Seth mis(?)speaks
Posted by Trey Reeme on June 13th, 2006
Seth came out and within the first two minutes of his address he committed the cardinal sin of credit union conferences. He addressed the crowd of “bankers” and referred to “your banks” three times. The first time he did it, I saw the shoulders of every person in front of me cringe (incidentally, the CUNA Board). By the third time, I was sweating for him.
Someone stood up from the back of the auditorium and yelled, “We’re credit unions.”
Seth responded, “I’m a consumer. It doesn’t matter what you think. I think you’re a bank.”
Now that’s how you make a point.
LOL!
That cuts both ways though: The consumers “know” the banking terms (interest vs. dividends, checks vs. share drafts, online banking vs. online credit unioning?!?) – so it is helpful to use the terms consumers know to help them make apples to apples comparisons of products & services.
However, it is important that we try to remind them of the Bank vs. CU distinctions …
I like how Elevations CU (formerly U of C FCU) is telling their “better than banks” story: http://www.uofcfcu.com/better_than_banks/
V, good point about “banking” terms. Seth basically said placing money in a financial institution was to “bank”, and he did offer an apology if he offended anyone with the misnomer.
To me it was illustrative of the identity crisis that credit unions face, and I didn’t get offended like a clear majority of the crowd did.
I love the Elevations brand, by the way. That page makes my head spin a little with the rollover, but the content is bueno.
I think by his quick comment he proved that he’s sharp, but nonetheless he failed to capture the heart and soul of the audience!
I think that he must have lost most of the audience with that remark, since we go out of our way to diffirentiate ouselves from the ‘Banks’
Ali
You’re right, Ali. I could tell a lot of the attendees got hung up on the remark, and that’s a shame.
Seth is a dynamic speaker, and he got much of the audience back on his side quickly.
To me, it didn’t sting. I was nervous for him, but it indicated that he wasn’t that different from a lot of generations x and y: not clearly knowing the difference between a credit union and a bank.
Many credit unions (yours and V’s included) are doing a great job at changing those perceptions though.
Thanks for the comments!