Thing 5 of 30: Thank your members (often)

September is 30 things I would implement or consider implementing at my credit union if I was a credit union leader.

Thing 5: thank your members (often)

How often do your staff members reach out and say thank you to your members? Not in mass-printed form like a newsletter, annual report or member satisfaction survey, I am talking about deliberate personal interactions just to say thanks for dealing with your credit union. This could be in the form of an e-mail, a phone call, a card or even in branch.

If your credit union is anything like the one I have been dealing with for the past decade, the answer would be never. This isn't the only reason I am right in the middle of moving my entire personal and business relationship to another credit union, but it did play a part in the decision.

I received a thank you card in the mail last week from the general manager of our new credit union. It made my day.

Maintaining a personal relationship with credit union members is only going to get harder. With the convenience of online banking and debit and credit cards, members rarely come into the branch anymore. If I was a credit union leader, I would head to the stationery store or the local printer and order a bunch of blank cards, give every staff member a big stack and encourage them to write at least one thank you note to a member every day.

Saying thank you is easy. Do it often.

Tim

Thing 6 of 30: Make membership mean something

Thing 4 of 30: Strengthen the board of directors

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