By Bo McDonald

Your credit union can talk about your smiling tellers and competitive rates. You can talk about the credit union difference, and even brag about the dollar amount you’ve saved your community by refinancing their auto loans. But you’re still missing something. You’re missing the most valuable piece of the marketing puzzle. Your story.

Your story isn’t one of those things, and it’s not something that other financial institutions (credit unions or otherwise) can share. It’s yours. It’s unique. And it’s powerful. Powerful enough to get $2,799% ROI? Quite possibly.

At Your Marketing Co., we constantly share our unique value proposition, which is a good start. But it’s our client's stories we share that win the hearts of credit union leaders that are looking for growth.

The story of Maple Federal Credit union and its incredible growth through a unique promotion.

The story of Columbine Federal Credit Union and its immediate growth after focusing on living out its mission and vision.

It’s Mint Valley Federal Credit Union and its ability to dare to be different that propelled them to growth.

Each story is unique, each has a cast of characters, and each has helped YMC grow.

How can I be so sure it’s our story that has helped us link up with other like-minded credit union leaders that have chosen YMC over other potential marketing partners? Because it’s a proven fact that a story has major ROI.

Stories Turn Trash to Treasure

In 2009, two journalists set out to prove that an incredible story adds incredible value. These two journalists searched yard sales and flea markets for ordinary objects with little value to most people. They acquired 100 pieces of what might best be described as “junk.” These were the types of objects that you could find in anyone’s dusty attic, in your kitchen drawer, or stashed in your musty basement. There was nothing common among these purchased objects except this: They had no obvious value at all. The items included novelty pens and snow globes, plastic toy horses and planes, old tin badges and unused boxes of birthday candles, Pez dispensers and random keys. They weren’t antiques, they weren’t unusual, and they wouldn’t have impressed any collector. Each piece was acquired for an average price of only $1.29.

Within months, these two journalists had sold every object that had been acquired for a total of $3,612.51, a 2,799% return on their investment. They weren’t fraudsters. They weren’t marketing geniuses. They just knew how to craft a story that people would engage with on an emotional level.

·      One story was about a ceramic horse bust, made from a mold and hand painted by somebody and was bought for just 99 cents. It was listed online for sale with a story about how two people met through a very risqué university hazing ritual. It sold for $62.95, an increase in value of 6,258%.

·      A saltshaker in the shape of a ceramic bear was purchased for 99 cents and sold for $36 after the story was added about a dramatic blow-by-blow account of a poker game.

·      The experiment showed the monetary value of sad, tear-jerking stories too. A heartbreaking story about a pink plastic horse saw one of the biggest increases of all: from $1 to $104.50.

The people who purchased these objects on eBay weren’t just buying a thing. They were investing in objects that had been made meaningful and memorable, and most importantly made them feel as though they were a part of something bigger. It wasn’t the description of the item that made it valuable; it was the story behind it.

What’s your brand story? Is it full of features and benefits, or does it share how you’ve made a difference in someone’s life? Is your credit union’s story one others can relate to and want to be a part of?  

Bo McDonald is CEO of Your Marketing Co.