ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NARFE Premier FCU has reversed its negative member growth trend by putting "feet on the street."
Instead of increasing the advertising budget to bring in new members, the $132-million credit union called on all of its employees to target SEGs with a great deal of personal attention. Every staff member is encouraged to be part of efforts to promote the credit union.
"Whether someone is in accounting, lending, or marketing, we include them," said Todd Hoepker, chief officer of strategy, about the credit union's staff of 41. "We give everyone the opportunity to go out to our SEGs and talk to members and potential members."
That "hands-on" approach has helped NARFE show positive member growth in 2009 following years of declining membership. Although member growth is slow at 2%, the turnaround started two years ago when the credit union began focusing on building stronger relationships with its existing SEGs and members.
"It's no secret this business, like any others, is about relationships," Hoepker said. "The only way you can truly own those relationships is to be out with your membership, on the streets, getting to know them one on one. You build sound relationships with SEGs and your members, you start generating great word of mouth, and you get introductions to new business opportunities."
That strategy is what led to the recent addition of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA). Jeff Parish, NARFE's director of membership development, attended the annual convention of one of its SEGs and was introduced to the leader of FLEOA, Hoepker explained. "Scott developed a relationship with the organization and three months later they asked us to serve them."
NARFE's field of membership includes employees and retirees of federal agencies, many of which regularly interact with each other, which paves the way for the credit union to add SEGs, Hoepker said. "By the same token, we do good things for our members, build deeper, stronger relationships, and they introduce the credit union to coworkers, friends, and family."
An underlying goal is to become members' primary financial institution, and NARFE is making inroads there. "Share of wallet is increasing-we're over three services per member," Hoepker said. "Our loan-to-share ratio is 81%, and 74% of our members are borrowers. That's telling me we are doing the right things. Our members trust us and want to work with us."
That's due to personalized service, said Hoepker, who added that asking each employee to be a CU ambassador not only helps with growth, but also with employees' ability to support members.
"We think it gives employees a much better understanding of the people we serve and makes them more effective on the job. We put extreme focus on member relations, asking questions, finding where else we can help. It's very easy to check the box and take what members give you. But if you show real interest in what's going on in their lives and understand their situations are, you'll deepen your relationships and positively affect growth."
