I love that I'm celebrating my 4th month anniversary with Consumers Credit Union the week of Valentine's! One of my first goals was to visit each of our 13 offices and meet members and colleagues face to face.
In Marketing we are always trying to get more "face time" with our customers. Some marketers are focused on numbers of visits, unique visitors, friends and followers. In this new digital world they are important. But I am a strong believer in real face time - where you can make eye contact and understand the feeling of what's being said. You can communicate without guessing what the "text" or "email" really was trying to say.
I just spent last week traveling through West Michigan meeting with our Consumers members. The stories they share are inspiring. I've talked with a Coldwater mom who has only a few more payments until she's debt free. I've met a South Haven entrepreneur who came to Consumers for a car loan as a student. He told me that the loan changed his life, enabling him to finish school. He has just opened a brand new laundromat in Hartford! I've met a woman from Kalamazoo who's aunt was Elvis' Seamstress. (How cool is that?!) I've learned that because we have savings programs in our elementary partner schools, entire families have come to us to learn about budgeting and saving money. I have also learned Consumers colleagues are chairing amazing charity events this year while working full time. I can't wait to see those events come to life.
One way we will help share those stories is through our new Consumers Kodachrome effort. We will be taking to the streets to see our community partner's work in action.
Consumers volunteers spent Friday night with hundreds of people dressed in Pink! We supported the West Ottawa #PinkOut and introduced our Kodachrome by Consumers concept with you, capturing the fun and excitement in pictures of communities doing the right thing. Monies raised from the basketball game will go to VanAndel Institute for Cancer Research. Being there to see the excitement was so much fun and being able to share it with you is even more fun. (See the results here!)
Join us all year long as we continue to share your stories one member at a time. Who knows, you may just make it to the big screen - American Idol has nothing on our members! See for yourself here!
I read with interest a recent blog by Steve Olenski on the LinkedIn Forbes CMO network. He writes: "A recent McKinsey Quarterly study revealed that having the ability to engage their customers and leverage those relationships is the No. 1 digitally related challenge facing marketers today."
The challenges we all face - whether we are on a marketing team or a hockey team- are connecting in a way that matters. It's about using the right tools to communicate. A teenager may like his or her mom to text (even though they say it is so uncool). A teacher may request email. A grandma may want to sit on the porch swing and chat. What ways are you staying connected?
My role at Consumers Credit Union is to ensure we keep the lines of communication open and educate members on our services and products. What ways can we stay connected with you? Please share with me your thoughts lynne.johnson@consumerscu.org. And by the way, if you'd like to be in pictures, sing a song, or just tell us about your member experience you can connect to me or goodtimesahead@consumerscu.org.
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