Whirlwind Awareness Tour at CUNA’s GACPosted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on March 21, 2017 We’re fresh off another exhilarating CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference. It was a terrific conference with what I believe was record attendance! While in the nation’s capital for the event, we were lucky enough to chat with several credit union leaders about the value and importance of serving the Hispanic financial consumer. As part of our whirlwind awareness tour, I got the chance to talk with CU Broadcast host Mike Lawson. We discussed quite a few things, including growth of the Hispanic population in places people may not expect. Credit unions in the Midwest, for example, are finding an explosion of the multi-faceted Hispanic communities in their areas to be a clear call to action. Take a listen to the conversation at CUBroadcast.com and download our white paper, “Hispanic Growth Strategies Not Just for ‘Gateway States’ Anymore.” Then, get in touch. I’d love to hear your impressions, as well as where your credit union is on its own path to better serving this influential and growing group of community members. Leave a comment Make Strategic Planning For Hispanic Growth SimplePosted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on June 5, 2012 While it’s true the Hispanic market is the largest, fastest-growing group in the United States, that’s not the only reason the country’s credit unions are working hard to learn more about this community. To gain that understanding of the Hispanic community, credit unions must begin by fully examining their current outreach and potential for growth. One way credit unions are pursuing this strategy is through the use of Coopera’s Hispanic Opportunity Navigator (HON). By asking the right questions the HON will uncover a credit union’s readiness to reach a new market or to take the efforts to the next level. The HON also sets forth a plan of action for credit union staff to follow on its path to growth through the Hispanic market. With this plan, credit unions will be encouraged to implement new tactics to grow its Hispanic membership, such as: When implemented in the proper sequence, these tactics will ultimately achieve results much faster and much more cost-effectively for a credit union than if they had gone without a charted course. The HON is quickly becoming a standard in the industry. In fact, Texas credit unions hoping to attain the Juntos Avanzamos designation* are strongly encouraged to perform a HON analysis. *The Juntos Avanzamos designation, which translates to “Together We Advance,” is an indicator to consumers that the designated financial institution is not only welcoming, but prepared to handle the financial needs of the Hispanic community For more information about how the HON can help your credit union’s Hispanic outreach programs, download the white paper “Asking the Right Questions.” Leave a commentHispanic Outreach Is an Indispensable Investment In The FuturePosted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on May 29, 2012 The Hispanic population is very young as compared to other U.S. ethnic groups. The best potential for lowering the average age of a credit union’s membership is by bringing Hispanic members into the fold. Because it is a largely underserved group, helping Hispanic members navigate the U.S. financial system is an important part of the overall credit union mission. Hispanic outreach is an indispensable investment in a credit union’s future. But, seeing the benefit of serving the Hispanic population is one thing. Truly understanding what it takes to do so is quite another. To gain that understanding, credit unions must begin by fully examining their current outreach and potential for growth. This places the credit union in a much better position for defining success and for developing a strategic plan for achieving that success. By asking these questions, credit unions can develop a customized strategy for achieving their goals: • Is the credit union well-positioned to target and serve the Hispanic market? • How many Hispanic members is the credit union currently serving? • What milestones has the credit union already achieved? • How many Hispanic members could the credit union serve and what is the income potential? • What are the opportunities and challenges faced by the credit union? • What are the best-practice strategies that will attract and retain Hispanic members? To learn more about how asking the right questions can help grow your credit union’s Hispanic membership, download Coopera’s white paper “Asking the Right Questions.” Leave a commentHow to Reach – And Best Serve – The Hispanic MarketPosted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on May 22, 2012 Hispanic outreach is an indispensable investment in the future. Yet having a Hispanic growth strategy on its own will not generate the kind of success a credit union needs. It is the integration of a Hispanic growth strategy with the credit union’s overall strategic future that will ultimately create sustainable success. One way for credit unions to pursue their membership growth strategy with their local Hispanic community is through the use of Coopera’s Hispanic Opportunity Navigator (HON), an industry-accepted assessment that Coopera has completed for more than 50 credit unions across the country. Designed to make strategic planning for a Hispanic growth strategy simple, the HON provides a measurement of a credit union’s Hispanic membership baseline. In addition, the program evaluates a credit union’s cultural disposition to serving a new market. As a third assessment, the HON analyzes the credit union’s tactical progress to understand what has already been accomplished toward becoming what Coopera calls a “Best Practice Credit Union.” The HON supplies a road map to follow utilizing three Hispanic growth stages: Discovery, Emerging and Best Practice. By asking the right questions during these phases, the HON gives credit unions a customized strategy for achieving their goals. One Coopera customer, Arna Reynolds, CEO of Amarillo Community Federal Credit Union, says, “The HON has been an invaluable tool for our Hispanic programs. It has given us the ability to adapt our strategic plan to include target marketing with customized messages to the appropriate age groups. Now with a defined roadmap, we understand exactly which direction to take next.” For more information about how the HON can help your credit union’s Hispanic outreach programs, download the white paper “Asking the Right Questions.” Leave a commentAsking the Right QuestionsPosted by Miriam De Dios Woodward on May 15, 2012 Smart credit union executives realize that the face of the American consumer is changing, and that to grow membership, they must adapt to their new consumers. One way for credit unions to pursue their membership growth strategy with their local Hispanic community is by asking the right questions to develop a customized strategy for achieving their membership growth goals: Is the credit union well-positioned to target and serve the Hispanic market? How many Hispanic members is the credit union currently serving? What milestones has the credit union already achieved? How many Hispanic members could the credit union serve and what is the income potential? What are the opportunities and challenges faced by the credit union? What are the best-practice strategies that will attract and retain Hispanic members? The white paper “Asking the Right Questions” can be downloaded at: http://tinyurl.com/7ovghlu. Leave a comment |
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