The Skeptical Non-Member Switch Kit

by Ron Daly

If you're a fan of this blog (a "Soap-sketeer", as we refer to them), the odds are good that you've already made up your mind about credit unions. You've studied long and worked tirelessly on your own to spread the good word about your credit union in the community you serve. Well, your good work is being recognized. Here is some ammo to keep up the good fight of credit union promotion.

Credit Unions versus Banks in the Media

More and more recently, people are stacking up credit unions and banks in the news...and coming up with some surprising results. So, in the interest of offering you something you can use in the coming months to boost your "Q-rating", I give you four articles that show how well CUs stack up against banks. 

Not everyone goes to creditunions.com every day, but Elliott Kashner wrote an article about credit unions and banks. He puts them against each other on several key areas; customer satisfaction, fee income/gross income, capital ratio, re-default rates. If you need to convert someone who's a "numbers" kind of person, this is for you. Click here for the article. 

A site that's really impressed me in the past six months is the Wall Street Journal online. Their site is a lot more "Digg" these days than in its previous incarnations (this was the WSJ online in 2002... quite different.) And they're churning out awesome content - like this article about credit unions as a safe haven. WSJ, the paper you read when you need to know about money, speaks very favorably about CUs. It's a great read...and something worth sharing.

A new video that's flying around the CU web space from Fox Philadelphia's morning show has some good points that are worth sharing.  Click here to view the video for yourselves. Flash player is required. 

Finally, one of DigitalMailer's clients used online video to tell the story of two members who, so beaten down by bank fees, decided to make the switch to their local CU. Click here to view the video, or click here for the case study. 

These are just four articles/videos that tout CUs and we know there are many more to come.

Have your own good reviews from recent months? Let's see 'em. Comment below or e-mail. 

Comments

[Elliott]

Thanks for the shout out! Two major factors had been working against credit unions before today: apathy and knowledge.

The bailout/recession (and its coverage in the media) has done credit unions a favor by curing the American consumer of their apathy toward the primary banking institution.

Now, the industry is really getting some traction in the knowledge arena. As Ron points out, we all have a role to play here. Keep spreading the good word and let me know if you need some more numbers.

[Jeffry Pilcher]

It's worth noting that the media took a harsh turn on credit unions for a few months -- coinciding with their requests for TARP money.

The media has again returned to singing the praises about credit unions... as long as the industry keeps quiet about TARP.

But that can all change in a heartbeat. If credit unions ever do take TARP money, you can sum up the media's spin on it this way: "Credit unions are no different than banks." It may not be fair, but no one ever accused the media of being fair, have they?

[Elliott]

TARP has now become the second dirties word in the industry. The first: Conservatorship. When speaking to non-members, also make sure that you not only explain the credit union difference, but be ready to field some questions about the corporates!