For more information:
Maripat Blankenheim 608/232-6539 maripat.blankenheim@cunamutual.com
Rick Uhlmann 608/231-8940 rick.uhlmann@cunamutual.com
 
Sept. 12, 2007
 
Experts Offer Advice to Credit Unions on Growth Strategies
Ways to Attract Young Adults, Indirect Borrowers and Retirees Shared
 
MADISON, Wis. – Credit union memberships are suffering at both ends of the age spectrum. With an average age of 47 for members nationwide, credit unions aren’t attracting younger members or retaining older members. And according to industry experts, while indirect borrowers provide an additional membership segment, they’re often short-term members who don’t stay with the credit union beyond the term of their loan.
 
Heather Thiltgen, program manager for MemberCONNECT at CUNA Mutual Group, told an audience at the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association Leadership Conference that credit unions must have well-thought-out and well-executed strategies for growing and retaining important segments of their membership base to stem the current membership tide.
 
Thiltgen, along with Brian Riffle of USSCO Federal Credit Union in Johnstown, Penn., and Jeff Hunt, an Atlanta-based certified financial planner, provided advice on how to shore up membership numbers by:

• Using technology, products and services to attract younger members
• Deepening relationships with indirect borrowers through personal contact and cross-selling to make them fully engaged members
• Capturing or retaining the baby boomers, the largest population segment to enter retirement

According to Riffle, USSCO Federal Credit Union used specific plans of attack to build relationships with teens and young adults. “USSCO has lowered the average age of its membership base from 45 to 38 by implementing youth and junior services as well as special programs for children,” Riffle told the crowd. “We’ve also invested in technology to provide the speed and convenience demanded by younger members.”
 
With indirect lending accounting for 80 percent of net auto loan growth for credit unions last year and indirect borrowers more likely to be in their peak borrowing years, Thiltgen told the audience to embrace the opportunity this membership segment provides as did Baxter Credit Union of Vernon Hills, Ill.
 
“BCU has been successful at cross-selling additional products to indirect borrowers by dedicating resources to call new members who come through the indirect channel and offering attractive promotions on auto loans and credit card to attract the new members’ attention,” said Thiltgen. “They also set specific expectations for the program and carefully tracked its results.”
 
She added that 27 percent of the indirect borrowers BCU contracts purchase at least one additional product with the average buyout dollars per outbound calling attempt at $1,761.
 
In conjunction with programs for teens and young adults and for indirect borrowers, Thiltgen urged the group to pay close attention to the aging baby boomers as both current and potential members. The generation that grew up setting trends continues to be a marketplace force that demands attention. According to Atlanta-based certified financial planner Jeff Hunt, an unprecedented 750 anti-aging drugs are currently in development for the 78.2 million boomers between the ages of 44 and 62.
 
Hunt challenged the audience to create a trust-based relationship with this segment of the population that leverages the credit union branch as their place to make critical decisions. Additionally, he provided food for thought by asking the group if they have a “boomer as senior” strategy, if boomers can easily get all their solutions through their credit union, if they currently go to the credit union for advice and if boomers identify with their credit union’s values.   
 
CUNA Mutual Group is the leading provider of financial products and services to credit unions and their members worldwide. More information on the company is available at www.cunamutual.com.