might be getting sick of all this Young & Free talk, but here is some more!

How do you garner significant unpaid media attention for your credit union? Create a compelling good news story with multiple chapters.

Here's how our marketing agency worked with $1.6 billion (U.S.) Common Wealth Credit Union, Lloydminster, Alberta, to create sustained media interest that has resulted in incredible unpaid coverage for the launch of a free checking account. While free checking accounts in the U.S. are commonplace, that isn't yet the case in Canada.

Common Wealth CU approached us with a simple brief, "We want to launch a free checking account for the under-25 group and connect with the youth market in Northern Alberta."

Our solution was to name the new product Young & Free and create a fully integrated marketing campaign, combined with a spokesperson search to find the voice of Alberta's under-25 crowd. The campaign comes to life on a dedicated microsite at www.YoungFreeAlberta.com. Public relations has played a significant role in the success of this initiative...

+ Read the rest on the CUES website

+ View all of the media coverage on the program

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01/07/2008

Open Source CU guest post: Who's in charge of this stuff?

By Tim McAlpine

I was invited by Brent Dixon of Trabian to contribute a post on the Open Source CU blog. The post is titled:

Who's In Charge of This Stuff?

By this stuff, I mean this new stuff. Web 2.0. User-generated content. Social media. Whatever you want to call it.

All this stuff you live and breathe. All this stuff that continues to come in waves. All this stuff that you know is perfect for your credit union. All this stuff that you can’t explain to anyone who is not involved. All this stuff your members are doing online. All this stuff that you know is passing your credit union by...

+ Read the rest on Open Soure CU. Thanks for the invite Brent!

P.S. Shameless self-promotion alert. If you linked over here from Open Source CU, why not subscribe to our 'stuff' as well?

+ http://feeds.feedburner.com/CurrencyMarketing

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