People helping people - Credit unions: Founded on the principles of service and cooperation

Derek Knowlton 

It doesn’t take careful observation to notice that Utah has a lot of credit unions. In most communities, you will pass multiple credit union branches while driving just a few blocks. Utah is one of the most credit union-friendly states in the nation. Whether you are looking for a large credit union, a small credit union or something in-between, you are very likely to find it here.

Credit unions are founded on the principles of service and cooperation. In most cases, credit unions can trace their roots back to small groups of people who consolidated their financial resources to help each other as needed. While the size and scope of credit unions have grown much since those early days, the commitment of “people helping people” has remained a core value within the industry. Having worked at various levels of management and with multiple local credit unions, it is common to hear senior management discuss how their decisions will affect their members. Great care is taken to safeguard the members’ best interests and help them manage their finances simply and effectively.

The propensity of credit unions here in the state is a great benefit to everyone. As with all industries, added competition creates opportunities for consumers. While credit unions are naturally cooperative, they still compete for consumers’ attention and business. This creates an environment in which consumers can pick and choose their financial services from institution to institution. To remain competitive in this marketplace, credit unions have been focused on improving in two main areas: technology and member experience.

The emergence of fintech companies over the past few decades has provided great opportunities for growth among credit unions. Financial technology has become increasingly more affordable for even smaller credit unions to implement. Consumers can now get the same high-tech online and mobile experiences at their local credit union that they can get at the big national banks.

This is especially true when it comes to the mobile experience. As mobile banking becomes more and more advanced, the need for a large branch footprint becomes less and less important. Credit unions can still serve their membership even if they move away from physical branches because all the services the members need can be found in their pocket.

This creates a need for the second area of competitive focus: member experience. As the financial technology levels the playing field, consumers begin to make their decisions based on experiences. A positive experience can create brand loyalty, just like in any industry.

However, most people are generally happy with their financial institution and aren’t looking for a new one. The one thing that will make them consider changing financial institutions is a negative experience. For this reason, credit unions have continued to research and analyze their member experience. If members have a bad experience, they will look for a credit union that will provide them with good experiences.

Sometimes this drive to provide excellent member service goes beyond the expected. While conducting research within my own credit union, we came upon a story of a branch manager going beyond the expected in helping a member. This member had entered the branch looking for a loan. After the process of the loan was completed, the member couldn’t leave because their car had a flat tire. The branch manager jumped into action, rolled up his sleeves and changed the tire right there in the parking lot. The member was so pleased at the extra level of service that they wrote their story down and sent it to us.

You could say that this branch manager provided excellent member service in order to keep them happy and loyal to the credit union. Surely that was the result of his actions. However, he didn’t start changing that tire with the intent to create brand loyalty with this member. His motivation was more aligned with the core value that all credit unions share: We are people helping people. He saw a person in need and jumped into action. It is actions like these that truly define the level of service that credit unions have become known for.

Derek Knowlton is the chief marketing officer at U First Credit Union in Salt Lake City.