When Jan. 1 comes around, the willpower, commitment anddetermination of the American consumer always ratchets up a fewnotches. This goes well beyond that resolution to get in shape ortackle a new project.

Financial health is front and center as people begin to thinkabout commitments to save more money for retirement, pay off debts,start an educational fund for their kids, or begin an investmentportfolio.

All credit unions have the opportunity to use this time of yearto educate members about their complete range of investment andretirement services. Done well, it can jump start the developmentof a fuller member relationship over the months to come.

According to the white paper, “The Opportunity for Credit Unionsin Investment and Life Insurance Services” conducted byKehrer-Saltzman and Associates in 2013, only one in four creditunion households have purchased investments or life insurance at acredit union. Households with a credit union member keep only 20%of their financial assets at a credit union.

This presents an enormous opportunity for credit unions to focuson capturing the investment and retirement business of theirmembers. To date, most of our peers in the industry have barelytapped this potential. How do we have those conversations, makethose connections and become a trusted partner for our members inthe realm of investment services? Let me share some first-handexperiences.

Late last year, The Summit Federal Credit Union rebranded itsMEMBERS Financial Services Program to The Summit Retirement &Investment Services. The concept, which was quite simple in theory,but required resources to execute, helped the credit union connectwith a broader audience and eliminate ambiguity.

Even before the rebranding, the retirement and investmentservices representatives at The Summit had always been accessible,approachable and invested in helping members achieve theirdefinition of financial success. But being successful requires morethan just the right intent. It requires the right exposure andmarketing.

Like real estate, location matters. Representatives arestrategically placed in high traffic branches. But instead ofrelying on inbound traffic, they also go where prospects arespending their time such as offering a wide range of educationalsessions at member companies, libraries, and community centers.

Conducting popular sessions on such topic as investment basics,retirement basics, women and investing, Roth IRA conversion andSocial Security are sure-fire draws. Employing other credit unioncommunication vehicles such as social media, newsletters, andbranch signage to educate members on investment and retirementservices creates opportunity to cross-sell other products andservices.

Don't overlook investing in your own people to up the ante evenfurther. The Summit is proud of its robust employee training andrecognition programs. Using a member loyalty model, our employeesattend training sessions on products and participate in role playscenarios to make referrals. The result has been an almost 30%increase in investment service appointments over the past year.

By focusing on educational training, employee recognition andstrategic marketing, a credit union can position themselves as aprimary financial service provider for investment and retirementproducts. Establishing this investment relationship has proven toincrease member loyalty, which is something every credit unionstrives for.

Laurie Baker is SVP and COO of The Summit Federal CreditUnion. She can be reached at 800-836-7328 or [email protected].