CU*Answers, a 100% credit union-owned CUSO, held their 2015 Annual Leadership Conference and Stockholders Meeting on June 17th at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event brought together credit union leadership from across the country for a briefing on the organization’s overall direction and major projects in the works for the coming year. At a separate session, CU*Answers Stockholders met for the annual board member election and to hear a recap of the CUSO’s financial position and projections for the fiscal year.
This year’s conference theme was “Would You Like Fries With That?” and included several CU*Answers- and client-produced videos that emphasized Internet Retailing strategies and developing automated responses to credit union member activity. Said CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes, “We picked this theme to focus credit unions on their retailing strategies and anticipating automatic responses to members.” Karnes said that credit unions are in a transition time where their online strategies are moving from a self-service focus. “Self-service implies the member already knows what they want. It’s time to move to an online retail focus to generate bottom-line opportunity,” said Karnes. “It takes two to have a conversation, so what is your automated response to member inquiry?”
Karnes challenged the group to start viewing their members as shoppers. “Start by thinking through whether you see your members as shoppers or people you simple serve,” he said. “Consider the difference between how you see yourself in your lobby and how you might need to tweak that for your online store. Getting your team out of their comfort zone is key to designing a new experience.”
The day-long conference was attended by 169 leaders from 96 credit unions, along with 22 vendors and 36 internal staff. And 59 of the CUSO’s 152 owners attended the evening Stockholders Meeting, with many more sending their vote electronically or by proxy.