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RECOMMENDED READING: The Thank You Economy

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011


Few people have leveraged the power of social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in the way that Gary Vaynerchuk has done.

If you’re not familiar with that name, let me strongly encourage you to invest a few minutes of your time to learn how he used an online TV show called WineLibraryTV to build a brand and grow a business online.  He documents his experiences and shares a lot of insight in his book Crush It!, which was recommended by this blog a few months ago.

But Vaynerchuk’s second book is the one you really need to read.

It’s called The Thank You Economy, and here’s why every credit union leader should devour it:

It is probably the best book available regarding how the emergence of social media tools have forever changed the way customers want to interact with businesses.  The many examples Vaynerchuk shares will stimulate your thinking and reveal ways that you can strengthen member relationships by leveraging these new tools.

ACTION ADVICE: Pick up a copy today, read it, share it with your marketing team, your business development team, your senior management team, your branch managers, and your Board members–it is that important.  Everyone needs to understand what this new economy means and how it will impact everything you do in the future.  Reading this book will help your team come up with new ideas and approaches that will build stronger relationships with your current members and attract new members who will help you grow.  It will be time well invested!

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Posted in Building Relationships, Business Development, Connecting with Generation Y, Connecting with Traditional Members, Creative Ideas, Credit Union Strategy, Growing Your Credit Union, Improving Communication, Improving Member Service, Leveraging Technology, Recommended Reading, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking | No Comments »

Grow Your Credit Union by Improving Your Current SEG Development Program

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Credit union leaders looking for ways to grow their credit union should take a serious look at their current SEG Development Program, ask some difficult questions, and define an action plan for revitalizing their efforts.  Note that the word current is used to suggest a focus on developing existing SEGs, not attracting new ones.

Here are three reasons why this is important: (more…)

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Posted in Building Relationships, Connecting with Generation Y, Connecting with Traditional Members, Credit Union Strategy, Growing Your Credit Union, Improving Member Service, Strategic Thinking | 6 Comments »

RECOMMENDED READING: Rework

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Attention credit union leaders looking for new ideas that can take your credit union to the next level.  Here is a book that is packed with insight, that will challenge your thinking, and that delivers actionable advice that you can put to work now and in the future.

The first thing that drew my attention to this book was the Seth Godin quote on the dust jacket stating: “Ignore this book at your own peril.”  It got told me a lot about what I would find inside the book, and I was not disappointed.

Rework is filled with practical tips, actionable advice, thought-provoking insights, and a core message that will have value to anyone running a credit union (or any other business).

The book was written by Jason Fried and David Heinemenier Hansson, the founders of 37Signals, a company described as “a trailblazing software company that produces products used by millions of people around the world.” These are the guys who created Basecamp, Highrise, and Ruby on Rails, and several other products that help teams work together more effectively. Along the way they’ve learned a number of lessons and this book shares them in an effective manner.

But Rework is much more than a story of what two guys learned while building a successful business. In fact, one of its real appeals is that it skips the usual self-indulgent stories about what the authors did, why they did it, and how amazingly it worked.

Instead, it opts for a more direct dose of reality on a wide range of topics from getting started to productivity to hiring to culture. You’ll nod in agreement, scratch your head while pondering, and ache to change the way you do things to liberate yourself from the binds that are holding your credit union back.

ACTION ADVICE: Buy a copy today, read it tomorrow, and put it to work in the days, weeks, and months ahead.  You’ll be glad you did, and you credit union and your team will realize valuable results from your efforts.

Posted in Creative Ideas, Growing Your Credit Union, Improving Communication, Improving Member Service, Improving Organizational Effectiveness, Increasing Efficiency, Leveraging Technology, Recommended Reading | No Comments »

RECOMMENDED READING: Real-Time Marketing & PR

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Click image to order from Amazon.com

Real-Time Marketing & PR is a book about doing business at the speed of now–something today’s credit unions know very well.   The book powerfully demonstrates how technology has revolutionized interaction with customers, suppliers, the media and other interested parties.

At its core this is a book about social media tools and their impacts on customer and media interactions. Author David Meerman Scott makes a strong case for the need to utilize these tools, no matter what your business. He vividly reveals the pitfalls of not responding immediately in a world where customers expect and demand instant communication.

Credit union leaders and credit union marketing professionals will gain a new understanding of the power of online applications like Twitter and Facebook. The author’s convincing arguments will make it clear that you need to pay attention to this emerging world of social media. His tips and insights for monitoring and measuring your efforts will be valuable to those wondering about the value of engaging in the conversation.

David Meerman Scott opened people’s eyes to the new realities of marketing and public relations in his book The New Rules of Marketing and PR. The book spent six months atop the BusinessWeek bestseller list and has been published in more than 20 languages. He is the author of a popular blog and has delivered hundreds of speaking engagements around the world. These experiences give him a unique perspective on the ways that businesses are reaching buyers in real-time.

ACTION ADVICE: Read this book and learn its lessons, then take action to improve your credit union’s performance in delivering real-time responses.  Start by reviewing what you are doing now and looking for gaps, then move to more proactive efforts to enhance what you are doing well to make it even better.  Identify the small steps and start taking them today to leverage these new tools in growing your credit union.

Posted in Building Relationships, Connecting with Generation Y, Connecting with Traditional Members, Effective Marketing Strategies, Improving Communication, Improving Member Service, Recommended Reading | 2 Comments »

Consistency Matters More than We Realize

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Traveling tends to make you pay attention to things that normally don’t cross your mind.  On this trip, the thing that keeps coming up is consistently, or more correctly the lack thereof, and its implications for the way people see your business.

For credit unions it is important to consider this because the foundation of the financial services relationship is trust.  When you articulate and communicate policies that you don’t follow, you undermine that trust.

Here are a some quick examples from yesterday’s travels. (more…)

Posted in Building Relationships, Improving Member Service | No Comments »

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