tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1886052053407108372.post1064464501030365531..comments2023-10-15T11:56:36.145-04:00Comments on The Loop: Credit Unions are like MacsAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06274411176815029103noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1886052053407108372.post-88029997541607229242008-02-01T02:33:00.000-05:002008-02-01T02:33:00.000-05:00Andy,Though I hear what you are saying it sometime...Andy,<BR/>Though I hear what you are saying it sometimes becomes the biggest crutch. We have focused so much on competing or thinking about the system that we have forgotten who we are. And by forgetting that we flounder. We need to move beyond that myopic view and see that each CU is a gem just waiting to be polished. The members are the key. They will support you but most CUs don't know to what level. To keep it short focus on what you are, what you can do and what you want to do. Dream a little. Quit listening to the noise and listen to your members. It doesn't happen overnight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1886052053407108372.post-88693272621291437802008-01-25T15:05:00.000-05:002008-01-25T15:05:00.000-05:00Thanks for the comment Tim, Larrisa's vid is aweso...Thanks for the comment Tim, Larrisa's vid is awesome. I look forward to meeting you in person one of these days.<BR/><BR/>Robbie, you're right on. Credit unions aren't cool at all right now, but they could be with the right changes. If only we could stop focusing so much on competitive rates (as important as they are) and focus a bit on image for awhile. With with universal acceptance of things like Larrisa's video we could take the movement incredible places.<BR/><BR/>There are little pockets of innovation in the credit union world. My personal opinion, and feel free to blast it, is that most credit unions are so caught up in competing directly with banks, and even with each other, that we all lost sight of the fact that we are all a single movement with a single purpose. <BR/><BR/>If we're going to innovate we need to do it as a movement and not one institution at a time. Zopa has the potential to be that "killer app", but it needs to be accepted by all credit unions before it will work as a true differentiator and uniting factor in the movement.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06274411176815029103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1886052053407108372.post-6019334673707987542008-01-25T14:16:00.000-05:002008-01-25T14:16:00.000-05:00I can see they analogy, but I'm am definitely not ...I can see they analogy, but I'm am definitely not a mac fanboy.<BR/><BR/>Ben is right. CU's aren't cool, we don't have a killer product, and we can't charge a premium. CU's are the dusty broom closet with a safe in it or a shoebox in a librarian's desk.<BR/><BR/>Credit unions love to talk about innovation and collaboration, but try getting a great idea shared and you'll hit a wall. Larissa's video is a great example. Yeah, we'll tell CU's to use it and maybe 1/3 of the CU's the blogosphere talks to will implement it out. That leaves what, like 100 out of 8000 that will ever use it???<BR/><BR/>We can keep coming up with these great ideas, but they will get nowhere unless they are adopted on a wide scale. It won't matter if it is the killer product or a killer national branding campaign. We need mass adoption!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1886052053407108372.post-21318066492463014112008-01-25T12:32:00.000-05:002008-01-25T12:32:00.000-05:00Thanks for showing Larissa's video!Your Mac PC com...Thanks for showing Larissa's video!<BR/><BR/>Your Mac PC comparison is great. I had the same thoughts about a year ago on our blog. Great minds think alike?<BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/2d2b2lTim McApinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311994716704944101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1886052053407108372.post-73953448594121956192008-01-25T11:58:00.000-05:002008-01-25T11:58:00.000-05:00@Gene Macs interface is great, it lets you focus o...@Gene <BR/><BR/>Macs interface is great, it lets you focus on what your doing instead of how to get the computer to do it. Very beneficial in the creative process.<BR/><BR/>@ben<BR/><BR/>We certainly haven't turned that corner yet. I consider us to be at the old school iMac stage. Getting there, but with a long way to go. Its going to take a lot of changes and streamlining to get us there. It needs to be an effort made as a movement and not individual institutions. If we hyped up Zopa as a credit union service the way Apple hyped the original iPod we might have something, but right now its all underground. Not much of the general public sees whats going on.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06274411176815029103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1886052053407108372.post-43403088886344910102008-01-25T11:05:00.000-05:002008-01-25T11:05:00.000-05:00I WANT to believe that credit unions are like Macs...I WANT to believe that credit unions are like Macs (written from my shiny aluminum laptop). I don't think they've turned the corner, yet, though. Three reasons:<BR/><BR/>1. Apple can get folks to pay a premium for the killer software, supernal design and overall halo of coolness. Most CUs can't command a premium or they'll lose members.<BR/><BR/>2. CUs, while cool, are rarely easier to use than banks. More gratifying? Perhaps. But not easier.<BR/><BR/>3. We haven't got the killer app. Jobs did it with the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone and (maybe) with the new MacBook Air. If indeed shared branching, Zopa and others are the financial services world's killer apps, we're still the only ones who know about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1886052053407108372.post-52472236275131995012008-01-25T10:39:00.000-05:002008-01-25T10:39:00.000-05:00Mt. Lehman CU is a Mac credit union. Ever user has...Mt. Lehman CU is a Mac credit union. Ever user has one and there is an Xserve. We have a few PCs out of necessity (application is only offered in Windows). Your comparisons ring true. And in our CU using these machines does have an effect. The products that have been developed in house might not have happened in in Windows world. You become extremely creative when using the OS interface. Strange.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com