With Big Banks No Longer Listening...Who is Listening to Your Members ?

Classic look back on one of the blogs most popular posts. It was relevant then ...seems just as relevant today. Originally posted 10/17/10

Heard Any Good Advice Lately
When was the last time you had someone offer you some really good advice? Not the advice of, “You need to watch this TV show” or “Go see this movie” type of advice. I mean “Wow, I am so glad you told me that advice”. For some of us that might have been as recently as today or yesterday. Others reading the blog might have to stop and really consider when the last time they received some really good advice was. Ever wonder why with so many expert opinions and people chatting on Facebook, Tweeting, and texting on their mobile phones that the amount of practical and actionable advice seems to be a tiny percent of all the conversations going on?

Whatever Happened to Listening
With so much communication happening one has to wonder how much listening is also going on. This is critical question as listening enables trust. The fastest way to understand the advice someone needs is to listen to what that person has to say. That sounds very simplistic. However, we live in a world that loves to market and get the message out. We have software that knows my last purchase, where I live, how much people in my neighborhood make, and what my average balance is on any given month. What that software doesn’t know is what keeps me up at night. Sure it might be able to predict what keeps the average forty year old living in Middle America up but not me specifically. That software can’t with all its predictive analysis duplicate the smile and conversation that takes place between one of your service agents on your platform with one of your members. Even in an age of social media the most effective way of learning member needs is not in the development of software packages but in the development of front line staff and line managers.

That is because our members want to reduce uncertainty and risk and the fastest way to do that is to build relationships that they feel are built on common bonds of trust. Every successful business relationship is one that endures past the initial transaction or interaction. The relationship moves from being based on a single commodity (the moment or action of the initial transaction. Which often is the transaction of the least monetary worth) to being based on mutual benefit and increased mutual value. This shifting of perspective is a pivotal moment in being able to move from being side provider of financial products and services to being your members’ preferred financial institution.

A core behavior for building member trust is in the ability of credit union staff to listen to what members are saying to them. It is not uncommon to find people making seven statements to every question that they ask. You can’t help the member with the problem if you don’t understand the problem the member has.

The fastest way to build trust and develop a real relationship that is truly beneficial is to listen to your member. This is true of most relationships and financial relationships are no exception. For most people banks and credit union have become commodities. Too often credit unions are used as a source for a low auto rate or a place to park hot money because of a CD special. These are the very transactions we have to move past with our membership. Passive interaction and order taking are not going to build a relationship.

Practical Application:

That member who you have seen week in and week out for the last year…what is their credit score? What debts are they paying that have rates with other lenders that are higher than what you offer?

When your staff interact with members what "Go To" core questions do they use to really understand where the member is at in their financial well being?

For your key SEGS what interactions have you undertaking to make sure you are in tune with their workforce’s financial needs? Are you engaged and listening to your HR partners?