Have A Plan
By Joyce Moed, Reporter

HOLLYWOOD, Fla.–In order to grow, you must have a plan. You have to introduce new products and services. And you have to reach new markets.

Anthony Hall, general manager of CUNA Caribbean Insurance Society, shared these thoughts recently during the CUNA Mutual Discovery Conference at the Westin Diplomat here. Hall co-hosted the session, "Reaching New Markets through a Member Value Proposition," with Luis Lopez, president of Cooperative Abraham Rosa in Puerto Rico.

Hall said that to reach new markets, credit unions must have a value proposition.
"A value proposition is the unique value a business offers to its customers," he said. "It’s why your customers will want to do business with you."

Hall said that CUs need to be able to answer the question "Why should a member do business with you?"

"Offer values and services that will improve members’ lives," he said.

Hall shared the challenges CUs in the Caribbean face, hoping U.S. credit unions could relate, as many of the challenges are similar. These include: attracting new members, increasing relevance to existing members, development of a sales culture, fee for service vs. free service, product development, and changing legislation and regulations.

"One of the ways to satisfy members in the long run is to develop a sales culture," Hall advised. "This takes commitment from management and rest of the employees. It’s about all of the departments in the credit union working together–everyone working on the same page.

Hall added that compensation attached to it, in order to increase motivation from the staff.
"People need to be recognized for their efforts," he said.

Lopez said that credit unions–or cooperatives–in Puerto Rico are also facing challenges.

"We’ve had a recession for a year and a half," he said. "We have an 11.6 unemployment rate."
And like the U.S., Puerto Rico is seeing the market suffering and many foreclosures, and an average delinquency rate of 4.66 in cooperatives.

"And banks are doing worse than us," he said. "Banks had less growth than us."
Lopez explained why.

"Credit unions may seem a bit different from credit unions in the states," he said. "Most are community credit unions. Cooperatives have the ability to grow. Banks do not rely on the philosophy of 'people helping people.' It's important to have that member one-on-one relations."
Lopez said there are many things credit unions can learn from others experiences in the market, such as ways to reach Generation Y.

"We have made ATM debit cards where members can put their own pictures," he said.

Lopez said that credit unions should also look to reach Gen Y members through marketing channels including Facebook and video games.

Lopez stressed the importance of reaching out to Generation Y, in order to grow. More ways to do this, he said, include: creating promotions tailored to their needs and interests, and remembering that Gen Y members like entertainment and music.

"To attract the teen market, radio and television should be used," he said. "Also, they are very Internet savvy."