3 minutes
From the editor
... the more they stay the same, the French say. That phrase has been with me this week as I’ve been in CUES’ Madison, Wis., headquarters helping clean out our archives.
CUES’ content has certainly changed a lot since we published the first issue of CU Management in 1978, making this our 40th year. The online and app-only articles we produce today likely would have amazed the founding editors, but some topics are evergreen. For example, our first cover story was on measuring marketing’s return on investment. Another article—“How do you Rate as a Communicator?”—could fit in this issue!
While we’ll probably never again publish an article about why “safe deposit boxes are tops,” the CU execs of yesteryear were concerned about technology trends, including getting the most out of their core operating system. Some things never change. Or do they?
In “Fitting the Core to the Pieces,” Brad Smith discusses the changes occurring in the CU technology arena as a result of the rise of fintech players.
“As CUs spend more of their technology dollars on member-facing systems like Internet banking, mobile services, online account opening, and loan origination and payments systems, core vendors are buying up digital and payments providers as a way to keep that revenue. In fact, many core vendors now make upwards of 30 percent of their revenue from payments, where margins are significantly higher,” writes Smith, a managing director with CUES Supplier member and strategic partner Cornerstone Advisors, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Another topic we have explored frequently within the pages of CU Management is the need to attract younger members. When I first started at CUES in 1999, we focused on capturing the attention of Gen X. We have moved on to millennials (and even to Gen Z), but CUs will always need to be relevant to each new generation.
On the other hand, don’t forget about your older members, especially when it comes to lending. This month’s cover story by consultant Bryn Conway outlines strategies for marketing loans. To grow your portfolio, “you need to lend successfully across the generations. Regardless of their generation—baby boomer, Gen X or millennial—your members are borrowing and buying much more than previous generations, and the key to success is to be relevant to each,” Conway writes. Turn to her excellent article, “Generating Loans by Generation.”
If you are wondering why I left Baltimore to spend a week in Madison in the middle of a very cold and wintery January, I assure you it wasn’t just to clean out the archives! On Jan. 9, we were pleased to welcome new Assistant Editor Danielle Dyer to our team. Danielle has a degree in journalism from New York University and spent several years in the health care technology industry. Her excellent writing skills, combined with her tech background, are a huge asset to CUES. Welcome her at danielle@cues.org and look for her byline soon.
We’re excited to get Danielle’s fresh perspective on our content. What topics do you seek fresh, in-depth information about this year? If there is something you’d like to see us cover, please let me know at theresa@cues.org or 800.252.2664 ext. 307.
Theresa Witham
Managing Editor/Publisher
