Conference Registration

Opening Remarks

Strategic Growth for Future Success

Paul Robert
CEO
FI Strategies, LLC

As many credit unions look to grow to survive, many credit unions should be looking to grow to thrive. Their members and communities need them to remain healthy and vibrant, so credit unions need to up their game.

In this session, you will learn the thought process and best practices that can position your credit unions to thrive long into the future:

• Determine which strategy is appropriate for your credit union’s vision for the future, not just its position today

• Think about how that strategy dictates the tactics and priorities your leadership team should deploy

• Connect the strategy to your current and future brand and identify how to live that brand to its fullest potential

Exercises in this session will get you thinking about prospective strategies that you can take home and introduce to your credit union.

Premier Sponsor - PARC Street Partners

Networking and Refreshment Break

Enhancing the Member Experience in a Digital World

Celeste Cook
CEO
cuStrategies, LLC

What can credit unions do to enhance the member experience in a digital world to increase membership engagement, growth, and retention?

In an ever-increasing digital environment, credit unions must create opportunities to enhance the member experience to increase member engagement and retention. Explore creative and innovative strategies to become more relationship-focused to enhance the member experience to strengthen relationships and increase member engagement as well as attracting and retaining profitable members.

Session Highlights:

• Explore the power of the human element in a digital world

• Identify key strategies to help you build a culture that is relationship-focused versus transaction-focused to build stronger relationships and increase retention.

• Identify creative strategies to increase member engagement in a digital world.

• Discover what you can do to attract and build relationships with Millennials and Gen Zs who live in the digital world.

• Create value and offer solutions that are real, relevant, and relatable to your members and people in the community.

Daily Wrap Up

Welcome Reception

Join us for cocktails, light dining, and great conversation. Registered guests are welcome to attend.

CU Conferences is grateful for the support of its sponsor, PARC Street Partners, and would like to thank them for co-sponsoring the reception. 

Breakfast

Join us for a hearty breakfast. Registered guests are welcome to attend.

Opening Remarks

Brand Building Essentials

Bill McKenna
President
McKenna Marketing Network

There’s a lot of talk today about brand building. How will your financial institution stand out in the growing and evolving financial services marketplace? A great brand does not just happen; it requires strategy, knowledge, and execution of a proven brand-building process.

The greatest marketing mistake you can make is not building a brand that resonates. Focusing solely on your financial products and services, rates, fees, digital banking, and technology is a battle you will never win. This session will show you how to avoid these mistakes and build a brand that truly resonates.

Attendees will learn:

The Integrated Role of Brand and Culture: Align your brand with your organizational culture for a cohesive identity.

 Four Components of Your Brand: Understand and optimize the essential elements of your brand.

• The Benefits of a Great Brand: Ways a strong brand enhances employee morale and member loyalty.

• Key Roles Visual Branding Plays in Marketing: Use logos, colors, and design elements in your marketing strategy.

• How Your Name Impacts Your Brand: Understand the significance of your institution’s name on brand perception.

• And More!

Networking and Refreshment Break

The Future of Credit Unions: How to Remain Relevant for Growth

Celeste Cook
CEO
cuStrategies, LLC

Explore a holistic leadership approach to become more relevant to your members, businesses, and people in the community to help you maximize loan growth, profitability, and membership growth as well as retention.

In today’s economic landscape, successful credit unions must find ways to become more relevant to consumers and their specific needs and wants as well as to businesses in the community. Creating a culture of creativity, innovation, and engagement is crucial to not only retain existing members but attract new members for long-term sustainability. Explore ways to become more relevant in today’s economic landscape to retain and attract more members!

Session Highlights:

• Explore key leadership strategies for growth and profitability

•  Identify ways to strengthen your brand to create greater relevance

• Determine the right approach to build a culture of creativity, innovation, and engagement

• Learn what you can do to attract and retain top talent

•  Understand how the 7 P’s impact the member experience and growth

• Determine the best approach to attract and retain Millennials and Gen Zs

•  Explore ways to market and communicate what is real, relevant, and relatable to attract new members for growth

It’s Not About “Service” Anymore: Optimize Future Member Experiences

Paul Robert
CEO
FI Strategies, LLC

The role of your delivery channels has changed over the past few years but what will it be in the future? While no one’s crystal ball is fool-proof, credit unions can anticipate the evolving behaviors of current and future members and adjust how they serve their needs.

This session will help you look into the future and set strategies today for optimizing member experiences for how they prefer to interact with your credit union:

• Learn from best practices in transforming retail spaces, including credit union branches, to meet the needs of every unique market

• Strategize for integrating your channels so you can deliver for members when they need it and how they need it

• Define “success” for each delivery channel and the most accurate ways to measure it

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and figure out how to modify (or overhaul) your credit union’s delivery channels so you can consistently deliver the absolute best experiences!

Group Luncheon

Join us for lunch. Registered guests are welcome to attend.

The Battle for Attention

Bill McKenna
President
McKenna Marketing Network

We live in an over-communicated society. People are no longer interested in being sold to, and companies focusing on selling are often tuned out by most people.

Does this mean marketing is dead? Have we lost the ability to attract people to our financial institutions and use our services? Not at all! It simply means we need a new game plan, new communication tools, and a better way of storytelling about who we are and how we can improve people’s lives.

Attendees Will Learn:

• Breaking Through the Noise: Capture attention with creative and innovative marketing.

• Integrated Marketing Strategies: Use omnichannel campaigns for maximum engagement and ROI.

• Social Media Mastery: Leverage social media's reach to build your brand and connect with members

• Content Marketing: Create value-based content to educate members and position your credit union as a trusted advisor.

• Branding vs. Selling: Understand the importance of a strong, consistent brand over traditional selling.

• Data-Driven Marketing: Use data integration and automation to personalize member experiences and enhance marketing effectiveness.

• Futureproofing Your Strategy: Stay ahead with emerging marketing trends and technologies.

Board Focus: Getting More Strategic About Loan Growth

Celeste Cook
CEO
cuStrategies, LLC

What can credit union leaders do to build a solid, sustainable strategic plan to maximize loan growth and profitability in an uncertain economic landscape?

Credit unions across the nation must find ways to become more relevant for growth to sustain in an uncertain economic landscape. Successful credit unions must be quick and nimble in their efforts to be responsive to the needs of consumers to grow the credit union with a focus on increased loan growth, profitability, and new members/new money

Session Highlights:

• Identify key lending strategies for increased loan growth, profitability, engagement, and retention

• Identify key lending and marketing strategies to capture more loans and increase profitability

•  Determine the best approach to increase member engagement

•  Discover ways to create win/win/win solutions to help you capture new members/new money, particularly Millennials and Gen Zs

• Determine what you can do to build stronger relationships for loyalty and retention

Daily Wrap-Up

Breakfast

Join us for a hearty sit-down breakfast. Registered guests are welcome to attend.

Opening Remarks

The Business Development Toolbox

Bill McKenna
President
McKenna Marketing Network

Are you seeking impactful ideas to grow and build SEG, community, and workplace Partner Relationships? Over the years, support from existing SEG partners, customers, and groups can sometimes wane. Reenergizing old relationships and cultivating new opportunities can be challenging.

This session provides insights and strategies on the messaging and tactics needed to capture attention and grow relationships. With the right people, tools, content, and strategies that create value, getting attention and turning it into business is possible.

Attendees Will Learn:

• Packaging Your Brand Story: How to effectively communicate your brand’s unique story.

• Understanding Partner Needs: What partners care about and what's in it for them.

• Capturing Attention: Techniques to grab and maintain attention.

• Simple BD Growth Strategies: Easy-to-implement strategies for business development.

• Effective Sales Tools: Tools that drive results and move the needle.

• Financial Education's Impact: How financial education can benefit partners.

• Navigating Gatekeepers: Strategies to get past gatekeepers and reach decision-makers.

• Digital Tactics and Tools: Effective digital tools and tactics for business development.

• And More!

Networking and Refreshment Break

Build a High-Performing Team: Get the Right People On (and Off!) the Bus

Paul Robert
CEO
FI Strategies, LLC

You’re only as good as your people, right? For most credit unions, their future success depends largely on the future performance of their staff. You can have the best strategy ever created but, without the right employees to execute it, you will never reach your full potential.

Getting and retaining the “right” people has been a significant challenge for most businesses over the past few years, not just credit unions. That challenge has applied to the frontline staff as well as the executive team. This session will provide your credit union with the tools to optimize your culture and position all employees to fully execute your strategies:

• Understand the need for alignment between strategy, execution, and people

• Learn the preferences of today’s employees around work culture and how it will influence your cultural vitality in the future

• Experience the tried-and-true culture model and identify the components that need to be prioritized for your credit union to be optimally successful

The exercise in this session will help you tie together the three components we’ve discussed: strategy, delivery, and people. You’ll walk away with a foundation for success at your credit union.

Optional Roundtable Discussion

Exchange ideas with fellow participants during a lively discussion. This roundtable will allow time for discussion on key topics followed by representatives from each table sharing thoughts and ideas discussed at their particular table.

Conference Wrap-Up