Study after study shows credit unions outranking banks in satisfaction, service, trust and overall approval. And yet they receive a fraction of the customer numbers and investment levels. So we dug deep to find out why.
The goal was to develop a new mission statement that would work internally to unify staff and replace their current version:
During our exploration phase (which involved staff interviews, background research & focus groups among members), we found that even among the most loyal and long-term customers, there was a general lack of real understanding about what makes a credit union different. We then used a collaborative creative development process to explore different ways of describing this difference and discovered a phrase that completely changes minds: Not-for-profit means you profit.
I’ve never seen a tagline work so efficiently or powerfully.
So while we started the process looking for a simple revision to the Cutting Edge Mission statement, we walked away with a powerful manifesto that carries through to all points of their brand:
There are many more strategic elements and tactics in the works but the initial results of the new positioning “blew the numbers out of the water.”
Note: strategy and manifesto were developed before the Occupy Movement
Emily Reed 