The Life and Times of a Credit Union Employee

Innovation and CU Products

After reading the article about Herman Miller in the most recent issue of Fast Company, I came away with a quote:

“…suggests that companies aim their innovation efforts at the jobs customers need to get done, rather than incrementally improving products they already produce.” — Christensen

I believe this is one huge area of opportunity for CU’s in product design innovation. Ideo and Intuit (makers of Quicken and Quickbooks) observe their customers using their products. I think too many FI’s simply re-design existing programs they have to better fit what their market is offering. Note the current rush of people talking about and trying to implement “Keep the Change” or “Change is Good” programs, discussions of the “One” account and other innovative ideas. While these ideas, at their building blocks, are fairly basic redesigns of existing products, innovative thinkers looked at how people used their accounts, or wanted their accounts to work, and designed stellar products to meet those needs.

CU’s need to follow the same path. Listen to your members and design for what they want and how they use your products.