Thanks to Seth Godin for this interview. Matt and I will be live-blogging CUNA Future Forum, so who better to kickstart the conversation than the man who defines marketing?!

Trey Reeme: Seth, Permission Marketing and Purple Cow are bathroom books in our office – unofficially it’s the highest honor we can bestow upon a written work.

Now that I’ve flattered you, I’m going to throw you a softball to make me look like a nice interviewer. Off the top of your shaved head can you name anything remarkable about credit unions?

Seth Godin: Credit unions are like Cheers… the inherent promise is that people know your name. On top of that, credit unions can offer things that are harder for banks to… and last, credit unions have the perception that they keep out the riffraff, and thus can offer a better deal.

me: To borrow from your vocabulary, credit unions are brown cows among financial service providers.

First, let me bore you with some stats. There are 9,000 different US credit unions, but that number is shrinking almost daily and could be down to 5,000 in 2025. The average CU member age is 47 years old … and graying. Banks (the sworn enemy of credit unions) are touting a recent survey claiming that over 40% of their customers have low to moderate incomes compared to 30% in credit unions. That matters because credit unions enjoy tax-exempt status partly because of their mission to serve the underbanked.

Since this interview is a teaser for your upcoming keynote address at CUNA Future Forum, I’ll throw in some CU trivia. CUNA’s “Little Man” (their cartoon spokesperson from the 1920s to the 1960s) represented the “common people of the credit union movement.” Banks, on the other hand, were seen as stoic, greedy, and inaccessible to the average Joe. Banks are successfully changing that perception.

Citi lets customers press “0” to talk to a real person. Bank of America promotes a “Keep the Change” program to encourage casual savings on debit card purchases. Wells Fargo blogs about earthquake preparedness. And WaMu is even making fun of old, stodgy bankers in a witty new ad campaign. Banks are acting, well, human. Am I just being an alarmist, or do these things point to an impending crisis for credit unions?

Seth: Oh, there’s no doubt that there’s a crisis. I think it’s not for the reasons you list as much as it is apathy on the part of the consumer about banking and the entire experience. It’s become an aggressive commodity.

me: In Purple Cow, you bring up the story of Wal-Mart, who, in wanting to catch up with Amazon.com, displayed the famous banner in their offices: “You can’t out-Amazon Amazon.” I’d argue credit unions are trying to out-bank banks, and that’s creating a lot of confusion among consumers about what a credit union really is.

Why should credit unions come up with Purple Cow products even if those offerings don’t appeal to the early and late majority of consumers?

Seth: Credit unions have a sliver of permission. A tiny ability to talk to people who want to be talked to. So, you must talk to them about something interesting, almost exciting. You must reach the people who are trying to listen and ignore those that are ignoring you.

me: Ok, now that I’ve ranted about the credit union industry, I’m going to turn right around and tell you that I really do love credit unions. I haven’t come across a single credit union that didn’t deeply care about the well-being of their members. That being said, they’re not communicating/marketing effectively enough. So, considering the story of social responsibility (“People helping people”) behind the credit union movement, how important is it for credit unions – both individually and collectively as an industry – to tell that story?

Seth: This is the only story you’ve got! You can’t play the interest rate story. You must invest in the infrastructure to tell an authentic story about caring and membership and transparency.

me: If you were running a credit union, where would you be putting your marketing dollars?

Seth: Oh, superbowl rap commericals, for sure. Actually, I’d spend it on people who care. I’d make every single interaction with a consumer into a marketing exercise.

me: Final question: Did you ever find out what was up with the piece of Capital One junk mail that arrived in someone’s mailbox with Attn: Seth Godin on it?

Seth: My readers think that because my name is out there, someone built a fake list and sold it. But no, I have no idea.