MADISON, Wis. — A physical branch would seem to be the antithesis of social networking applications, yet one new analysis suggests the two can actually go hand in hand.
Jim Jerving, author of a new branch strategies white paper for CUNA's Operations, Sales & Service Council, said that if credit unions want to attract younger members, they must understand how the two disparate delivery systems must not seem so disparate.
"By 2011, 84% of teens will visit a social networking site at least monthly," he said. "That's a pretty significant number. The look and feel of branches should change. You should walk in and not even know it's a credit union-more like a credit union-coffee shop."
Jerving stressed this "coffee shop credit union," will be very inexpensive, and will not have a drive-thru." "It's a way of making credit unions work," he said, "and going back to the roots. We need to go back to that."
