At the time I received the job offer from Credit UnionTimes in 2000 I had also gotten an offer from a credit unionin the marketing department. This popped in my head recently forsome reason. I'd almost forgotten. I pondered how my life andcareer might be different if I had made a different choice. Eitherwould have been great, but I made the right choice for me at thetime. 

Because I was considering different angles for my column, I wasled to consider what credit unions could do to keep thewhat-might-have-beens at bay. Here's my list of what you're missingout on if…

…You're not in mobile banking.

According to a recent study by the American Bankers Association,online banking was the most used banking outlet for customers, with39% preferring it to other methods. Branch usage dropped to merely18% of customers, down from 25% the prior year. ATMs were downslightly to 12%. Mobile banking was dead last at just 6% usage. The differenceis mobile banking is growing, doubling from the prior year.

Even small and low-income credit unions can offer mobile bankingby partnering with their trade associations or business partners.In fact, you'll notice in our page 1 story, a higher proportion ofthe underbanked have mobile and smart phones than do consumers ingeneral. It's an easy way for credit unions to reach out and touchthem–and their $1 trillion in annual income.

…You're not re-examining your lendingguidelines.

We're bursting with excitement to announce our 2013 Trailblazerawards winners in our next issue. Here's a little sneak peek intothe Credit Union Times 2013 Trailblazer for Service to theUnderserved. This credit union, with fewer than $100 million inassets, has customized its loan underwriting standards to meet itslow-income members' needs and abilities while generating assets forthe credit union. If this credit union can do it, so can othersthat are willing.

…You're not keeping up on collections.

Related to lending guidelines, collections are important to anylender and should not be swept by the wayside because that memberis a good guy or gal. They also shouldn't be ignored. Some creditunion professionals believe that collections are a bad word incredit unions because you're the good guys. Collections need to be handled professionally and not in abadgering manner, but the credit union owes it to every othermember of the credit union to pursue collections. 

…You're not outsourcing.

Partner with other companies in areas where your credit unioncan't possibly keep up. Make sure you pick one that meshes withyour culture and you trust, but you can't handle everything inhouse efficiently and effectively.

…You're not planning for the future.

Last week, I wrote about board succession planning, but perhaps more important isexecutive succession planning. Small credit unions and others muststop bemoaning the loss of small credit unions, many due to lack ofsuccession planning, and do something about it. If these creditunions truly don't have the time to think about their future, theyshouldn't expect to stay in business.

…You're not keeping up on compliance.

I've been truly astounded recently to learn of some very largecredit unions that do not have someone overseeing compliance. Withall that's coming out of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the NCUA and otherrelevant regulators, it's difficult to imagine comprehensivecompliance across credit unions' various departments withoutsomeone coordinating it. Perhaps this is something tooutsource.

…You're not involved in social media.

Social media can be a powerful tool for information sharing.It's content marketing with attention deficit disorder. But whenyou catch a member or potential member just right, you can reallyhold their attention and engage with them. Similar to branding,your credit union must be in front of the member all of the time soyou can hit them at the right time. 

For example, someone is on Twitter conversing about buying acar, your marketing department could respond by tweeting back tothem, including a link to a blog post on your website about what toconsider in choosing an auto lender. Of course, on this blog postis an ad unit for your latest rates linking to your loan page witha loan application right there on your site. 

…You're not here tomorrow.