Winning Credit Unions Are Diversifying Their Business Development Strategies

In 2025, credit unions are navigating economic uncertainties, rising competition from fintechs, and evolving member expectations—all while striving to grow membership and enhance their community impact. In this webinar, Deliana Gamez, CUCollaborate’s Advisory Director of Business Development, shared key insights on how credit unions can diversify their business development strategies to achieve sustainable growth.

📅 Schedule a meeting with our team to explore tailored business development strategies that fit your credit union’s goals.

Here’s a breakdown of the main discussion points and key takeaways to help your credit union navigate growth opportunities effectively.

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Understanding the Current Growth Landscape

Deliana highlighted the challenges credit unions face today, including increasing growth goals, the need to expand membership, and the importance of adapting to a changing financial environment. While larger credit unions are experiencing solid growth, many smaller institutions are struggling with membership decline.

Key Takeaways:

• Growth goals are consistently rising year over year.
• Membership trends show declines in smaller asset groups, emphasizing the need for strategic growth initiatives.
• Expanding market share and reaching more eligible non-members are critical to success.

‍“Our mission is to help credit unions increase market share and expand opportunities through strategic partnerships and innovative solutions.”

Diversifying Growth Sources

One of the core themes of the webinar was the importance of diversifying growth sources to create new opportunities. Credit unions must look beyond traditional methods and adopt a multi-faceted approach to member acquisition.

Key Strategies for Diversification:

• Expanding Field of Membership (FOM): Moving to a multiple common bond charter can broaden eligibility and attract new members.
• Strategic Partnerships: Collaborating with SEGs, community organizations, and fintech partners to enhance visibility and outreach.
• Reactivating Inactive Relationships: Revisiting old partnerships and finding new ways to engage with them.
• Leveraging Digital Channels: Using digital marketing, referral programs, and direct outreach to engage potential members.

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Deliana emphasized the importance of credit unions embracing a proactive business development approach rather than relying solely on organic member growth.

Building Strong Business Development Strategies

Deliana stressed that business development is the foundation of credit union growth, and a well-structured strategy can make a significant impact. Investing in business development allows credit unions to increase their eligible non-member pool and foster deeper community connections.

Actionable Steps for Credit Unions:

1. Understand Your Growth Sources:
   Assess where new members are coming from and allocate resources accordingly.
2. Set Realistic Goals:
   Use historical data to set attainable yet ambitious business development targets.
3. Invest in Sales Enablement:
   Equip your team with the right tools and training to effectively engage with partners and prospects.

“Your BD team is the tip of the spear. They need the right skills and structure to build meaningful relationships and drive growth."

Measuring Success and Optimizing Efforts

Tracking and measuring business development efforts is crucial to refining strategies and demonstrating value to leadership. Deliana shared several ways credit unions can track ROI and improve their BD initiatives.

Best Practices for Tracking Growth Success:

• Utilize promo codes and trackable links to measure the effectiveness of marketing initiatives.
• Leverage CRM tools, such as Salesforce or HubSpot, to track campaign performance and engagement.
• Implement regular reporting to showcase growth progress and identify areas for improvement.

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Pro Tip:

Having clear, data-driven goals and aligning your BD efforts with organizational objectives ensures long-term success.

Supporting Growth Through Workforce Development

A strong business development strategy isn’t just about outreach; it’s also about having the right team structure and human capital to execute initiatives effectively.

Deliana recommended that credit unions:

• Invest in ongoing training to sharpen BD skills and sales strategies.
• Ensure clear KPI tracking for business development teams to measure their progress.
• Create partnership packages that add value to SEGs and community partners.

“Business development isn’t just about adding new members; it’s about creating a sustainable, long-term strategy that aligns with your credit union’s mission.”

Key Q&A Takeaways

The webinar concluded with a dynamic Q&A session, where attendees asked about tracking methods, optimizing SEG partnerships, and managing BD efforts with limited resources.

Key Questions Answered:

• What tracking methods work best?
  Deliana recommended using app source links and promo codes to measure campaign effectiveness.
• How can small credit unions maximize BD efforts?
  Focus on high-engagement partners and community organizations that provide the most potential.
• How do you position the credit union as a valuable community partner?
  By developing customized partnership packages and emphasizing the long-term benefits of collaboration.

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Take Action: Drive Your Credit Union’s Growth Today

The insights shared during this webinar underscore the importance of having a diversified and proactive business development strategy. Credit unions that invest in BD efforts will not only grow their membership base but also strengthen their long-term sustainability.

Ready to take your credit union’s growth to the next level?

📅 Schedule a meeting with our team to explore tailored business development strategies that fit your credit union’s goals.