Member testimonials in Texas

Yesterday, I had a nice phone call with Susan Herring of Brazos Valley Schools CU in Katy, Texas. Susan is awesome, and had a glowing review of our PlumWall testimonial product, which she has been using ever since we rolled it out.

Here’s a summary of what she told me: Susan said she LOVES PlumWall and thinks it’s worth every penny.

She loves how easy it is for members to put their testimonials up, and that members use PlumWall to give their testimonials even more than the online survey system they use.

She also said that staff really enjoys when they are the ones featured in the system. Whenever a new testimonial comes in featuring a staff member, Susan emails it to everyone in the CU so that that staff member gets their moment in the spotlight of doing excellent things for the member, which naturally encourages everyone else to continue doing their great work for members so that they’ll get their turn in the testimonial spotlight down the road.

We are so thrilled that Susan is loving her PlumWall! Maybe it’s something that will liven up your own online member testimonials!

Getting your member testimonials online

EverythingCU’s PlumWall continues to draw new member testimonials for the credit unions that have deployed it.

Here’s some of the latest stories that have been shared online:

Heartland CU in Minnesota:

“While on vacation there was a glitch with my Heartland VISA card. I can’t stress enough how the quick actions of Heartland Credit Union allowed my family and I to have a fantastic, uninterrupted vacation! An issue that has taken me days to correct at other banks was fixed within minutes! That outstanding level of customer service and attention to detail is what will keep customers loyal to Heartland for years and years. Thanks again to the terrific staff at Heartland CU.”

“Amy and Carol have always been great to work with. I have been a member for 15+ years and Amy just closed an auto loan for me super fast. It’s nice to see efficiency in motion & the personal touch they give. Many thanks!”

Innovations FCU in Florida:

“I recently switched to Innovations FCU because I was extremely dissatisfied with the customer service with my previous local credit union. I was very cautious….I checked out the online site first, then called the main branch to ask questions. The representative was extremely helpful. I have been banking with them for over 2 months and so far the experience has been extremely positive. No matter which of the 3 branches I have been to…. the customer service has been Wonderful! I use the online banking service… Great response when I had questions. I have been recommending Innovations to my family and friends!”

Centra CU in Indiana:

“Orchids to Rachel and Greg at Centra Credit Union, Edinburgh Branch for helping me so much when I discovered fraudulent activity on my account: Rachel for getting my card closed so quickly and Greg for refunding my account as soon as possible”

Fantastic that potential members are learning about the benefits of being a member of these credit unions!

PlumWall™ Explained

For those of you missed my free EverythingCU webinar, PlumWall™ Explained, I’ve put it online on SlideShare.net for your viewing pleasure. The last portion of the slidecast includes outstanding questions from you, our members, and my answers to them. Enjoy!

PlumWall Explained

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Describing a credit union

Last week, some great conversation kicked up on EverythingCU about how to describe a credit union in 30 seconds. (Thanks, Butch!)

My own opinion is that describing a credit union is much like the fable of the six blind men and the elephant. Each of the blind men touches a different part of the elephant and comes away with a different idea of what the thing is.

Credit unions are like the elephant in this story. What a credit union is to you is different depending on what matters to you. Some love the low rates on loans. Others love the great rates on savings vehicles. Others don’t care about the rate on their loan, and are just thrilled that they CAN get a loan. Others love the personal service. Others don’t give a darn about personal service. Some love the convenience. Others love the INCONVENIENCE. (seriously, I have had more than one person tell me this conducting focus groups for credit unions. The “don’t tell my spouse I have this fund” account.) Some love the electronic services. Others love coming into a branch. Others love both. And believe it or not, some people love it because it’s a cooperative. Others love it because the money stays local, and makes the community better. Many could care less that it’s a cooperative, because “ownership” means nothing to them. Some love the no- or low-fees. Others love that the CU does what’s in THEIR financial best interest, even when it’s not in the CU’s best interest.

And that’s just off the top of my head.

WARNING: The rest of this message is a blatant sales pitch for EverythingCU’s new PlumWall product. BUT I only say it because I 1000% know it to be true, and I would be remiss in my duties to further the CU movement if I *didn’t* put this out there:

All of the above statement is exactly why we created PlumWall for your CU to utilize. It’s been one hundred years, and we haven’t come up with a universally agreed upon explanation for a credit union, nor a single brand statement – BECAUSE THERE ISN’T JUST ONE.

So let’s STOP looking for the “one right answer” and let our members tell everyone how THEY see it… because people relate to other people like them, and trust other people like them by a factor of 100-to-1 over any marketing that an institution puts out (especially a big scary financial institution). This is why single-SEG CUs are so successful and why no one comes running in the door when a CU goes to a community charter.

PlumWall lets your members tell others, online, why they love the CU. I can’t wait to read more of your members’ stories about how fantastic your CU is.

Announcing PlumWall

“It’s not about the CU story you tell your members — it’s all about the story your members tell themselves about doing business with your credit union.”
— Ron Shevlin, Aite Group, at BarCampBank NewEngland 4.5.08

There is something new on the EverythingCU home page, and in the navigation bars, called PlumWall.

“What the heck is a PlumWall, and what have you crazy EverythingCU people done now?” you may be asking yourself.

Here at EverythingCU, we’ve understood the power of testimonials for a long time. Heck, it’s the main reason we get out of bed every morning and continue to work to keep your community the amazingly neat and clean place that it continues to be.

Now we have harnessed the power of the web, World 2.0 and social media to allow CREDIT UNIONS and their MEMBERS to share the joy, power, and beauty that is the CREDIT UNION MOVEMENT with one another.

PlumWall enables you to easily upload your member stories and testimonials about your CU. We all know you have LOADS of them, especially loan officers who are literally changing people’s lives for the better. EVERY loan officer has at least three or four VERY special stories they keep on their office wall. Well, it’s time to bring them OUT IN THE PUBLIC for ALL TO SEE!

So check out PlumWall, and see if it’s a fit for YOUR CU’s web site.

Here’s a link to more info.

Here’s a sample of what it looks like, using EverythingCU as example

Here’s what your control panel will look like.

We know it’s not perfect out of the gate, and have room to improve it, but at least it’s a fresh start to make sharing member testimonials online really easy. Feel free to email me any questions, comments, or feedback, or call my cell phone any time at 413-535-0621! We’d love to set it up for you!

Think your story doesn’t affect your bottom line?

If you think your story doesn’t affect your bottom line, think again. It’s one thing to feel intuitively that your story is important, it’s quite another to have proof. And I’d like to share some proof, to the tune of $600,000.

I recently had a chance to visit and have lunch with Jon Reske, VP of Marketing of UMassFive College Federal Credit Union. UMassFive has just opened a new branch in Northampton, MA, and it is quite nice. Jon told me that many features of their new branch were inspired by what he learned and experienced at the Triple-B Portland in 2005, particularly by what he learned from Umpqua Bank. It’s quite warm and welcoming, and if you are ever in Western Mass, I would urge you to check it out.

While there, Jon showed me their new member brochure, and the items which are covered when a person signs up as a new member of the credit union. The very first item covered is the credit union’s story; what a credit union is; and how the cooperative nature of the financial institution works.

Just a few weeks ago, a couple came into the credit union to open a new account, and a CU employee explained what the credit union was all about. The next day, the couple came back with a check for $500,000 and deposited it into their new money market account. The employee who opened the account with them the day before was quite happy, and asked them how this deposit came to be. It turns out that the couple was looking for a place to deposit this money, and when they learned about the cooperative, not-for-profit nature of the credit union, and what it stood for, and the fact that their money would stay local, they decided to deposit their money with UMassFive. Later in the week, the couple returned with an additional $100,000 deposit. The couple was also referred to the Financial Planning division of the credit union. Both the couple and the credit union are exceedingly happy.

So start with step one: If you are a credit union, TELL YOUR STORY. Don’t let anyone tell you that your story doesn’t matter, that no one cares. Your story matters. Period.