#531: Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Brand Stories | How SECU Built Trust With its Members Before Launching its Loyalty Program

1 - > SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to our Leaders in Customer Loyalty 2 - > Podcast. 3 - > It's a Thursday, so that means another edition of our brand 4 - > story. 5 - > Today's conversation is going to explore how customer loyalty and 6 - > financial service is evolving as members expect more personalized 7 - > products and seamless digital experiences. 8 - > Founded in 1937, the North Carolina State Employees Credit 9 - > Union, NC SECU, has grown into the largest credit union within 10 - > North Carolina and one of the largest in the country while 11 - > maintaining a strong member focus.

12 - > Driven by Voice of the Customer Insights, SECU has evolved its 13 - > offerings to better meet the changing member needs, expanding 14 - > from one credit card offering to four specialized credit card 15 - > options, and soon to launch an enhanced digital banking 16 - > experience to drive deeper customer loyalty. 17 - > Today we're going to hear more about SECU, how they approach 18 - > customer loyalty, innovation, and member engagement in an 19 - > increasingly competitive digital environment.

20 - > And we're also going to learn more about actually what a 21 - > credit union is. 22 - > Brad Motz, the Senior Vice President of Card Product and 23 - > Portfolio Strategy at NC SECU, is joining us today. 24 - > Brad, how are you? 25 - > SPEAKER_00: Doing great.

26 - > Nice and sunny down here in North Carolina or up here. 27 - > SPEAKER_01: That's good. 28 - > That's good. 29 - > Yeah.

30 - > From Ohio, that'd be down there. 31 - > So that's good. 32 - > First off, for those who may not be familiar, can you give us a 33 - > short introduction to NCSECU and kind of what you guys do, how 34 - > you do it? 35 - > SPEAKER_00: Yep, yep.

36 - > Yeah. 37 - > So State Employees Credit Union out of North Carolina was 38 - > actually founded in back back in 1937. 39 - > So over 89 years out there. 40 - > We started with 17 members,$437 in deposits.

41 - > Today we have over 275 branches in North Carolina, over 1,100 42 - > ATMs, 2.9 million members on the way to 3 million members, with 43 - > over 59 billion in assets. 44 - > So quite a bit of growth over the last 89 years. 45 - > Largest credit union in North Carolina, the second in the 46 - > nation.

47 - > And you know, really our base, our membership is here in North 48 - > Carolina. 49 - > And, you know, really, you know, I think a lot of our success has 50 - > come from, you know, members know and trust, SECU. 51 - > That's number one thing that we hear from our members. 52 - > So we're continuing to evolve, listen to our members making 53 - > sure that their priority is our priority.

54 - > SPEAKER_01: Credit unions. 55 - > Everyone's heard of them, right? 56 - > Uh some people are involved with them. 57 - > Uh I have uh an account with a credit union, actually, too.

58 - > Um what is a credit union for those who may not know? 59 - > How are you different than banks? 60 - > Uh how do you kind of maybe how are you similar to banks? 61 - > I think that'd be good for people to know.

62 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah. 63 - > I mean, so we are a member-owned uh not-for-profit organization, 64 - > right? 65 - > So uh cooperative formed. 66 - > Um, so we don't have the you know the stockholders, we 67 - > actually have members that own the credit union.

68 - > So everything we do, uh we do with our members uh you know in 69 - > mind. 70 - > We have to be good stewards of their money, of course, that 71 - > they're investing in into the organization. 72 - > And so our products are coming out with our members in mind, 73 - > uh, the lower rates, uh, you know, the better pricing on 74 - > products because it's their products, it's it's member 75 - > owned. 76 - > SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.

77 - > Yeah. 78 - > So what do you do at NC SECU? 79 - > I always get they're wrong, I always try to climb it. 80 - > You're trying to say that like five times fast.

81 - > That's that's a lot. 82 - > So what's your role? 83 - > What do you what do you do on a daily basis? 84 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.

85 - > So so uh at we can just say SECU. 86 - > At SECU, uh my my role over the past four years has has really 87 - > been to come in and develop a uh credit card strategy, uh product 88 - > strategy. 89 - > So our focus is around our our non-rewards and now our rewards 90 - > cards that we launched last year. 91 - > Um, you know, so uh a lot of what we're doing is is the 92 - > marketing, it's it's uh the development of any kind of you 93 - > know promotions, uh, it's it's the management of the plastics 94 - > and you know all all the operations that come with it, 95 - > the fraud and um and such, right?

96 - > So uh yeah, our team uh oversees all that and we we ultimately 97 - > focus on the product for the credit cards. 98 - > SPEAKER_01: Okay. 99 - > Yeah. 100 - > Uh when you look at your role, uh you have a pretty big remit 101 - > there.

102 - > You know, what is the biggest challenge and or opportunity you 103 - > face in your role? 104 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 105 - > I you know, I I think one of the biggest uh challenges that we 106 - > face in the role was uh especially with the reward 107 - > cards, right? 108 - > We were brought in from other institutions, but we were 109 - > brought in to launch reward cards.

110 - > So when we did that, uh we moved from one product to now four. 111 - > Uh we have a legacy credit card that's out there now, um, our 112 - > VISA credit card. 113 - > But in doing that, we had to take the organization from one 114 - > product to four. 115 - > We had to introduce rewards across every single platform, 116 - > every single touch point that was out there, and we had to, 117 - > you know, educate folks on rewards.

118 - > Uh surprising enough, a lot of our members and our employees 119 - > never had reward cards, uh or they had the Costco's and other 120 - > cards that were out there, but um it was the communication 121 - > around it, it was making sure that they know how to use the 122 - > product and also that they can you know talk it up with our 123 - > membership, right? 124 - > Make sure they're educated on it as well. 125 - > So it was really just taking that product and multiplying it 126 - > uh and just touching every single facet of SECO.

127 - > Um, certainly probably one of the biggest challenges I've had 128 - > um in any role I've ever had. 129 - > SPEAKER_01: Well, that's all and that's interesting. 130 - > You mentioned the the training piece, very important, right? 131 - > I know you guys have done uh very well uh kind of from an 132 - > employee engagement perspective.

133 - > How does training differ? 134 - > Because you mentioned traditionally a smaller, more 135 - > finite set of products you launched before. 136 - > How important is getting the training right, or how important 137 - > is kind of customer loyalty within the employee side, 138 - > employee loyalty to the success you guys see? 139 - > SPEAKER_00: Oh, 100%.

140 - > I mean, so the training had to come with, you know, uh 141 - > different kind of pilots that we actually did to get the products 142 - > out in our employees' hands, right? 143 - > So it made a little bit made it make a lot more sense to them. 144 - > But uh, you know, the training from, you know, what is a reward 145 - > card? 146 - > Um, how does how does it plug into the play?

147 - > You've got a new loyalty program out there, how does how does 148 - > that work, right? 149 - > Um, and and really even the value proposition, when you go 150 - > from a one single card, no rewards, to hey, you've got two 151 - > percent or 1.5 here or 3x here, um, those kind those 152 - > conversations get a little confusing if you've never done 153 - > touched it before, right? 154 - > So uh we did all kinds of virtual sessions, uh manager 155 - > meetings, we were out to over 100 branches, uh district 156 - > meetings, just making sure that everybody heard our message, and 157 - > then we did it again and five times over that.

158 - > So just making sure that we talked through every single 159 - > possible channel so people got it. 160 - > Excellent. 161 - > Yep. 162 - > SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, you just attended the 26th Loyalty 163 - > Expo, uh pretty solid conference.

164 - > Uh big discussion around customers, customers changing, 165 - > evolving in a kind of a myriad of industries. 166 - > You know, when you look at your customers, how do you see your 167 - > customers changing and you know, how are you responding back in 168 - > kind? 169 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah. 170 - > I mean, uh, especially with the new rewards cards launch.

171 - > I mean, you know, our our members, it was number one 172 - > requested product from our membership, but they fully have 173 - > embraced it, right? 174 - > In fact, you know, they've said, hey, you know, do this and I'll 175 - > move away from the you know XYZ credit card and set up a 176 - > checking account, and we're seeing that as well. 177 - > We're seeing greater deposits, we're seeing higher FICOs, we're 178 - > seeing you know larger loans on the on the products because now 179 - > they have a reason to spend on it, right?

180 - > So um, you know, uh it it it's it's been uh very interesting to 181 - > actually insert loyalty because we never had loyalty with our 182 - > members other than our branches that they know and trust and 183 - > they have those relationships with those folks, right? 184 - > But as far as product-wise, this is truly the first product that 185 - > we've had out there for loyalty. 186 - > SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah, customer loyalty, uh launching a program, 187 - > uh, very important.

188 - > But uh one of the things that I love uh doing is like uh getting 189 - > an understanding of kind of how you define loyalty. 190 - > So how does SECU define customer loyalty and you know what does 191 - > it mean to your organization? 192 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 193 - > I you know, I customer loyalty for us means ultimately product 194 - > multipliers, right?

195 - > We're wanting to make sure that our members get the most value 196 - > and they want the products, right? 197 - > So if I give them a good rewards card, I give them a good 198 - > mortgage with a you know a nice promotional offer or something 199 - > that that's that's attached to that, right? 200 - > That's going to be a product multiplier that our members are 201 - > gonna want more products with us, right? 202 - > From our members' perspective, and what we've heard from our 203 - > members is, you know, they want to use our products very similar 204 - > to what they do with other financial institutions and gain 205 - > rewards, gain loyalty, uh, you know, have benefits from 206 - > actually using the programs, uh card benefits, or you know, even 207 - > down to the loyalty program that's out there.

208 - > But we are looking at this from an enterprise loyalty 209 - > perspective. 210 - > We want to make sure that we're touching all facets of SECU and 211 - > pulling in loyalty to all those worlds. 212 - > SPEAKER_01: Okay, excellent. 213 - > Yeah, you know, you launched uh uh a new credit card program.

214 - > Now you have four. 215 - > Um so you talked about the FICO scores rising, kind of 216 - > differentiating and diversifying the product line. 217 - > You know, what does the credit card program launch uh do to 218 - > help you engage with your audience? 219 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.

220 - > Um so you know, a lot of what we've seen too is you know, from 221 - > example, our cash rewards card, flat 2%. 222 - > It's 1.5%, and then$500 monthly deposit, they get to 2% out of 223 - > it. 224 - > Um, but what we're seeing from our membership is you know, 225 - > seeing larger deposits that are out there.

226 - > Um so they're starting to use our checking as their primary 227 - > source, right? 228 - > Um also we're seeing a lot of cashbacks going back into these 229 - > accounts, right? 230 - > So they're using their rewards to you know put money back into 231 - > their accounts, right? 232 - > So we're seeing a lot more usage from our membership just in that 233 - > single car product, which you know, two to one uh percent, you 234 - > know, uh ratio wise, cash over points, you know, the cash is 235 - > always keen.

236 - > Um but yeah, I mean we're we're seeing a lot of that from our 237 - > members. 238 - > Um, you know, we're taking a new approach, like I said earlier, 239 - > on the enterprise loyalty and how we grow these products just 240 - > to be more competitive in the industry as well. 241 - > SPEAKER_01: Excellent. 242 - > Um, you know, you look at uh measurement, very important, 243 - > right, from a customer loyalty perspective.

244 - > Yeah. 245 - > What are some key measurements or metrics that you use to 246 - > substantiate the program, to drive engagement uh upstream, 247 - > right? 248 - > Through the C-suite we hear all about, you know, what are a 249 - > couple of most important data points or metrics when it comes 250 - > to customer loyalty for your organization? 251 - > SPEAKER_00: Right.

252 - > Yeah. 253 - > So we went from zero to 60 when we brought the new loyalty 254 - > program in because we had so much to look at, right? 255 - > With point liability, making sure that we're managing that 256 - > piece of it. 257 - > We're also looking at you know the spend totals, we're looking 258 - > at the cart sizes for our members.

259 - > We're looking at, you know, we're we're very cognizant of 260 - > members having a you know revolver transactor kind of 261 - > experience with us, right? 262 - > So are they transacting and paying off every month or are 263 - > they revolving and carrying a balance, right? 264 - > We work with our members on education and white papers to 265 - > make sure that they're transacting to get the most from 266 - > their rewards program, right? 267 - > Uh we we never built off a breakage program.

268 - > We want our members to redeem, right? 269 - > Which is is is is kind of odd in the financial industry. 270 - > You want people to use the rewards. 271 - > A lot of times they don't, right?

272 - > But we do, right? 273 - > Because we know it's a simple enough equation where people are 274 - > going to use their rewards, they're gonna come back and 275 - > spend and they're gonna use the rewards again, right? 276 - > And we're gonna never, you know, water down the rewards, we're 277 - > always gonna make sure they have the best value out of those 278 - > rewards. 279 - > Um Yeah.

280 - > So I mean, really, I mean, we look at various KPIs out there. 281 - > I mean, I would look at the transactors uh we looked at any 282 - > kind of balance transfers that we're doing out there from some 283 - > of our promotional efforts, which we're able to add into the 284 - > rewards card as well. 285 - > Um, you know, any kind of like, you know, uh product uh reward 286 - > options out there around gift cards or e-gift cards. 287 - > Uh, you know, we we never had a rewards program before.

288 - > Our members are using e-gift cards over the you know, the 289 - > plastic cards, the physical cards, right? 290 - > Which is really surprising because a lot of people like to 291 - > gift those cards. 292 - > Well, now electronically you can gift it, right? 293 - > But I think if you'd have started this years ago, people 294 - > would have been doing the physical versus electronic.

295 - > Um, but our members have opted for those digital or e uh gift 296 - > cards. 297 - > SPEAKER_01: Okay, you you mentioned value. 298 - > That that's a pretty big discussion right now. 299 - > We have the K-shape recovery, some customers, excuse me, let's 300 - > start that again without the burp.

301 - > Um you mentioned value. 302 - > That's a pretty significant topic uh an area of interest 303 - > right now within our community. 304 - > Yeah. 305 - > Uh make sure that the the program has value, make sure 306 - > you're providing value to the customers and value to the 307 - > organization.

308 - > You know, what does value mean to you, especially with the new 309 - > products, you know, the things that you do to listen to and 310 - > understand your customers? 311 - > How are you looking at value from an organizational 312 - > perspective? 313 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, our our commitment, especially with 314 - > the newer loyalty program to our members, has always been to have 315 - > a very transparent loyalty program, right? 316 - > Uh discount through promotional efforts, uh, never devalue uh 317 - > our rewards currency uh and currently are always evolve uh 318 - > the experience and the offerings for our members, right?

319 - > So um, you know, again, I like I said it earlier, we're not a 320 - > breakage, we're we're not looking at that kind of 321 - > approach. 322 - > We want to educate our members, make sure that they see the 323 - > value as much as we see the value in the in the product 324 - > because they're the ones uh that are using it. 325 - > You know, and I know we have talked about this before. 326 - > Another thing I was thinking about, Mark, around the 327 - > differences between financial institutions, credit unions.

328 - > Um, we don't sell cards, right? 329 - > Uh we actually go to our members and we promote the value of the 330 - > products, right? 331 - > And then they pick what they want, you know, what's best off 332 - > out of their lifestyle. 333 - > So uh is it a non-rewards card with a lower APR or is it a 334 - > rewards card that they can track, trend, transact on and 335 - > get rewards out of it, right?

336 - > We're we're okay with whatever direction they want to take. 337 - > We just want to make sure that they're gaining value out of 338 - > those products. 339 - > SPEAKER_01: That's interesting too. 340 - > You you're not trying to necessarily sell them on 341 - > something there's going to be kind of a kickback from an 342 - > association, uh, one of the issuers, right?

343 - > You're you're really trying to make sure that you're doing the 344 - > best for your customers in in whatever time of need or 345 - > whatever time of opportunity they that they have, correct? 346 - > Yep, yep, correct. 347 - > Okay. 348 - > Younger generations, uh Gen Z, the millennials, uh, how do they 349 - > look at uh credit unions?

350 - > Are they the big fans? 351 - > How do you engage with them? 352 - > Uh kind of tell them what you guys do, how you do it, and and 353 - > how do you how do you get them involved in your customer 354 - > loyalty program? 355 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, you know, we we start off our our 356 - > younger members with a uh a Fad Cat card where they can get 357 - > under 13, and then when they they get 13 plus, they have a 358 - > CARD account, and then they go to a regular checking account uh 359 - > or regular debit card, right?

360 - > And then the entry point once they turn 18 is to transition 361 - > them into a credit line, right? 362 - > A credit product, start building their credit off of a product, 363 - > right? 364 - > Even if it is a lower uh balance out there. 365 - > So, you know, we always see debit as the entry point for 366 - > credit.

367 - > Um, but you know, we know that they uh prefer real-time 368 - > rewards, right? 369 - > Experiences, travel. 370 - > Uh, we're working to you know, market and push those things out 371 - > there. 372 - > We do have those items available.

373 - > Um, and you know, we're like I was talking before, we really do 374 - > have that presence with the digital gift cards over the 375 - > plastic. 376 - > They want these things real time, right? 377 - > They want their cash back real time. 378 - > They want to go on a trip or they want to experience why 379 - > they're on their trip.

380 - > So uh we're definitely seeing a lot more of that, and we're 381 - > working to get that out to that population to make sure they're 382 - > aware of all those reward types. 383 - > SPEAKER_01: That makes perfect sense. 384 - > Yeah. 385 - > Emotional loyalty, another topic that's pretty important to us.

386 - > Uh, we talk about it a good deal. 387 - > We have digital roundtables that focus on that. 388 - > You know, how are you looking at emotional loyalty? 389 - > Uh what do you what what what what is your perspective?

390 - > How do how do you measure it? 391 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah. 392 - > I mean, you know, we we do uh NPS scoring out there, uh net 393 - > promoter score uh out there, um, you know, and we've done a uh 394 - > quite a bit of surveys. 395 - > So part of our early month on book when somebody you know adds 396 - > a card is, you know, we're we're engaging them with welcome and 397 - > activation, security usage, but our last port part of that 398 - > experience is a survey, right?

399 - > To gauge on how they're doing with the experience. 400 - > You know, what do they think about the extra product? 401 - > What can we change, right? 402 - > And again, what we hear from our members is a know and trust uh 403 - > SECU.

404 - > Um you know, generally speaking, they've been very happy with the 405 - > the loyalty programs. 406 - > Of course, everybody wants uh you know more. 407 - > Um and so we're certainly working on those things, right? 408 - > But um, you know, I I think we're we're very local, right?

409 - > And our members know that that we drive that that value with 410 - > our members. 411 - > Uh a lot of you know, our pitchers on our site are from 412 - > places that our members have been, right? 413 - > So it relates to them. 414 - > Um, you know, our bottom line is their bottom line.

415 - > We reinvest in our members um to make sure that you know their 416 - > financial financial needs are at the at the top of our mind. 417 - > SPEAKER_01: That makes perfect sense. 418 - > AI, another uh big uh area of interest discussion point, you 419 - > know. 420 - > Have you guys started to dabble in AI?

421 - > Well, what's your approach? 422 - > Uh, you know, how are you looking at it? 423 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 424 - > Yeah, I mean, uh we're we're very member focused and we're 425 - > easing into the AI solution.

426 - > Now pretty much all of our technology and our partnerships 427 - > today uh have AI somewhere incorporated in it. 428 - > Um so I think a lot of what we're using AI-wise now is just 429 - > how do how do we speed up this coding or how do we get um you 430 - > know this this uh you know this connection made. 431 - > Um and so we're using a lot of that there. 432 - > We are starting to kind of work in that, and we've actually got 433 - > a channel now at SECU that's focused on AI.

434 - > Um but yeah, we're we're a little bit slower in that area, 435 - > but um we're we're certainly looking into it and uh digging 436 - > into it. 437 - > I think right now it's more operational, and we're looking 438 - > to bring that into some of the other tools that we're we're 439 - > launching uh later this year and next. 440 - > SPEAKER_01: That makes perfect sense. 441 - > I think a lot of people are kind of still taking a concerned 442 - > view.

443 - > It's definitely warmed up. 444 - > Uh, I think we saw that in the customer loyalty paper, but uh 445 - > it kind of that that slow and steady approach seems to be what 446 - > what many brands in the customer loyalty arena are are doing. 447 - > For sure. 448 - > Yep.

449 - > So when you look at uh what's next, what's new, what's the 450 - > next big thing when it comes to customer loyalty or customer 451 - > experience for SECU? 452 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh so we are launching our new digital 453 - > banking experience actually in about two weeks now. 454 - > So that's coming out, which is really gonna open the door for a 455 - > lot of our card controls and other offerings that we can do 456 - > product-based. 457 - > Uh we're setting on an older uh platform, uh, which is gonna be 458 - > done away in about two weeks.

459 - > So that's gonna open up digital issuance and a lot of other 460 - > things that we're looking to do with our membership. 461 - > Because you know, our whole thing is we really want to meet 462 - > our members where they want to be met, right? 463 - > Do they want to come into the branch or do they want to be you 464 - > know on digital or they want to call it in, right? 465 - > However they want to do it, we want to make sure that we're 466 - > meeting them there.

467 - > Um so yeah, we're integrating those solutions uh into our 468 - > online banking site. 469 - > Um, and we really believe this is gonna be a huge catalyst um 470 - > because a lot of our members are you know into the apps now, 471 - > especially with COVID and all the transition people made out 472 - > there. 473 - > Um so yeah, we're we're doing a lot of focus on our our digital 474 - > banking side right now. 475 - > And very excited about that launch in two weeks.

476 - > SPEAKER_01: That's good. 477 - > Looking forward to learning more about that. 478 - > It should be quite interesting. 479 - > Uh you know, you know, at the 2026 Loyalty Expo, you were you 480 - > were finalizing a number of categories.

481 - > You actually pulled home a silver in the new customer 482 - > loyalty program launch. 483 - > You get some pretty big brands out there, so uh a lot of 484 - > profits of that. 485 - > And we had the largest number of submissions we've ever had. 486 - > And you go out there and pull home a silver in the new program 487 - > launch, and you were finalized in customer analytics category 488 - > too.

489 - > I mean, that was one of the top three most submitted categories. 490 - > So you went out and kind of tried to punch the big boys on 491 - > the nose there. 492 - > Um you know, when you when you look at that, what led to that 493 - > success? 494 - > And you know, you know, what are you most proud of with the 495 - > program?

496 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, number one was getting loyalty here at 497 - > SECU, right? 498 - > I mean, 89 years. 499 - > I know credit cards haven't been around that long, but getting 500 - > them out the door, we've been talking about it for years, 501 - > finally getting it out, right? 502 - > So um, you know, it's just been such an amazing change for the 503 - > organization.

504 - > Um, it's been a members ask, right? 505 - > Uh something uh, you know, that we know we can grow that 506 - > experience in uh and build on, right? 507 - > So um we we know that there are other credit credit card 508 - > products that we're looking at now um that can benefit our 509 - > members. 510 - > And so, you know, by getting those reward cards out, it just 511 - > opens up, you know, a whole new world for us here.

512 - > SPEAKER_01: That makes uh makes perfect. 513 - > So the last question, someone self-serving, you know, what can 514 - > Loyalty 360 do to help you and your team with their customer 515 - > loyalty efforts? 516 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I a lot of the conversations we even 517 - > had at the uh loyalty expo was just around brand partnerships, 518 - > um, you know, reputation uh branding, um, you know, looking 519 - > at how we can kind of grow our footprint in North Carolina.

520 - > Uh and so, you know, we're really looking for, you know, 521 - > how do we engage our members uh in meaningful offers uh that 522 - > ease and kind of grow their the member experiences out there? 523 - > So uh we heard a lot from the from the conference, had a lot 524 - > of great conversations with folks. 525 - > Um so yeah, really I would say the partnerships, brand 526 - > partnerships, how do we expand our footprint print in North 527 - > Carolina and how do we talk up SECU?

528 - > SPEAKER_01: That's awesome. 529 - > Well, there's definitely an interest in partnerships. 530 - > It's kind of the orange is the new black kind of thing going on 531 - > right now. 532 - > But getting them right can be a big challenge.

533 - > But when you do, it can be just a pretty significant boost to 534 - > the program, to the brand, to kind of the overall value that 535 - > customers have. 536 - > So looking forward to helping you with that uh going forward. 537 - > Great. 538 - > Well, Brad, thank you very much for taking the time to speak 539 - > with us today.

540 - > Uh, it was it was great speaking with you. 541 - > I've had the opportunity to hang out with you at a couple of 542 - > conferences last time a little more, uh getting you personally. 543 - > But I think one thing that really is resonant with you is 544 - > that uh you're genuine in who you are, you're genuine about 545 - > your focus for the customer, the brand, and just understanding 546 - > kind of the heritage and the lineage of the SECU and just 547 - > kind of that customer commitment is great to hear.

548 - > Because oftentimes brands don't have that, but uh you know, uh 549 - > consider you a solid friend. 550 - > But most importantly, you are doing things for the customers 551 - > that so many brands talk about doing. 552 - > You're actually doing that's just great to see. 553 - > SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.

554 - > Yes, sir. 555 - > Doing more of it every day, too. 556 - > So as much as it allowed me to. 557 - > So great.

558 - > SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you very much for taking the time. 559 - > I also wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to tune in 560 - > today uh to this episode of our Leaders in Customer Loyalty, the 561 - > Brand's Toys podcast. 562 - > It's great having you with us every Thursday. 563 - > Make sure you check back with us every Thursday for new 564 - > interviews uh with the brands who are shaping the future of 565 - > customer loyalty.

566 - > Uh please subscribe if you haven't already, and follow us 567 - > on YouTube, LinkedIn, and our other social media sites. 568 - > Uh they're listed below in the comment section. 569 - > And uh looking forward to seeing you next Thursday.