(As Seen on CUInsight) – People want proof before they place their trust in a financial institution. How trust is established and maintained looks different than it used to, though the tenets of it are still the same. Credit unions need to listen to members, be part of their communities, and provide education, but letting non-members know about all of this is the critical component.
Marketing is your credit union’s best tool for establishing and maintaining trust with consumers as a whole—but especially non-members.
Social Proof
Authenticity reigns supreme in this era of reviews. Though a sharp, clear marketing message can move the needle, it will only have staying power if your credit union has proven it can back up the service it promises. Lean into the tools that your community is already using, such as Yelp and Google or Facebook reviews. Ask for feedback at your branch, collect member satisfaction surveys, and be proactive in reaching out to members who have those amazing stories.
It’s easy to assume members won’t ever want to be on camera or give a quote, but you don’t know until you ask—and the power in that member telling their story or giving that quote has no limits. Members talking to non-members is your greatest source of trust-building. At the end of the day, people are going to leave reviews and talk about you, whether you ask them to or not. You might as well jump in!
Community Involvement
Credit unions are renowned for their work in their communities—or are they? Are you sharing stories of all the ways your credit union supports your community? The key to this is not just sharing in the places we’re comfortable with—we need to share where our audience is. Sometimes this means adding in new social media platforms (looking at you, TikTok), or leveraging those community partnerships for a more collaborative social tagging plan.
I know this can feel weird—it feels braggy, and counters the point of helping our community, which is to not get credit, but to do what’s right. However, today’s consumers are inundated with information from around the globe, and they can lose sight of what’s happening at home. Reframe this from “braggy” to “educating about the amazing organizations in the community.” We love to educate too, right?
Financial Education
We all recognize that money is tight for many, costs are going up everywhere, and budgets are being stretched further. There’s also a strain on everyone’s time, with more people taking on side hustles or second jobs. Considering all of these factors, it’s unreasonable to expect a ton of people to show up for a seminar, or even a webinar.
Consumers know financial education is important, but there’s also a lot of inherent shame in overtly asking for help. Our opportunity here is to bring the financial education to our consumers (members and non-members alike). Break a tip into bite-sized chunks and put it in an Instagram highlight, as a TikTok series, and absolutely in your blog. Show that you’re the financial partner who won’t shame them and is there to support what they’re going through. You will have established the trust necessary to help attract that consumer when the time comes.
Consistent Messaging
Your brand matters. It’s how your credit union looks and sounds in all facets of messaging and external communications. If your brand is typically very conservative and formal, and then you go out with a wild TikTok series, you’re going to read as inauthentic and instantly lose the trust you’ve been trying to build—especially with a generation whose trust is already hard to earn. Don’t try to be anything but who your brand is and show up like that in every area. If your brand hasn’t been reviewed in a few years (or decades…) perhaps it’s time to establish a new tone and messaging guide to allow for greater flexibility as consumers change their media habits.
Transparency
When you have the choice to be clear or clever, always choose clear. Be upfront with your information, especially fees and rates. There will always be rate-shoppers. By not including rates, you exclude yourself from the conversation. If you’re not transparent with fees, conditions, or offerings, consumers will naturally assume the worst: it’s human nature.
Trust is at the heart of the credit union movement, but today’s consumers need to be shown and involved in it. By leveraging a member-centric mission with today’s marketing strategies while staying true to your brand, your credit union can strengthen trust and build lasting relationships in an increasingly skeptical world.
About the Author
Melanie Moore is Vice President of Marketing Strategy & Solutions at Synergent, where she leads integrated marketing initiatives that help credit unions grow membership, strengthen engagement, and expand their digital capabilities. With more than a decade of experience spanning financial services, digital operations, and agency leadership, Melanie combines data-driven strategy with practical execution to deliver meaningful results for credit union partners.
