Yesterday was devoted to the annual holiday trip to the mall to take my dad shopping.  It’s one of those traditions that’s been around for a long time.

Dad comes from the generation of loyal credit union members who are loyal customers of businesses they’ve trusted over the years; and the first stop on the trip was at the credit union to get cash for his shopping trip.

He visits the same stores that he has gone to for more than a quarter of a century, looks for the same clerks who have waited on him for varying number of years, and takes time to stand in line to get his packages wrapped at the same place he always has.

For people in his generation his behavior is perfectly logical, rational, and predictable.

But wait–there’s more, and it’s very important for credit unions to understand.

His behavior is contingent upon one thing:  At some point in time he learned that those businesses where there, that they could be trusted, and that he could rely on them to meet his needs every Christmas.

In other words, if he didn’t know those businesses existed he would be going somewhere else.  And that, ladies and gentlemen is a very real problem for most credit unions–too many people just don’t know they exist.

This was proven during our shopping trip during a casual conversation with employees at a department store.  Due to a recent inquiry I knew that there was a credit union whose field of membership included employees of this particular department store.  So I asked the three ladies behind the counter if they were members.

Their blank looks told the story, and were followed with the question I expected:  “There’s a ____ credit union?”

Then another chimed in “I didn’t know that.”  The third added “I’ve been here for over five years and no one ever told me.  I love credit unions.  My mortgage, my checking account, my retirement accounts, and everything else are at the XYZ credit union and have been for years.  I just don’t trust banks.”

Now before everyone ges excited about the implicit interest these ladies showed and the powerful testimonial in support of credit unions, remember the point of the story.  Not one of these ladies knew about the credit union that was started by in the company they worked for over 75 years ago.

Enough said.  The message is clear–if people don’t know you exist, they cannot possibly use your services.  What are you doing to communicate to those who are closest to you and most likely to bring their business to you?  It’s not nearly as important to reach everyone as it is to reach the ones who matter.

ACTION ADVICE: Create an ambassador program where current members who work in the places that originally supported your credit union are asked to help spread the word about the credit union and the advantages it offers on a one-on-one basis with their colleagues and co-workers.  Offer some sort of incentive to them for their assistance and ask them to capture member stories you can share with others while they are connecting with their peers and talking about the credit union.  Leverage word of mouth in the places where you have strong roots and be ready to welcome these new members in and walk them through the process of moving their financial services activities to your credit union.

It’s Your Turn…What has your credit union done to reconnect with your core membership?  What do you plan to do in 2011?  Please post a comment and share your insights.