Case Study: Targeted Programs Focus on Members’ Lifestyle Needs, Not Cultural Differences

Posted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on May 7, 2013

What follows is a case study excerpt from the Hispanic Opportunity Report developed as part of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues’ newly formed partnership with Coopera.

In 2004, Great Basin Federal Credit Union of Reno, Nev., recognized how fast the Hispanic population was growing in Washoe County. Indeed, it was projected to reach over 30 percent of the county’s population in the coming decades. The credit union’s leadership knew it was the right time to showcase its differences from other financial institutions (FIs) in the area. Offering better programs and services to meet the financial needs of Hispanic consumers was one way they set out to do just that.

“Great Basin strives to enrich the lives of its members, regardless of heritage or nationality, through education and financial excellence,” said Elisabeth Hadler, Great Basin FCU marketing manager. “As a financial cooperative that focuses on service, not profits, we work to build personal relationships with our members to best understand what they need from their financial institution.”

Driven by its people-first philosophy, Great Basin FCU set out to implement Hispanic outreach efforts focusing on lifestyle needs rather than cultural differences.

Before they could focus on outreach, Hadler said, Great Basin FCU worked to implement an internal infrastructure to accommodate their upcoming efforts. They hired more bilingual staff and gave pay raises to those staffers who learned Spanish. At one point, up to 50 percent of the staff boasted bilingual capabilities. Great Basin FCU also partnered with specialists to offer a series of diversity and language training programs for employees’ ongoing education.

The cooperative also programmed its phone system to offer its menu and directory assistance in both English and Spanish, as well as set up a special voicemail inbox for Spanish-speaking members who were invited to leave messages with their specific questions or needs. Great Basin FCU also put processes in place to ensure Hispanic members who visited any of their branch locations were able to conduct all meetings and transactions with a Spanish-speaking employee.

“Our membership responded really well to the processes we implemented to bolster our Hispanic outreach efforts,” said Hadler. “Through these steps, we were able to build loyalty with our current membership and gain an awareness and trust with prospective members.”

Once the internal infrastructure was in place, Great Basin FCU turned its attention outward, said Hadler. To build relationships in the communities they serve, the cooperative also joined the local Hispanic chambers of commerce and encouraged employees to attend local Hispanic community events.

The cooperative also initiated member workshops in Spanish to connect financial literacy with Hispanics’ particular banking needs, as well as to educate members about their home buying and credit-building programs. These workshops were designed to help members better understand the importance of building credit, how to maintain good credit and how to decipher a credit report, among other credit-related topics.

Great Basin FCU also had implemented an indirect lending program for consumers to receive pre-approval and financing options on-site at local car dealerships. The program removed an extra step in the car-buying process, eliminating the need for the car-buying member to visit a Great Basin FCU branch location to complete the vehicle purchase.

One popular program for Great Basin FCU members has been the Directo a Mexico program, noted Hadler. Directo a Mexico is a wire-service program designed to offer members a more affordable way to send money outside the U.S. Transfer processing fees are waived for core credit union members who transfer money from Great Basin FCU to another FI outside the United States that participates in the program. For customers who are not core members, transfer process fees can be as low as $10, compared to more costly fees of $35 for transferring money to FIs not part of the Directo a Mexico program.

When the 2008 recession hit, it was a struggle for Great Basin FCU to maintain its outreach efforts, according to Hadler. “The economic downturn really limited the time and resources we were able to devote to our Hispanic outreach efforts,” said Hadler. “Because of the costs involved, we scaled back on our bilingual marketing materials, and we found it harder to retain bilingual staff. And with changes in compliance, we found it even more challenging to track and measure the success of our programs.”

That said, Hadler noted the cooperative worked hard to keep programs like Directo a Mexico in place. As well, the credit union has continued its internal processes to offer members in person and over-the-phone service in both English and Spanish.

“Over the years, Great Basin FCU has grown its Hispanic base to be more than 25 percent of the 150,000 members we serve,” concluded Hadler. “We’re proud that even in the face of economic uncertainties, we made the right decision, continuing to offer the financial programs and services the Hispanic market needs most.”