Make People Fall in Love... With Your Credit Union

Let’s talk relationships… Okay, don’t panic! Though extremely important to the overall balance of life and happiness, this blog is not about your personal relationships, but rather your professional ones. Relationship management aims to create a strong bond and partnership between your credit union and its members rather than a relationship that is merely transactional. Members who feel that your credit union responds to their needs are more likely to continue using your products and services, and in turn, will be a lifelong advocate.

Additionally, by maintaining a level of open communication with members allows the credit union to identify potential sources of challenges before they become a bigger issue. Strong member relationships will promote loyalty, retention and the collaboration of a true financial partnership. Ideally, assisting the member with identifying potential opportunities your credit union has to offer. Are you a friend or foe?

Keeping in mind that relationship management is between a credit union and its members, it also includes relationships between a credit union and businesses. Credit unions depend on the development and maintenance of vital relations with business partners, suppliers and your community. These essential business relations can theoretically be detrimental to the success of the credit union. Strong business relations can lead to better member services, better business processes, improved communications, better policies and procedures, and mutual cooperation, resulting in better products, services and bottom line revenue.

One may choose to utilize various strategies to ensure strong relations are fostered and maintained with both the members and businesses. Relationships may be established through a number of means including:

• Day-to-day interactions
• Social media
• Email marketing
• Phone solicitation
• Face-to-face meetings
• Community involvement

So, how are your relationships? Are you being the best that you can be? The advantages of developing and maintaining member and business relations builds a positive image and increases performance, both of which can be vitally important to the bottom line!

This guest blog post was written by Tracy Florida, director of sales and service at Credit Union Resources, Inc.