In light of these trust issues that retail banks are grappling with, we must raise a few questions: Are credit unions making the right move when they position themselves like retail banks? And, how can credit union marketers ensure they are creating the right brand image?

Landor's executive director of financial and professional services, Louis Sciullo, stated in an interview that "trust is intrinsic to financial services." He added, "The closer the institution is to the community that it's in, the more likely it is to be trusted," and that there are "more opportunities when you are an institution that knows the customer and the community they are from rather than them feeling like just a number."

Sciullo asserted that based on the data, there is somewhat of a handicap with being associated with a bank. He acknowledged that with credit unions becoming larger through mergers and acquisitions comes bigger issues pertaining to cybersecurity, technology, compliance and regulatory changes. However, he said there are "big opportunities for credit unions that lean into their connection with the community and their understanding of a community, as well as the demographics of it, what drives it and how they function and provide services to it to derive value propositions for themselves." In fact, he added, "Ones that are smaller have a more compelling story to tell because they can become more relevant and point to specifics and the geography that they are located in. However, as they become bigger they probably lose some of that cache that could be an interesting selling point."

Echoing millennial and Gen Z researcher Jason Dorsey's sentiments that "generations are not a box that every one of us here will fit neatly in," Sciullo remarked, "You don't sell to a generation, you sell to people and people have different paths in their lives that create their individuality." This is the reason why it is so important for marketers to begin by creating buyer personas. He also noted, like Dorsey at Trellance's 2017 annual conference, that there is a lot of work credit unions can do to change perceptions, and gave the example that many consumers still believe you have to be part of a labor union to be a member of a credit union.

Sciullo added credit unions should focus on "demonstrating how they are and how they have been for a long time, which is really essential tools in the economy and grounded into a community approach." This is a story that he says not many people are telling. He also added it is valuable for institutions to think about their impact on communities. This is where Corporate Social Responsibility or Environmental, Social and Governance programs play an important role. "There is value in being able to demonstrate to people the value that a company plays in the economy and the community. This seems like a very good area for increasing trust," Sciullo stated.

As with many things, it's a balancing act. Credit unions need to grow to achieve economies of scale, and offer state-of-the-art digital products to remain competitive. At the same time, members expect that level of personal service that comes from a credit union being close to its community. Credit union marketers need to formulate strategies to incorporate this story of community through face-to-face branch and outreach experiences, social media postings and interactions, call center conversations and direct mailing campaigns.

Shelly-Ann Henry

Shelly-Ann Wilson Henry is the PR and Communications Manager for Trellance. She can be reached at 813-984-3566 or [email protected].