NAFCU Journal September October 2021

12 THE NAFCU JOURNAL September–October 2021 T here are dozens, possibly hun- dreds, of what are called touch- points in the business relationship with your members. Touchpoints are all the different ways you interact with your members, from your website to handling their mortgage. Here are a few examples: ■ Was there enough parking at the branch? ■ How long did I have to wait in the drive-through? ■ Was it easy to use the online bank- ing app? ■ Does the branch have hours that are convenient for me? And many, many more. But out of all these touchpoints, there is a handful of what are called “Moments of Truth.” A Moment of Truth (MOT) is a critical interaction that your member expects you to deliver flawlessly. Let me give you an example from another industry: restaurants. On an evening out with friends for dinner, there are more than 100 touchpoints, such as: ■ Was the restaurant easy to find? ■ Was there enough parking? ■ Was the parking lot well lit? ■ Was the music too loud? ■ Was the restaurant too hot or too cold? ■ Was my seat comfortable? I think you get the idea. But out of all the possible touchpoints, there are only four MOTs for most restaurants. 1. Great service 2. Reasonable prices 3. Delicious food 4. Cleanliness Imagine we get to the restaurant, and we are greeted warmly and escorted to our table. The server comes over and is incredibly friendly. Looking over the menu, you comment on how fair the prices are. When your dinner comes out, it is delicious. Then you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, and when you get in there, it is filthy. And then your first thought is, “if the bathroom looks like this, I wonder what the kitchen looks like?” They have hit all the touchpoints and nailed three out of the four Moments of Truth, but they missed just one, and the result is you deciding you will never go back to that restaurant again. The same thing happens in your credit union. You can do almost everything right but miss one MOT that your members expect, and you will likely lose their busi- ness. Not only that, but they will tell their friends and neighbors not to put their money in your credit union. So, the big question is, what are the MOTs for your credit union? What are the three, four or five things you must do flawlessly every single time for every single member? Once you determine what your MOTs are (and by the way, the only person who knows what they are is your member), it is essential that you create processes, procedures, checks lists, and lots of train- ing around how to deliver your MOTs with excellence consistently. I have a quote that underscores this idea: “If you want repeatable success, you must have a process.” It is also essential to understand that you have internal MOTs as well. Things you must do inside of your credit union for each other that will allow you to deliver the MOTs for your members. Based on my work with numerous credit unions, I think there are a few key MOTs for most members: 1. Accuracy 2. Timeliness 3. Convenience 4. Excellent customer service 5. Range of products and services offered LEADERSHIP DOWNLOAD MOMENTS OF TRUTH By John Spence