It may be a little late to publish this article—you know, since we’re already in 2019—but trust me, what I’m sharing with you falls in the “better late than never” category. I considered waiting until later this year and sharing this list for 2020, but if I did that, you might have gone another year continuing to make some of the most common success-killing mistakes. You don’t want that, do you? I didn’t think so. The following five directives came from a much larger list that one of my mentors sent to his team, a list designed to help them avoid previous mistakes and find more success in the new year.
Now, before we go any further, I should probably mention that I left the cussing in for full effect, to make the dramatic point about just how important these tips really are. So, without any further ado, here are five ways to make this year (and every year to come) better than the last:
While you can apply all of these to your marketing efforts this year, pay special attention to that last one. Stop being a people pleaser! In my experience, I’ve found that way too many credit unions try to make everyone happy by playing it safe with their marketing. Does that approach sound familiar? Do you portray a bland, vanilla version of yourself in the marketplace because you want to be loved by everybody? Are you worried you might make someone angry? Afraid somebody might disagree with something you say? If so, knock it off!
Sure, playing it safe increases the likelihood that nobody will disagree with you. But believe it or not, it also makes you harder to love, which makes it more challenging to build a passionate tribe of members who can be your biggest fans and most vocal advocates. People want to be part of something special, something that matters. If you’re going to create a credit union culture that inspires people, you have to risk being misunderstood by those who are content with the status quo.
Don’t be afraid to tell people what you think! That doesn’t mean you have to endorse political candidates or start conversations about religion. But whatever you do, find a way to take a stand for something. You may turn some people off, but you will sure as hell turn some people on—and those are the people who will become the passionate, loyal members who will be the lifeblood of your credit union. They’ll provide the most joy, create the most energy, and produce the most share of wallet. Best of all, you’ll be so focused on meeting their needs that you won’t have to worry about trying to please them. That part will take care of itself.