What Credit Unions are doing right

There are several attributes that all great brands share in common. Tonight, my focus is on one of the very most important attributes, and that is, drum roll please... Customer Centricity.

All great brands have a relentless focus on their customers. Great brands are never distracted or side-tracked from focusing on their customers. They don't worry about their competitors (great brands have no competitors!). Credit unions, by their very DNA, are focused on their members. Which is wonderful. Which is worth talking about. But we can't get sidetracked by issues that take us away from our relentless pursuit of genuinely helping our members. One of the biggest temptations for getting sidetracked is our own ego. Sometimes we take our eye off the member focus and worry about how we look to our peers. Nothing could be more dangerous for derailing our credit union. Another danger is that we get lulled into a sense of complacency. We feel that if we just follow the procedures, that will be enough to keep on track. But in today's world, that's not true anymore. Every company, every industry is now open to being cataclysmically changed by a disruptive technology or innnovation. We are no longer "safe" if we just follow the rules. The winners in today's business world are the ones who innovate the fastest in serving the customers' needs the best.

Credit Unions have had this advantage over thousands of other companies that do not have this customer-centric focus eminating from their DNA. Many other companies would kill to have what credit unions naturally have. So my admonition is to continue to keep this member focus. Crank up your member focus -- conduct focus groups with your best members every single year. It's the best money you'll ever spend. Take a member out to lunch every day. The insights you'll gain are invaluable. You can't put a price tag on that kind of first-hand experience.