Branding Is More Than Marketing

Branding touches everything. From the board room to the break room to the bathroom. One of the challenges facing many credit unions, however, is that all too often only the marketing department (or person) drives the brand.

There are actually three key groups responsible for driving your credit union’s brand: Board/management, staff and members. To effectively build a lasting brand for your credit union, board and management must lead the brand, staff must live the brand and members must love your brand.

Below is a quick overview of each group’s role with building your brand and a strategic action step for each to take.

• Board and management: As leaders of the organization this first group sets the tone for the entire credit union. They must see branding not as an expense but as an investment. The most successful companies today are led by people who “get” branding and recognize its impact on the bottom line. As Jim Stengel said in his book “Grow,” “In terms of growth and margin, brand is really what it comes down to in the end.” If you want more loan growth, increased membership and a higher ROA, then focus on improving your brand.

Strategic action step: Allocate resources to your credit union’s brand. Make sure your credit union has a brand plan, a differentiated value proposition and a clear identity.

• Staff: No matter what you as leaders say your credit union is about, if your staff doesn’t live those brand principles every single day then it doesn’t matter. We talk all the time in credit unions about “member engagement.” But what about your staff’s engagement? One of the best ways to improve your brand is to make sure your staff understands your brand and the connection between your brand and their every day jobs. Research suggests that for every $10,000 you pay a disengaged employee, it costs you approximately $3,400 on the bottom line. Want a better bottom line? Get your staff engaged with your brand.

Strategic action step: Conduct brand training. Train your staff on what branding is and what they can do every day to better live your brand.

• Members: If you are really leading your brand and your staff is living your brand then your members will love your brand. As credit unions we must capture some of that love. That means capturing member testimonials. When are members most happy with you? Probably when you gave them their last loan. Capturing member testimonials is one of the best things you can do to show off your brand. Your credit union is making a difference in the lives of your members and those member stories are incredibly powerful. One of the key principles in branding is telling your story. But don’t just tell your story – tell your members’ stories.

Strategic action step: Survey your members. Don’t just ask them questions about your service. Also get a feel for how they feel about your brand. For example, “If our credit union were a car, what type of car would it be?”

Great credit union brands are built by people. They are built by visionary leaders, by engaged employees and by loyal members.

Mark Arnold, CCUE, is president of On the Mark Strategies. He can be reached at 214-538-4147 or mark@markarnold.com.