CASE STUDIES

A Marketing StrategyOur Clients are a medium sized credit union in the north of England with a good volunteer base and a dozen collection points across their common bond. The staff believe they can achieve faster growth but recognise they need fresh ideas and a more strategic approach.The Board are anxious that they grow within their capacity and don’t overstretch the volunteer officers. How can they find a sustained growth plan with limited resources?We provide them with two consultants from the commercial sector with expertise in direct marketing and public relations. Our Team, with their credit union staff share and learn from each other’s fields of knowledge and draw up an innovative approach that the Board feel puts them firmly in control.New Instant LoansA large community based credit union in the north west of England feel they could be competing more against door-step lenders. However they are unsure how they can offer instant loans without risking a significant increase in bad debt. We examine their loan portfolio, the allocation of staff time, their membership base and growth strategy. We help them to set up a pilot project and draw up a new business plan. They are able to attract inward investment to service instant lending in a way that minimises risk.
A county-wide social inclusion strategyA local authority asks us to undertake a mapping exercise to identify opportunities for developing a county-wide coverage of credit union services. We recommend that there is considerable potential to include money advice and micro business support as part of a more comprehensive community banking partnership approach towards social inclusion. We draw together a Team to include local credit unions, a consortium of housing associations, a university and the local authority to build a 5-year action plan. A coordinator is employed to drive the new £3million pound proposal.